River Hill High the only school in U.S. to win exclusive national award for athletics program
On the heels of securing its third straight People Tree Cup, which recognizes overall excellence in interscholastic athletics among Howard County high schools every year, River Hill received an even greater honor in July.
For the first time in school history River Hill was named a 2020 recipient of the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association Quality Program Award at the Exemplary Level. The award is designed to “recognize and commend excellence in the implementation and administration of outstanding high school athletic programs.”
River Hill is the first Howard County program to receive the award on its own since the county’s 12 public schools, as a collaborative group, were recognized with the award in 2012.
“The NIAA embraces local school innovation and vision that makes use of suggested best practices in high school athletic programs,” the NIAA wrote in a letter to River Hill principal Kathryn McKinley on July 17. “The River Hill High School athletic programs, its athletic director, principal, superintendent, and school board truly deserve to be congratulated and recognized for implementing and supporting an outstanding athletic program and a commitment to continuous improvement.”
