Riverview principal wins national award

Robert Heilman, principal of Hillsborough's Riverview High, has received the 2008 MetLife Foundation Ambassadors in Education Award. The honor, which comes with $5,000, goes to a principal or teacher who finds creative ways to collaborate with the community to improve student education.

"Not only has he built relationships among local businesses and organizations, he and his students are reaching out to local elementary schools and offering tutoring services for younger students in the community who are struggling," J. Vince Thompson, a retired principal who nominated Heilman for the award, said in a news release.

Heilman is not the first Hillsborough principal to receive this recognition. Past recipients include Benito Middle principal Bobby Smith, Plant City High teachers Gary Todd Long and Sherrie Mueller, Young Middle teacher Julia Barnes and Robinson High former principal, the late Kevin McCarthy.