Toppenish high principal is national principal of the year

The principal of rural Toppenish High School, south of Yakima, has been named national high school principal of the year and will be honored in Washington, D.C. in a few weeks.

MetLife and the National Association of Secondary School Principals told Trevor Greene he had won the award at a school assembly on Thursday morning.

Greene is being honored for improving both math and science achievement at his school by focusing the curriculum on science and technology. Since becoming principal in 2009, he has started a number of new programs, including engineering, biomedical science and computer software classes.

He also started a robotics team and the high school's graduation rate has improved to about 90 percent. The school reports virtually every one of those graduates goes on to college.