Nine Fayette County principals are set to begin a year-long executive level leadership training course usually reserved for the nation’s top CEOs. The principals were selected in March to participate in the Kentucky Chamber Foundation’s Leadership Institute for School Principals by an advisory board made up of business leaders and school superintendents.

Among those selected is Hamburg’s newest principal, Lester Diaz, Frederick Douglass High School. Diaz says, “I am really looking forward to the learning and growing that will take place during the Leadership Institute for School Principals program. I am very excited about the impact this training may have on the students and staff at Douglass High School.”

Elementary, middle and high school principals from across Kentucky representing both public and private schools applied for the institute, which is supported by donations from businesses across the state. So far, more than $2.5 million has been spent on over 300 principals from 74 Kentucky counties since the program began in 2011.

“We are proud of the fact that Kentucky is the only state in which the business community has made this kind of investment in its principals,” said Chamber President and CEO Dave Adkisson. “Employers understand the positive impact of strong leadership in the workplace, and the same is true of schools. That’s why we think it is important Kentucky principals be given executive-level training similar to that provided for corporate leaders.”