Orange High School Principal Jason Johnson was recently named the 2026 National Principal of the Year, adding another accolade to his growing number of recognitions for his work with the school. Johnson first led OHS from 2012-2016, returning as principal in 2021. He was named the Wells Fargo North Carolina Principal of the Year last year and is also a two-time Orange County Principal of the Year.
Johnson joined 97.9 The Hill’s Andrew Stuckey last week to discuss what it was like to receive the national recognition in Washington D.C., as well as reflect on the work that earned him the award. You can read that conversation, which has been lightly edited for clarity, below, or you can listen by clicking here.
Andrew Stuckey: First of all, congratulations. What was that like getting that news?
Jason Johnson: A little heart stopping. The award ceremony was in Washington D.C. My wife was there, so when they started reading the description, she knew it was me, but I guess I was just a little bit in la la land because I didn’t realize it was me. But it was an awesome feeling. We were in a room of about 500 people and just hearing them applaud me was something special. As well as people in Orange County, they were watching online, and they’re calling me and they’re texting me. And people just in North Carolina in general that I know were calling and texting me while I’m still on the stage giving the acceptance speech.
Stuckey: That’s pretty fun. Did you take a half-hour later to start answering people after everything had calmed down?
Johnson: No, actually. We finished up the award ceremony, and me and my wife ran back to [our] room. We did our little happy dance, and then we changed our clothes real quick and said, ‘Hey, let’s go just take a walk.’ Then later on that night I slowly started responding to people. But it was just like, ‘Let’s just get out this environment and let’s talk about it and just celebrate between me and you.’
Stuckey: Let’s back up a little bit. The last time you were on this show, you were the [North Carolina] Principal of the Year. Fill folks in on your backstory a little bit, because it’s pretty compelling, being the principal and then being away for a while and coming back and then winning the award. Walk us through that.
Johnson: I started my teaching career pretty closely in Chatham County. I only taught for four years. I spent one year teaching in Guilford County, but then my first job was in Orange County as an administrator, as assistant principal at A.L. Stanback [Middle School]. Then I got a wonderful opportunity to work at a school in Greensboro as a principal, and then I came back to Orange County and I opened up [the new] Gravelly Hill Middle School. That was a complete joy. I love Gravelly Hill, and I love A.L. Stanback. After I left Gravelly, I went to the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction as a school transformation coach, and that’s when — after one year — I got an opportunity to be the principal at Orange High School. I went to the central office for five years, and then I made the decision to come back to Orange High School. And obviously it’s the best decision I’ve made professionally. What went into making that decision? I missed the staff. I missed the students. I missed Friday night football. I missed the games. I missed Orange High.
Jason Johnson (left) speaking with 97.9 The Hill’s Andrew Stuckey on August 3. (Photo by Andrew Stuckey/Chapel Hill Media Group.)
Stuckey: I spent 15 years as a high school teacher and I had several principals during that time of varying degrees of effectiveness. I also had a lot of people asking me if that was a track that I wanted to go on. And I did not want to go on that track at all because the challenges presented by being a building principal are a different scale, a different level, and in a lot of ways, it’s stuff that I liked least about education. There’s a degree of discipline. There’s a bunch of paperwork. What is it about being a principal and leading a building that you like?
Johnson: Putting all the pieces together in terms of ensuring students are safe, ensuring that students are learning, but also ensuring the adults [are] growing as teachers and they’re growing as leaders. Also bringing the community together. Orange High School is one community. I also enjoy the challenges. I enjoy the hard times. Sometimes I have to make tough staffing decisions. Sometimes I have to make tough student decisions. I just love everything about being a principal.
Stuckey: You got pretty emotional when you were kind of listing those things that you missed about that community and what drew you back. Obviously we can talk about the numerous awards and fill in a lot of blanks for people. I feel like you strike me as somebody who is very willing to accept hose accolades because you feel like the work has been done. What is that work? What are you most proud of at Orange High School?
Johnson: I’m proud of everything at Orange High School. I’m proud of the students. I’m proud of the work that they put in day in and day out. I’m proud that they have Panther Pride. I’m also proud of the staff. Coming out of COVID was very difficult, but they hung in there with me. I have a very loyal staff. And I have a staff [that is] willing to learn, willing to grow. So with the staff and the students I have and the community that’s supporting me, it’s very easy for me to jump in the morning, get out of bed, and go to work. And I live three minutes from the school, so that makes it even more great because now I’m a part of the community.
Stuckey: Do you feel that on a daily basis? Are you interacting with people that you know from the schools just out in the community since you’re right there next to the school?
Johnson: I love interacting in the community, but what a lot of community members don’t know is oftentimes, whether you’re administrator or a teacher, living in the community brings about different challenges, right? Because you like to hang out, and not necessarily around your students or whatnot. When I decided to come back to Orange High School, my wife [and I were] living in Whitsett, which is about 30 minutes from Orange High School. She said, ‘The only way you [can] go back to Orange is if you’re living in the community, because you can’t do the 30-minute drive because you’re old. And you’re going to get tired, and the Friday nights get long.’ So living in the community has been a huge benefit, and I love seeing the kids out. It’s interesting when I see them in the gym. I caught some kids one day playing football in Food Lion, so that was pretty interesting, so that just gave me another, another reason to yell at them.
Stuckey: Walk me through this time of year for a principal. It’s kind of a weird moment in the year academically where I feel like the staff has that month of July where the administrative staff have made that pivot and you’re going into the next year where maybe a lot of the rest of the staff is kind of still on summer mode. And now August hits and everybody’s starting to come back. So where are we for Orange High School? What are you looking forward to at this point?
Johnson: At Orange, we’re in a really good spot. We’re staffed up, meaning everybody’s hired. I’s a lot of excitement. Just coming to this interview today, I was pulled from a meeting about this upcoming school year, especially talking with my APs, and we were working on student communication and parent communication that is going to go out. But right now, Orange High School is just buzzing. The band is in the lobby playing, all the athletic teams are back. So it’s just a lot of excitement.
Stuckey: I know that we’re in a challenging time for schools. [To] simplify it wildly, the budget is a big challenge for every school. If you could snap your fingers and be able to use a magic batch of money for something at Orange High School, what would it be? What do you feel like the biggest pressing need is at the moment?
Johnson: If I could snap my finger for anything and use a bucket of money, it would be to pay my staff more. Ensure that my staff are not working two or three jobs to make ends meet. I do have teachers at Orange High School and teachers across the state of North Carolina who are working multiple jobs. But if we expect our kids to get a great education, we have to ensure that our staff members are working one job that will enable them to give the kids the best education possible because part of education is all about giving students feedback. Do your teachers really have time to give feedback and plan for lessons when they’re working two or three jobs? So I would definitely pay not just Orange High School staff more money, but teachers across the state. And when I say teachers, I’m including bus drivers, I’m including office staff, I’m including everyone that’s working in the school system.
Stuckey: Is there anyone you want to shout out?
Johnson: I got to shout out my family; my wife, Heather; my son, Jason; my daughter, Addison; my other daughter, Ava; and my baby daughter, Aiden, who we affectionately call Sissy. I also want to shout out the office staff at Orange High School for always taking care of me and ensuring I’m in places on time, like getting to this interview on time. I also want to shout out the teachers and students at Orange High School. Thank you for Panther Pride and thank you for making Orange High School the place that it deserves to be. And I would also like to shout out Dr. Danielle Jones. Thank you for being our fearless leader of Orange County Schools.
Featured image via Orange County Schools.
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