MSA Principal of the Year Program

DR. FRANK LABANCA
ACES Chase Academy
Area Cooperative Educational Services

Magnet Schools of America is proud to recognize Dr. Frank LaBanca, principal of ACES Chase Academy, as the Region I Principal of the Year. Serving students from nearly 30 towns across Connecticut, Dr. LaBanca leads with a clear and compelling vision rooted in equity, coherence, and purposeful learning. Under his leadership, ACES Chase Academy has become a model interdistrict STEAM magnet school where rigorous academics, authentic project-based learning, and a strong sense of belonging define the student experience.

Rebecca McMurrin

Ulysses S. GRant High School College Prep. and Digital Arts Magnet
Los Angeles Unified School District
California

Rebecca McMurrrin of Ulysses S. Grant High School College Prep and Digital Arts Magnet in the Los Angeles Unified School District.

Under her visionary leadership, Grant’s magnet program has flourished, serving students from 27 different cultural and linguistic backgrounds.

With a deep commitment to inclusive student engagement, Rebecca has integrated students served through special education into general education classrooms, expanded culturally relevant teaching practices, and built a project-based learning curriculum that fosters meaningful interaction across learners.

Amy Dockter-Rozar

West Career and Technical Academy
Clark County School District
Nevada

Amy Dockter-Rozar, Principal of West Career and Technical Academy (Clark County School District). Amy Dockter-Rozar, ensures equity and diversity, from inclusive recruitment activities that include allocating funding for bus tour, students, Girls Who Code competition, and middle school bus tours for nontraditional students, and student volunteers to elementary and middle school for academic nights and community. Her incentive to regular counselor meetings a year has resulted in increase coursework and her steps to support underserved and underrepresented students that includes free summer enrichment and boot camps for test preparation resulting in increased AP and dual enrollment growing especially in African American and Hispanic students.

Joy Abernathy, Ph.D.

Villa del Rey Creative Sciences and Arts Magnet School
East Baton Rouge Parish School System
Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Joy Abernathy-Dyer, Ph.D., Villa del Rey Creative Sciences and Arts Magnet School, East Baton Rouge Parish School System, LA – Awarded Magnet School Principal of the Year. Dr. Abernathy-Dyer is a forward thinker who has a big heart for our school, more specifically, the Magnet Program. Since the inception of the Magnet program, Villa del Rey has expanded and grown. Such growth and achievement is attributed to Dr. Abernathy-Dyer’s leadership.

My greatest education contribution and accomplishment as a magnet principal is bringing the Magnet Schools of Assistance Program to Villa del Rey Creative Sciences and Arts Magnet. As principal, we have implemented experiences in our labs offering robotics, outdoor classrooms, gardening, engineering, culinary, and renewable energy labs. – Joy Abernathy-Dyer, Ph.D.

Brendan Mims

MS 358 Magnet Schools for STEAM Exploration and Experiential Learning
NYC Community School District 28
Jamaica, New York

Brendan T. Mims is the founding principal of MS358 in Queens, NY. He founded MS358 to “motivate hearts, inspire minds, and change the world for the better.” He’s proud that through STEAM-based education and “passionate speaking, purposeful writing, and powerful presentation,” students can practice empathy and advocacy while proficiency rises. He believes that all students deserve a high-quality education and has worked to develop a culture that is inclusive, caring and committed to continual growth and excellence.

Principal Mims has developed a culture that is inclusive, caring, and dedicated to the idea that all students deserve a high quality education where they can thrive and achieve regardless of race, social status, gender, language, orientation, [nationality, religion, or ability. He works with outside organizations, arts partners, cultural institutions, higher education, and all school stakeholders to ensure that MS358 is a community where all students learn at high levels, feel welcomed and included, appreciate their own and other cultures, and work to promote justice and fairness in the school community and beyond.

Lisa S. Noffo

Medical Academy for Science and Technology
Miami-Dade County Public Schools
Homestead, Florida

In only eight years, Principal Lisa Noffo has led the Medical Academy for Science and Technology (MAST@Homestead) to be one of the most diverse and successful magnet programs in the state. Having grown from only 68 students in 2010 to 775 students in 2019, the school boasts a 100% graduation rate for the last three classes and an ‘A’ rating in state accountability.

Noffo truly believes in the “Saber Family” and credits all faculty and staff as playing a part in student success. MAST@Homestead was designed to be the first medical research institute to provide opportunities to excel in mathematics and science. The school’s medical theme is evident in all courses, a reflection of the involvement and commitment of both teachers and Noffo’s leadership.

Having worked at magnet schools for the arts, humanities, and computer sciences previously, Noffo witnessed firsthand how themed magnet programs have an immense effect on student success. At MAST@Homestead, her work with community partners led to the creation of simulated labs that successfully provide medical experiences, such as the HALS human patient simulators. She has provided funding for Biomedical instructors to be trained through Project Lead the Way in human body systems, biomedical innovations, and biomedical interventions. Through her leadership and support, all the magnet academy lead teachers have been trained to become CPR Instructors, ensuring that all students are certified prior to graduation. By providing the latest technologies to her student body, students are able to identify human body parts using virtual dissections, simulated therapy consultations using Resusci Anne manikins, and integrate tools and software such as Polymerase Chain Reaction and Restriction Fragment length Polyphorism Gel Electrophoresis.

As principal, Noffo has impressed upon the faculty that the medical theme should be carried across the curriculum so that students are encouraged to find that their passion is interdisciplinary. But Noffo also invests in the growth of the district by serving as a mentor to other principals as well as aspiring leaders. She has increased community partnerships and contributes her time and skills to the Florida International University School of Engineering and Baptist Hospital Homestead, as well as non-profits such as Enfamilia, The Mexican American Council, and the Redland Migrant Association. Through these partnerships, students have been afforded guest lectures and benefit greatly from her endeavors outside the school. Under her leadership, MAST@Homestead has become a shining example of the positive impact on community involvement in student achievement.

Dr. Sabrina Suber

Richland Northeast High School
Richland School District Two, Columbia, South Carolina

As the principal of Richland Northeast High School – an International Baccalaureate school, Dr. Sabrina Suber’s greatest educational contribution, and accomplishment is watching her students grow into global thinkers and problem solvers. Richland Northeast students come from a rich mix of backgrounds and cultures to create its inclusive community of learners, thinkers, growers, and believers.

Dr. Suber has been in a leadership position at Richland Northeast High School for the last 15 years and has been the principal for the previous eight years. The Horizon magnet program has been at Richland Northeast for over 25 years.

Under Dr. Suber’s leadership and guidance, Richland Northeast became an International Baccalaureate World School. Richland Northeast is also a Nationally Certified Magnet School and earned the MSA School of Excellence seal.

*Sponsored by American Education Solutions

Dr. Michael Lofton

Spring Hill High School
School District Five of Lexington and Richland Counties
Columbia, South Carolina

Dr. Michael Lofton is the founding principal of Spring Hill High School, a career pathways magnet school in School District Five that offers five focus programs to students from grades 9-12, including Engineering, Entertainment, Entrepreneurial, Environmental Studies, and Exercise Science academies. Through these academies, students are immersed into high-tech, real-world environments which develop core knowledge, ignite imagination, and make learning relevant by using themed standards-based curriculum. This approach enhances college and career readiness by guiding students to make critical connections between their educational journey and the dynamic world. Spring Hill is the second highest-rated high school in the state, and its students consistently perform above state and national averages on SAT, ACT, and AP exams.

*Sponsored by American Education Solutions | Croton on Hudson, New York