Henrico County Public Schools celebrates principals as 2026 REB leadership awards open
VENN
HENRICO COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) -- Henrico County Public Schools (HCPS) is celebrating its principals' dedication over the past year as nominations open for the 2026 REB Awards for Distinguished Educational Leadership.
According to a release from HCPS, the 2026 REB Awards for Distinguished Educational Leadership give the public a chance to recognize principals' hard work and dedication. The awards, established by the REB Foundation and Community Foundation for a Greater Richmond, aim to "honor outstanding principals across the Richmond area every year," officials said.
Nominations must be submitted online here by 5 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 6, with award recipients to be announced in March 2026. Principals from Henrico, Chesterfield and Hanover counties and the City of Richmond are eligible, per HCPS.
The honorees will receive $20,000 to be used for school initiatives, as well as an unrestricted $10,000 cash grant, per the school division.
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The runner-up will also receive $10,000 for use toward school projects.
The school district emphasized that one nominee from each school division will be honored. Principals may not nominate themselves, and associate and assistant principals are not eligible for the award.
HCPS winner was Arainau “Rainy” Neal, principal of Maude Trevvett Elementary School for last year's REB Distinguished Educational Leadership Awards.
With her reward, Neal funded the school’s “house” system. This included paying for a schoolwide app, staff training, a themed hallway mural for each of the school’s six houses, communication tools and an ambassador program to welcome new students, especially those learning English, per the school system.
Meanwhile, Susan Proffitt, principal of Holman Middle School, was runner-up for the award, and received a $10,000 grant to establish the Huskie CARE Camp for multilingual learners at the middle school.
HCPS said those looking to nominate a principal are required to upload a one- to two-page letter describing the nominee’s distinguished educational leadership.
For questions about nominations, HCPS urges you to contact Tracie Weston, director of the school district's Department of Professional Learning and Leadership, at taweston@henrico.k12.va.us.
