The National Association of Secondary School Principals has selected two Rutherford County principals as Principal of the year for their respective grade levels.

Stewarts Creek Middle School principal Larry Creasy has been selected from Tennessee as the 2012 Middle Level Principal of the Year, and LaVergne High School principal Dirk Ash has received the same award for the high school level.

Both men are in Arlington, Va., this week representing Rutherford County Schools and Tennessee after being invited to participate in the National Principals Institute along with the top principals from around the country. The Institute will provide the candidates an opportunity to collaborate with other top principals about national issues, specifically focusing on adjustments to Common Core and changes in nationwide assessment.

Creasy has served as the principal of Stewarts Creek since the school opened in 2006 and previously served as an assistant principal at Siegel High School.

Ash has been principal at LaVergne High School for the past three years and served as the principal of LaVergne Middle School when it opened in 2004. Ash was previously named a finalist for the Tennessee Department of Education Middle School Principal of the Year and was awarded the MetLife/NASSP Middle School Principal of the Year in 2010.