Principal Chris Choat met with assistant principal Allison Reams in front of the library to tell her that one of her students is acting out of control and he needs her help. She walks into the library worried until she goes around the corner and sees everyone from her past and present celebrating. Overwhelmed with emotions, she starts crying.

Reams was awarded RISD “Secondary Assistant Principal of the Year” by superintendent Tabitha Branum in front of principal Chris Choat, assistant principals, district officials and her husband yesterday in the library.

The “Secondary Assistant Principal of the Year” is chosen through nominations that parents, teachers and administrators make. A committee reviews the nominations for a month and a half before selecting an assistant principal to award.

“Ms. Reams has done so many great things in terms of our instruction here and interventions so she stood out for sure,” Choat said.

Choat found out Reams won two weeks ago and he said it was hard to keeping it a secret because he knows an assistant principal’s job is tough. He can tell when she’s tired and frustrated so he wanted to tell her hard work is paying off.

He told the administrators, instructional coaches and her husband on Wednesday to coordinate a time to surprise her.

“I just text them all and was like, ‘don’t say anything, but here’s the deal’ and so they were able to keep it a secret for 24 hours,” Choat said.

Reams said she had no idea they were giving out the award today or that she was nominated. A couple years ago, she was notified that she had been nominated but this year she didn’t hear anything.

“I was completely caught off guard and surprised,” Reams said.

Assistant principal Pantea Bagheri said it was precious to see her surprised and her husband there to support her.

“It was well deserved,” Bagheri said. “Obviously, we were ecstatic and very excited for her.”

Branum and Choat spoke few words about what it’s like working with Reams and her impact. Reams said it felt very validating to hear them say kind words about her. She’s thankful that she gets to work here everyday.

“Part of what makes this place so special is the people that work here,” Reams said. “The assistant principals and teachers that I work with, we go through highs together, we go through lows together. And we really just come together to try to make this place great for our students.”

Choat said it brings him a lot of pride to see his assistant principal that he hired doing great work and getting recognized for it.

“It brings me a lot of pride to knowing that I had a hand in that, and she’s was obviously a good choice on my part because she’s really good at what she does,” Choat said.

Choat said Ream’s best qualities is her patience and her heart. He’s seen her deal with challenging students and parents while staying composed and professional, which is what it takes to do her job.

“Her patience and compassion is really amazing,” Choat said. “And then she’s getting her job, the instructional side of things and coaching teachers. She’s just really good at that.”

Reams said it’s important to be valued for your work, especially for assistant principals since they work with kids who are having great days but also kids who have bad days.

“It’s really nice to celebrate the work that the assistant principals do, to make sure that schools are safe and that they are providing high quality learning experiences for kids,” Reams said. “And so I love seeing assistant principals, teachers, anyone in schools be celebrated.”

Bagheri said from the two years working with Reams, she sets a good example of all the assistant principals and that she is a true leader and does a great job leading the campus.

“She has a lot of roles, wears a lot of hats, and she does everything so very well,” Bagheri said.

The next step is for Reams to be reviewed by a committee from Region 10 to potentially win regional secondary assistant principal of the year. If she wins, she would move onto state. Choat said since he’s been here, there hasn’t been an administrator whose won state yet.

“She’s amazing, so hopefully she can,” Choat said.

Reams said it would be honor to win regionals or state.

“But my cup is full being honored today, so this is very thoughtful,” Reams said.