Lorie Barnes, assistant principal and dean of academics at Monarch Academy in Laurel, was named Maryland’s National Outstanding Assistant Principal for 2016-2017 by the National Association of Elementary School Principals, which advocates for elementary and middle-level principals worldwide.

The Outstanding Assistant Principal Award recognizes exceptional leaders who are respected by students, colleagues, parents and the community and set high expectations for their school’s staff and students. The National Association of Elementary School Principals selects one candidate per state based on peer nominations.

With 11 years of education experience, Barnes focuses on academics, instruction and professional development at Monarch Academy in Laurel. She joined the contract school’s leadership team when Monarch Academy opened in 2014 and helped lead the hiring process, build school structures and cultivate an academic culture. Previously, Barnes was an elementary teacher at Jessup Elementary and Monarch Academy in Glen Burnie.

Barnes graduated from the University of Maryland, College Park, with a Master of Education in educational leadership and policy studies and holds a Bachelor of Science in elementary education from Towson University. She lives in Catonsville.

Monarch Academy in Laurel, an affiliate of the TranZed Alliance, is a contract school in Laurel, Maryland, for children in kindergarten through eighth grade, operating under the Transformation Education philosophy that infuses a school’s beliefs and values into the look of the school building, instructional approach, teachers’ mindset and behavior and operating systems. Monarch Academy is also an International Baccalaureate school, emphasizing transdisciplinary learning and international-mindedness. In addition, the school offers an information technology curriculum. (www.monarchcharter.org)