The principal of Kinston High School is the choice of the North Carolina School Library Media Association for its 2022-2023 Administrator of the Year Award.

Kellan Bryant, principal at KHS since 2017, was honored by the association at its annual state convention in Winston-Salem last week. The Administrator of the Year Award is the highest honor the group bestows on state, district or school-level administrators, working in either public or private systems.

She was nominated for the award by her school’s media coordinator, Sara Levin. “Mrs. Bryant was nominated by me because she supports our school library media program through collaboration across the building, funding, grant writing, programming and regularly meeting with me about the current state of our program and where we want it to be,” Levin said. 

“Mrs. Bryant believes that our library media program needs to reflect and support our student body. She and I have partnered together to make this happen and will continue to do so in the future. Our library media program has improved steadily each year due to her support and guidance.” 

The award is presented annually “to recognize an administrator who has made outstanding contributions to advancing the role of the school library media program in the state of North Carolina,” according to the association.

Bryant is the second LCPS administrator to win the statewide award in as many years. Woodington Middle School principal Patrick Phillippe was the 2021-2022 winner.

“I am honored to receive this award for Kinston High School. Our librarian, Sara Levin, makes it very easy to love and support the initiatives and student-focused learning opportunities she has brought to the media center,” Bryant said. “Ms. Levin is an asset to our school community, and being able to improve the learning experience with her for students and teachers is a joy for me.”

During Bryant’s tenure, KHS has reinvented its library space, transforming it from a place that students visited only occasionally to a hub of student life and instruction. A $15,000 donation from Spirit AeroSystems purchased new furniture, including tables and seating designed for individual or small group work, and a $5,000 grant from the Laura Bush Foundation for America’s Libraries updated the library’s nonfiction collection.