Best Principal - Shawn DeRose at Annandale HS, formerly principal at Glasgow.

Glasgow is an awful school. It is completely overcrowded, lots of violence, chaos, and there are far too many students with needs (IEP, socioeconomic, and language) but without proper resources to handle it.
He came in and made sweeping changes to help as much as possible given the untenable circumstances the County put him into. He was tasked to then go to Annandale after that (sadly almost every positive reform at Glasgow ended and it is horrific again).

At Annandale, he has started the turnaround. Give him five more years and that school will be a solid middle of the pack school even though it has a good population of FARMS.

What does he do to be a leader? He is PRESENT. So much so we joke that he must have clones. He is at PTO meetings, all the sporting events, he is roaming the halls, and he is talking to parents picking up their kids. He communicates quickly and effectively about anything that happens within Annandale. Lock downs and incidents are quickly communicated and how they were handled.

He has created teacher accountability but promoted a warm working environment. So if you are good at your job, you will love it there. If you are not, you will be worked with or you will move on.

He is a high energy extrovert who promotes his school on social media and has gone viral several times. He is great with faces and names, so every student feels known.

So, yea, he is a great principal.

Anonymous wrote:Teresa Khuluki is a very good principal too. She’s knowledgeable and supportive of her teachers. She has plenty of K-12 experience and many years as a principal. She was at Wolf Trap Elementary for a long time and had been at Thoreau Middle School now for a while. IMO she’s one of the good ones.

We've also been impressed by how responsive Khuluki has been, even to things like random parent emails. She clearly takes her job seriously and has people skills. I've heard good things about her from the teachers, as well.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ideal principal should be someone capable of leading and at least have an academic background. For example, a former gym teacher should not be running the largest feeder middle school for TJ. My son thinks this is hilarious and he and his friends joke about it, but we do not find the humor in it.

Don’t worry. When every middle school has AAP Carson will no longer be the largest feeder school. You’ve been propped up by Franklin kids for years.

When is this happening? Not soon enough I’m sure but please tell me this is real.

Anonymous wrote:Ideal principal should be someone capable of leading and at least have an academic background. For example, a former gym teacher should not be running the largest feeder middle school for TJ. My son thinks this is hilarious and he and his friends joke about it, but we do not find the humor in it.

Don’t worry. When every middle school has AAP Carson will no longer be the largest feeder school. You’ve been propped up by Franklin kids for years.

Ideal principal should be someone capable of leading and at least have an academic background. For example, a former gym teacher should not be running the largest feeder middle school for TJ. My son thinks this is hilarious and he and his friends joke about it, but we do not find the humor in it.

Ok, I’ll also bite. Principal at Franklin Sherman ES is excellent! She is involved with students, staff and parents. lots of school spirit and new initiatives. Attends IEP meetings. Responds to emails quickly.

I found Jesse Kraft to be all the things… He had high expectations, was fair to staff, and knew every student’s name.

Anonymous wrote:The awards are so phony. The front desk staff throws the Principal’s name and AP name into the hat every 2 years. These people look like they win awards because the population of applicants is so slim. The poor teachers have to compete against a much bigger pool of applications.

+1

Teresa Khuluki is a very good principal too. She’s knowledgeable and supportive of her teachers. She has plenty of K-12 experience and many years as a principal. She was at Wolf Trap Elementary for a long time and had been at Thoreau Middle School now for a while. IMO she’s one of the good ones.

Which principals in FCPS do this already?

Anonymous wrote:Principal Lamb works in a school where students with behaviors, or families who cause the school a great deal of grief, can easily be asked to leave.

I’m sure he’s a nice guy, but ask any FCPS principal and they’ll tell you they spend 90% of their days on the toughest 1% of students. Simply not realistic to expect the same level of teacher service that Principal Lamp seems to love putting on display.

And yet simple changes would make a difference.

Any principal can choose to respect teachers’ time. Cancel meetings and simply send emails. Eliminate pointless committees / tasks that only serve to create work for teachers.

Any principal can find a way to be more present. Be in the halls when you aren’t in a meeting.

Performative or not, Lamb presents the image of an admin that is there to support and not merely dictate.

Principal Lamb works in a school where students with behaviors, or families who cause the school a great deal of grief, can easily be asked to leave.

I’m sure he’s a nice guy, but ask any FCPS principal and they’ll tell you they spend 90% of their days on the toughest 1% of students. Simply not realistic to expect the same level of teacher service that Principal Lamp seems to love putting on display.

Anonymous wrote:Another vote for Principal Lamb.

I want a principal who spends more time in the hallway than an office. I want a principal who sees his/her job as a support role, providing teachers with the resources necessary to be the best they can in the classroom. I want a principal who cuts through the piles of nonsense, making meetings into emails in an effort to save precious time for teachers.

That man is a model. Sure, it’s social media… but it’s what I want.

He’s so performative. It’s fake.

Dr Ellen Reilly. Hands down the best principal. One thing that separated her from the pack: she continued to teach (obviously not full time but sections here and there/ online classes etc) so she was never out of touch with how policies/procedures etc impacted teachers because she never stopped being one. She was fully invested in the success of all of her students. She somehow exuded warmth/ approachability/authenticity while simultaneously setting high expectations for her staff, students, admin etc.

We had an FCPS elementary school principal who we really liked - on his first day, he saw my daughter, noticed she was terrified, kneeled down to her level and said "hey, it's my first day, too, and guess what? I'm scared, too" and that really stuck with me. I think it's very important for principals to connect with the kids and families alike.