DuFief Principal Wins Nancy Walker Library Media Award

DuFief Elementary School Principal Gregg Baron has won the Nancy C. Walker Award for Outstanding Support to a Library Media Program for the 2023–2024 school year. Baron was nominated by school media specialist Tara Eliason. This award is presented annually by the Montgomery County Educational Media Specialists Association (MCEMSA) to highlight the role of administrative leaders in supporting library media centers. 

Baron has been a strong advocate of the media program since arriving at DuFief. Because he ensures that Eliason can attend weekly planning meetings, she works with all grade-level teams and creates media lessons and projects that support curriculum content, expand technology use and extend learning in the classroom. Baron champions collaborative planning and co-teaching, which increases student understanding in content areas and helps students develop new skills. By promoting the media program, insisting on co-teaching and planning and understanding the media standards, Baron brings all stakeholders on board. 

The pair discuss all aspects of the media program, including scheduling, personnel, finance and technology. He routinely advocates for much-needed improvements in the media center.

Baron champions the media program in many ways. During pre-service week, the pair showed staff the value and importance of co-teaching and planning between the media specialist and grade-level teams. When there were parental concerns after DuFief rolled out LGBTQ+ books, Baron convened the classroom teacher and Eliason to present the materials to those parents and made sure Eliason was not placed in an untenable situation.  

Baron “is always happy to back me up and support me whenever needed,” Eliason said.