CHS Principal Dr. Bowden named National Champion Principal

Canajoharie High School Principal Dr. Donald L. Bowden was named Time Warner Cable’s 2008 National Champion Principal in a surprise high school assembly on Friday, May 16.

Dr. Bowden walked into the Arkell Performing Arts Center to find the entire student body cheering and representatives from Time Warner Cable, Assemblyman George Amadore, Marilyn Crouse of Senator Hugh Farley's office, School Superintendent Richard Rose, and Canajoharie teacher Dolores Talmadge onstage.

The event acknowledged Dr. Bowden's leadership in promoting the use of technology in school. He championed the use of computers, Internet access, whiteboards, LCD projectors, scanners, and specialized software to reach students with different academic abilities and from varied backgrounds. Not only did he promote the use of technology, he continually sought out various programs and grants to purchase equipment and materials at no cost to the local taxpayers. True to form, Dr. Bowden's award provides the district with a $5,000 technology grant. He will also be honored during the company’s 19th Annual National Teacher Awards event on June 3, in Washington, D.C., along with teachers who developed winning classroom projects selected for this year’s Awards.

Assemblyman praised Dr. Bowden's accomplishments and encouraged students to take advantage of the opportunity made available through technology. Ms. Crouse read a proclamation from the state legislature acknowledging Dr. Bowden's work. Ms. Talmadge offered the teacher's perspective saying that Dr. Bowden worked tirelessly to get the best teaching tools into the hands of the faculty.

"Dr. Bowden's resourcefulness and ingenuity are unmatched in his attempts to place the very latest technology at the fingertips of students and teachers. His leadership has resulted in a high school where students have every opportunity to succeed and teachers have the tools to inspire and motivate," said Canajoharie School District Superintendent Richard Rose.

Time Warner Cable’s National Teacher Awards and the Champion Principal Award are pillars of the company’s community service and educational commitment. What began as an initiative to connect schools in its coverage areas to cable and provide commercial-free educational programming to those schools has grown to keep pace with changes in education and technology. Teacher training, supplemental materials and curriculum-specific lesson plans are now included, all at no charge as a public service. (watch the Channel 9 news feature)