T.C. Williams High School Principal Mel Riddile is stepping down at the end of June to take a position with the National Association of Secondary School Principals. 
 
Riddile, named the 2006 MetLife-NASSP High School Principal of the Year, will serve as Distinguished Principal for Secondary School Reform. 

“I feel honored to have served as Principal at T.C. Williams High School during the transition and opening of the new building and I have enjoyed working with the teachers and administrators to continue T.C.’s tradition of excellence and to help establish the foundation for a bright future for all students,” Riddile said in a statement.  “Working with the Association of Secondary School Principals is an opportunity to be involved in the restructuring of secondary education on a broader scale that will affect high school students across the country.”

Riddile’s two-year tenure at T.C. Williams  was marked by the opening of a new, $100 million state-of-the-art facility, the implementation of a new secondary literacy initiative, the restructuring of programs for second-language learners and the wide-spread integration of instructional technology.

In a statement, ACPS said it will immediately begin the search process for a new principal.