PERU — Dirigo Elementary School Principal Charlie Swan said besides being honored by the National Association of Elementary School Principals in Washington, D.C., recently, he appreciated meeting some of the other 36 recipients of the National Distinguished Principal of the Year Award.

Charlie Swan, principal of Dirigo Elementary School in Peru, holds an engraved bell presented to him recently at the National Association of Elementary School Principals award dinner in Washington, D.C. He was one of 37 recipients of the National Distinguished Principal of the Year Award for 2024. Submitted photo

“I made connections with four or five different principals from different states and was able to connect with them and find out what they’re doing in their schools,” Swan said.

He was chosen from among 700 elementary schools as Maine’s best elementary school principal by Maine’s National Association of Elementary School Principals. He was honored in May at a school assembly and an awards dinner in Augusta.

The national recognition in October included a banquet, tours of the White House, the city and monuments by moonlight, a rooftop reception overlooking the Capitol building and a stay at the five-star Willard InterContinental hotel.

“Just the hotel itself was incredible,” Swan said, noting Abraham Lincoln stayed there at one time and several vice presidents lived there.

Swan and his wife, Jessica, attended the black-tie ceremony that included dinner and dancing.

Swan was nominated last year by Regional School Unit 56 Superintendent Pam Doyen, who said at the school’s award assembly, “… I believe that he is the epitome of what you want in an elementary school principal. He does it all and he does it well.”

Speaking about his experience Monday, Swan said the nomination process included a 20-page application. “And then if you move on to the next step, then a group of former winners from the state of Maine come to the school and they interviewed some parents, some students, some teachers, and then from there, they selected me.”

“So, yeah, it’s pretty humbling, for sure,” he said.

During his acceptance speech in D.C., he said that “when I was hired in my job, somebody had told me that the most important thing I would do would be to hire good staff. And they said that if you hire good staff, they will do great things with kids and along the way, they’ll make you look really good in the process. And I said, that’s certainly true of my staff.”

Principal Charlie Swan and his wife, Jessica, attend the National Association of Elementary School Principals award dinner in October in Washington, D.C. The leader of Dirigo Elementary School in Peru was one of 37 recipients of the National Distinguished Principal of the Year Award for 2024. Submitted photo