Kingwood Middle School Principal Michael Curl Wins 2023 TASSP Diversity Leadership AwardFrom Humble ISD: Kingwood Middle School Principal Michael Curl wins 2023 TASSP Diversity Leadership AwardJoshua KochJUL 10, 2023Kingwood Middle School Principal Michael Curl was named the recipient of the 2023 Texas Association of Secondary School Principals (TASSP) Diversity Leadership Award for middle schools. The award was presented during the TASSP Summer Workshop in Austin.The key components of winning the Diversity Leadership Award include promoting, embracing and educating the campus, district or community about diversity. The award winners are selected by the TASSP Diversity Leadership Committee. In the 2022-2023 school year, Mr. Curl and staff initiated a social media campaign to emphasize the importance of his staff members’ perspectives and reflections on Hispanic Heritage Month, Black History Month, Women’s History Month and Asian American Heritage Month. The goal, Curl said, was to engage students in local to global conversations on tolerance, harmony and respecting others. “We send surveys out to the campus and community gathering information about the individuals who identify as the group being recognized,” Curl wrote in his application. “We then use this information to create frames, social media posts, and posters on the campus so our students can see local, living examples of the heroes they learn about during these recognition months.” Students at Kingwood Middle School also designed and hand-painted rocks that commemorated victims of the Holocaust, which were recognized by the Holocaust Walk of Remembrance. Another initiative implemented was the Emerging Bilingual Program, meant to bridge the gap between families who primarily speak Spanish in their homes and school. “We realize that it is hard enough for many parents to come up to the school and meet with teachers and administrators as is,” Curl said. “Having a language barrier could mean that an opportunity to help a child could be missed, so we created a volunteer directory of staff members who spoke Spanish.” Mr. Curl also earned the 2023 Deans Roundtable Award for Transformational Leadership by Texas A&M's School of Education and Human Development. The award was established in 1991 by Dr. Jane Stallings and since then has recognized more than 600 individuals who have made a positive impact on the lives of people throughout the great state of Texas.