Bovina Elementary Principal Miki Ginn has been named the Vicksburg Warren School District’s Administrator of the Year.

Fifth-grader Kathryn Wong said she wasn’t surprised her principal earned the award.

“She really talks to us, and she’s interactive with us,” she said. “She’s always really nice to me, and I’ve always loved her. She believes in me.”

Ginn, a two-time Administrator of the Year award recipient, previously received the Governor’s Award of Distinction, completed Vicksburg-Warren Chamber of Commerce’s Leadership Vicksburg and helped make Bovina one of the first Lighthouse Schools in the state.

Another of Ginn’s accomplishments after nearly 20 years in education was reopening Bovina Elementary in 2008.

“It’s a unique experience,” she said. “Not everybody has the opportunity to reopen a school. There was a lot of excitement and enthusiasm around reopening a school that nobody wanted to be closed in the first place. That kind of propelled us because everybody was so excited.”

Ginn said she ordered everything from the paper clips to the larger items needed to run a school.

“It’s been a once in a lifetime experience,” she said. “I got to shape my own staff and bring my own people in.”

Ginn added that staff is what has helped make Bovina such a success.

“I try to hire the best people who have great value systems and are driven on their own,” she said. “They’re the ones who make me look good. I just try to make sure I’ve got the right people in the right places and let them do their thing.”

Fifth grade math and science teacher Shawn Lee said Ginn has great leadership skills.

“She really knows the curriculum, and she’s very involved in our classrooms,” she said. “She’s also really built a great school community.”

Lee said Ginn truly cares about the Bovina community.

“We’re greeted every morning at the door as the kids are coming in,” she said. “Every morning, she greets them with a smile.”

Ginn said it was an honor to win the award and added it could have gone to anybody because the district has such a great team of administrators.

“Anytime you’re nominated by your peers for an award, that’s always something to be proud of,” she said.

“We have such a great team of administrators in the district that it really makes it an absolute honor to be named Administrator of the Year.”