Darrin Hartness, the superintendent of the Mount Airy School System, was recently named the 2009 Outstanding Young Educator for the North Carolina Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

It is an honor that is well deserved.

Hartness is no stranger to most people in the community. He is often out and about, meeting with local groups, talking about his school system and the students there. He is almost always positive and upbeat about what is going on in the city schools, and that is an attitude his staff shares. Teachers, other administrators, they all seem to enjoy their work under Hartness.

Since coming to the city school system, he has encouraged those working for him to be innovative, to not necessarily stick with the status quo, to be willing to go the extra mile.

Hartness does not do this for awards or to curry favor with the public, however. Ask anyone who works with him and they will tell you he wants to see the students coming through the Mount Airy school system be successful. Everything he wants his teachers to do, each activity and program they take on, has that one goal — to help the students achieve success.

It is good, however, to see that level of dedication recognized and rewarded, and we congratulate Dr. Hartness on being recognized for his work.