Wake County Principal of the Year up for best in NC

WAKE COUNTY, N.C. (WTVD) -- The Wake County Principal of the Year has received another prestigious honor.

Olive Chapel Elementary School principal Ruth Steidinger has been selected as the state's North Central Region Principal of the Year by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction.

She is one of eight finalists for the 2020 Principal of the Year award.

Steidinger was told Thursday that there was a cultural arts performance in her school's auditorium where the entire school community was waiting to surprise her with the news. She was greeted with a celebration of balloons, confetti and cheers.

She will find out this spring whether she'll win the top honor of Principal of the Year for North Carolina. She was named the 2019-20 Wake County Public School System Principal of the Year in October.

Steidinger has served as principal of Olive Chapel Elementary in Apex for four years. She has been a part of Wake County Public Schools for 30 years.

Her career started at Athens Drive High School in 1989 where she worked as a math teacher.