The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Middle school principal wins statewide award
Queen attributes Trickum’s success to staff, community.
A Gwinnett County principal has won a statewide honor for the work his students are doing in the classroom and his leadership of the school.
Trickum Middle School Principal Ryan Queen received the Principal of the Year award from the Georgia Association of Secondary School Principals. The organization, Queen’s family and representatives from Gwinnett County Public Schools surprised him with the statewide honor at school last week, according to a district news release.
The award recognizes a principal who excels in community service, developing self and others, educational leadership and resolving complex problems, the release states.
Trickum surpassed district results on the most recent Georgia Milestones exams, with a larger proportion of students scoring proficient or better. It has particularly seen gains in math: From 2019 to 2023, eighth grade math proficiency increased by 31 percentage points.
Queen dedicated the award to his school’s community.
“People ask me all the time what makes Trickum Middle great, and I always say it is the people in the building, the kids in the building,” Queen said. “It is the community. There is no doubt that I am successful because of those folks. The success that Trickum Middle School is going to achieve is because of my staff here. They are the reason why our kids succeed.”
Queen has worked in Gwinnett schools for 26 years and spent the past eight as principal at Lilburn’s Trickum. He’s been a biology teacher at Parkview High School, a local school technology coordinator, assistant principal, curriculum and instruction director, and associate principal.
Superintendent Calvin Watts, a former Trickum principal, called Queen a “leader of leaders” and said, “Trickum Middle has a wellknown reputation for academic success, and it takes a great leader to lead others who are doing this work well to achieve the desired academic results.”
The association honored Trickum in 2019 as one of its Breakout Middle Schools. The Breakout Schools Award identifies, recognizes and showcases Georgia middle schools that are high-achieving or dramatically improving student achievement.
Gwinnett principals have received the secondary school Principal of the Year award three times since 2018. The other winners were former Meadowcreek High School Principal Tommy Welch in 2018 and retired Collins Hill High School Principal Kerensa Wing in 2019.