|  | | MESPA Home > Honors > MESPA Division Leadership Award > 2008 Awards |  | Jim Litwin, St. Paul Division
 | | Jim Litwin, principal of Horace Mann Elementary School, Saint Paul School District (ISD #625) |
Jim Litwin was nominated for the St. Paul MESPA Division Leadership Achievement Award by his peers. In making the nomination, James Eaton, principal of Monroe Community School in Saint Paul, said, “Jim is a compassionate leader and demonstrates a strong desire to act in response to the wrongs experienced by others. He is a ‘by the book kind of guy’ and manages to build positive relationships and hold true to his ethical being.” Eaton continued, “Jim has helped mentor/groom the assistant principals with whom he has worked. He passed on the importance of family to his assistant principals, while simultaneously instilling in them systems-thinking and thoroughness. Jim has been given the name ‘Superman’ by the assistant principals working under him.”
According to Litwin, the following quote by Margaret Mead sums up his educational philosophy: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” When asked what the three most significant accomplishments of his career are, Litwin said that initiating school restructuring at Webster Magnet School in Saint Paul and leading the effort to make adequate yearly progress (AYP) there count high on his list. He also included as significant accomplishments completing his master’s and educational specialist degrees while teaching and performing duties as an administrator. Another highlight of his career came in 2002 when a former student, now a senior in high school, chose Litwin as his “most influential teacher” as part of the student’s recognition by the National Honor Society.
Past honors and recognition received by Litwin include being chosen to: be the Saint Paul Leadership Fellow in 2001; and to represent his Saint Paul colleagues in 2004 at the National Principals’ Leadership Institute at Fordham University in New York. He has been the Saint Paul representative to MESPA’s Membership Committee from 2003 to the present; during this time, Litwin helped to streamline the membership application process, which helped Saint Paul have one of the highest percentages of members in the state.
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