WESTFIELD — Westfield Academy and Central School Principal Ivana Hite received a prestigious award and thought nothing of it.

The WACS middle and high school principal was named the School Administrators Association of New York State (SAANYS) High School Principal of the Year for Region 12, which covers Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie, Genesee, Niagara, Orleans, and Wyoming counties.

However, Hite, who has served at WACS for 32 years, in various positions, from French and Spanish teacher, to dean of students, to principal, said she did not realize how important this award is. “I did not know how huge this was. I just thought , okay, it’s a nice award,” Hite said. “I just like doing my job, so I didn’t think anything of this.”

Hite was nominated for the award, which encompasses 140 schools, including the districts of Rochester and Buffalo, by Brocton Principal Liz Antolina. At the awards banquet on May 16 in Cheektowaga, Antolina and WACS Superintendent David Davison, introduced Hite .

Hite said that upon receiving the letter about being selected for the award, she didn’t realize the importance of it. “I found out that it is unusual for someone in Chautauqua County to receive this award,” Hite said. “It is an accolade, not just for me, but for WACS and for Chautauqua County,” she added.

Hite learned that she was expected to make a speech upon receiving the award. “It made me nervous,” she said. “Mary (WACS Elementary Principal Dr. Mary Rockey said: ‘Ivana, just speak from your heart,’ so I just talked about Westfield.”

Hite said that with so many larger schools represented at the award banquet, she emphasized that Westfield is a normal public school doing great things. “I wanted these larger schools to realize that there is a lot of good things going on in my building and I’m proud of that,” she said.

“We graduate anywhere from 55 to 60 kids every year, but we are Middle States accredited, we have the first music educator to win a Grammy award, we have a New York State Master Teacher, and many other distinctions,” Hite said. “And I am fortunate to work with some of the best educators.”

Hite said she talked about the overall role of a principal as being one who oversees academics, manages the budget, deals with discipline issues, cultivates leadership, and just “stays on top of things.” “I thanked WACS for the years of trust, support, and faith.”

Most of all, Hite said, she lauded the personal qualities of the students at Westfield. “I went on to tell them that our kids are kind, they are caring and they are fun to be around,” she said.

Hite said that in the same way that it is said that it takes a “village to raise a child,” it also takes a community to form a good leader. “So it’s not just me,” she said. “I kept the speech away from me and talked about the district.”

Hite said she knows many teachers and administrators can become frustrated with their work, but because of the district, she loves her job.

“I can’t say more about the kids in this building,” she said. “I have the best group of professionals who love their kids. So how can anybody complain about a job like that?”