MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – The Miami-Dade Public Schools Principal of the Year for 2025 has received a brand-new car.
Walter C. Hall, from Leisure City K-8 Center, won the District’s Principal of the Year.
Hall was handed the keys to a Toyota Camry SE sponsored by Headquarter Toyota on Tuesday.
The vehicle, with a three-year lease, was presented to Hall during a ceremony.
According to the District, Hall has been an educator at M-DCPS for two decades.
Hall recently won the 2025 Florida Taxwatch Principal Leadership Award, recognizing him as one of the state’s 15 most successful principals from high-risk K-12 schools, based on school data and the interaction with students and the community.
“Life is about perseverance. This is not a not a short distance. It’s a long-distance run, and you have to have endurance. You don’t give up especially when you’re doing good and you’re doing good to others and if you don’t give up, eventually, you will reap the benefits of that. I believe that this is sort of my reaping my reward and I’m thankful for it,” said Hall.
Hall also received a $2,000 cash prize.
Melissa M. Miller of Frederick Douglass Elementary School was recognized as Assistant Principal of the Year.
According to the District, Miller has been an educator for 14 years. Miller was a teacher and reading coach for eight years before becoming assistant principal at Shadowlawn Elementary School for two years. In 2021, she became an assistant principal at Frederick Douglass Elementary School.
Miller will receive a $1,500 cash prize and a three-to-five-day cruise with an ocean view stateroom courtesy of Royal Caribbean Group.