Robert Yeager, the principal of George Washington Middle School, was honored as one of The Washington Post’s educational leaders at a ceremony on Nov. 18.
The award, which is given by The Washington Post Education Foundation, salutes those principals who go beyond the day-to-day demands of their position to create an exceptional educational environment.
“Mr. Yeager has shown extraordinary leadership skills throughout his 37-year career here in the Alexandria school system,” said Rebecca L. Perry, superintendent of Alexandria City Public Schools. “He literally turned around George Washington Middle School and led the school in just a year and a half to its first full accreditation.” Lory M. Levitt, the school’s social worker, noted that “one of the most important things Mr. Yeager brought back to our school is a sense of pride.”
Yeager is known for taking on challenging situations and improving instruction and learning. He turned around Alexandria’s other middle school, Francis C. Hammond, during his principal-ship from 1996 to 2000.
He began his career in Alexandria in 1965 as a social studies teacher at George Washington Middle, served as a central office administrator for several years, then became a building administrator in 1971 as the assistant principal of Minnie Howard Middle. During his career, he also was an associate principal at Hammond Junior High and at T.C. Williams High, and the principal of George Washington when it was a junior high from 1987-89.
Michelle Brandon is the Alexandria PTA council president and was the president of the George Washington Middle School PTA last year.
“Bob Yeager richly deserves this honor for his years of excellent service to the Alexandria Public School System and, more importantly, for his recent role as the principal of George Washington Middle School. He is a man of high standards who expects the best from his staff and students, and the results are self-evident. GW is fully accredited; a feat some believed would require a miracle to accomplish. I am most fortunate that my seventh-grader is receiving the benefits of Bob's leadership,” she said.