On the website for High Point High School, Principal Nicole Isley-McClure writes “at High Point High School, the administrative team, teachers, and staff are dedicated to providing an engaging and supportive environment, which will allow our students to thrive in their academic pursuits.” That’s a high bar to set, and Principal Isley-McClure has not only set it for herself and her staff, but she has also hurdled it. She began her job as principal in 2016, and the graduation rate has been improving. She must be doing something right because the Maryland Association of Secondary School Principals has named her High School Principal of the Year.
In an interview Principal Isley-McClure gave to local news station ABC7, she said the award “is an awesome honor and I'm extremely grateful, but I view this as an opportunity to bring attention to my diverse school community." Being a principal during the pandemic can’t be an easy task, but according to senior Kameah Holt-Daniels, who was also interviewed by ABC7, "it proves that she really cares about what she's doing which is really good." The senior described her principal as “positive and interactive.”
Isley-McClure spoke to News4’s Leon Harris as part of his “Harris’s Heroes” series, and she described the award as “a blessing to be recognized for the work that I love to do, each and every day.” She said she approached the staff with the idea to embrace the fact that they were not a traditional high school. Once that idea was embraced, they were off and running. She spent time going to other school systems and districts to see what supports they were providing and brought some of those ideas back to High Point. According to the principal, “relationships matter; kids don’t care until they know you care.” High Point and the Beltsville students in the High Point Community are fortunate to have Mrs. Isley-McClure as principal.