Recognized for making Rosa Parks Middle School “a unique and innovative place where students can and do succeed,” Principal Sarah Pinkney-Murkey is the recipient of the 15th annual Mark Mann Excellence and Harmony Award.

“The panel members were particularly impressed with the diversity of the school's community, your efforts to make Rosa Parks Middle School a place where every child can learn, and the shared vision you established among staff that 'all children belong to us,'” Superintendent Jerry D. Weast said in a letter notifying Pinkney-Murkey of the award. She also was praised for her extensive record of excellence in educational leadership and community involvement.

The Mark Mann Award is given each year to a Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) administrator who has shown an exceptional ability to encourage academic excellence, positive human relations and strong community outreach. Pinkney-Murkey received this year's award at an MCPS administrative and supervisory meeting on September 14.

Pinkney-Murkey has been principal of Rosa Parks since the school opened 13 years ago. Setting the tone for academic excellence, she consistently expects the best of her staff and students. Those expectations have been realized in both student and staff success.

Rosa Parks students exceeded the state average score on the Maryland School Assessment (MSA) by more than 20 percent, with 70 percent meeting or exceeding MSA standards in math and 82 percent of students meeting or exceeding MSA standards in reading. The school was recognized in 2003 and 2004 for outstanding MSA performance.

Since the school opened in 1992, attendance has not fallen below 94.5 percent. Rosa Parks students created an anti- bullying program that was shared with the Maryland State Board of Education, which plans to modify and use the program throughout the state.

The school boasts four teachers who are national board certified and three teachers who are presently working on national board certification. In 2004-2005, a science teacher was selected as a finalist for the Maryland Science/Math Teacher of the Year Award.

The Mark Mann Excellence and Harmony Award was established in 1991. The award is designed to honor the highest qualities and most significant accomplishments of Dr. Mark Mann, former principal of Parkland Junior High School, who died in 1988.