Elkridge Educator Named 2021 Principal Of The Year

HOWARD COUNTY, MD — Deep Run Elementary School Principal Denise Lancaster has been named The Washington Post's 2021 Principal of the Year. After recently being named the HCPSS Principal of the Year, Lancaster was chosen from among 19 finalists representing school systems in Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C.

The finalists and the winner were chosen by teachers, administrators, parents and The Washington Post. She will receive a signature trophy, a $7,500 monetary award, a feature spot in a half-page ad that runs in The Washington Post newspaper and a profile that will appear in The Washington Post and on its website.

"I am incredibly proud of Denise and she fully deserves to be recognized as the very best principal in the Maryland, Virginia and Washington D.C. area," Howard County Public Schools System Superintendent Michael J. Martirano said. "She represents the very best of Howard County. She leads with grace, compassion, and integrity, and consistently does whatever it takes to support her students and staff and help them reach their full potential."

In her 24-year career with HCPSS, Lancaster has worked in several schools as a speech-language pathologist, assistant principal and principal. She assumed her current role as principal of DRES in 2016.