Wow. I honestly thought this letter was satire made by a parent, but it really was from Dr. Floyd and is posted publicly on Woodson's weekly newsletter. Very unprofessional and not okay. I understand about being candid and transparent, but there are certain things you don't say and make obvious. Ten years ago, a letter like that would have gotten her moved out and out of sight. Nowadays principals get away with anything. I agree with the comment about if a teacher did this instead. They would be fired in a heartbeat never heard from again. It's not fair.

The letter is candid and offers an appropriate tip for future admins. It is a wake-up call for parents that think it’s an easy job.

Salary of <200K to deal with 5000 parents/family members + 300 staff is no longer of value to this principal.

People usually get wiser about how they spend their time as they get older.

oh the terrible grace thing again. I thought we were done with the phrase.

Anonymous wrote:That letter lays it on pretty thick how she feels about the pressure of admin.

Yep. If a teacher wrote a farewell message like that from their school issued account, they'd probably be blacklisted from surrounding counties.

Anonymous wrote:That letter lays it on pretty thick how she feels about the pressure of admin.

+1 it’s not appropriate

That letter lays it on pretty thick how she feels about the pressure of admin.

Congratulations, Carlyn!

Military officers double dip all the time and no one complains.....

Message from Dr. Floyd
Dear Woodson Community:

My 8+ years at Woodson have been a wonderful ride full of fun, excitement, challenges, joy, and accomplishments. Being a principal is by far the best job in the world, but it has also been the most stressful, exhausting, and at times, painful job in the world.

A wise person once said, you have to know when it is time to go. For my mental and physical health, now is that time. Some may ask why now? Why at the beginning of the school year? The answer is I have laid the foundation and framework for a successful year. Woodson is fully staffed, and students are in classes learning. Passing the torch with a plan already in place will allow for a smooth transition to the new principal.

Thankfully, I can leave FCPS and move to a new job in a neighboring county where I will continue to impact students and staff, but in a very different way. I will be filling a central office role that supports student discipline, rights, and responsibilities. As sad as I am to leave the people, I will not miss the heaviness that comes with shouldering the responsibility of over 2,400 students and 300 staff. I am excited to begin this next adventure.

I am confident FCPS Leadership will identify a new principal who can take Woodson HS to the next level. I trust that they will find someone who will love Woodson’s unique culture and amazing activities as much as I do, but also be willing to work to shore up areas that need improvement.

In the meantime, I ask our community to bring back the grace extended to staff during the pandemic when they learned new technology and tried to reach our students in new ways. Our staff are doing the best that they can. They truly care for each and every one of our students. We want the best for our young Cavaliers. Through my experience at Woodson, I can confidently say no one is out to “get” anyone and we hold our students accountable to high expectations of academic and social behavior. When we reach out, please know it comes from a place of care and concern from one human to another. This is a difficult time in which we live, and I encourage all to support one another as we all help our students grow to be positive, productive members of society.

My last day will be Wednesday, September 13th at which point Mr. Kevin Greata, assistant principal at Fairfax HS, will serve as the interim principal. He did an excellent job last school year when he served as acting principal in my absence.

Woodson will forever hold a special place in my heart.

Go Cavs,
Dr. Floyd

Anonymous wrote:The follow up note from the principal today was odd and unneeded. She seems very much over it. Fine, but no need to share. That’s all.

please post.

The follow up note from the principal today was odd and unneeded. She seems very much over it. Fine, but no need to share. That’s all.

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Anonymous wrote:All I know is that a roughly 45 year-old principal used the word 'retire' in her resignation letter. Seems ridiculous to me.

Do you know she’s 45? If she started at 22 as a teacher, she’s probably 47/48 and just hit 25 years.

She said she graduated from FCPS in 1996.

So 18 in 1996 plus 27 years is 45.

I read that to read that she started her career with FCPS AND she was also an alumnus. I find it hard to believe that she got her bachelors and doctorate while working full-time with FCPS.

The letter said she began as an IA in 1996 so she has been working for FCPS for 27 years and is likely in her fifties.

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Anonymous wrote:All I know is that a roughly 45 year-old principal used the word 'retire' in her resignation letter. Seems ridiculous to me.

Do you know she’s 45? If she started at 22 as a teacher, she’s probably 47/48 and just hit 25 years.

She said she graduated from FCPS in 1996.

So 18 in 1996 plus 27 years is 45.

I read that to read that she started her career with FCPS AND she was also an alumnus. I find it hard to believe that she got her bachelors and doctorate while working full-time with FCPS.

Doesn’t matter then- she got her 25.

Admin are DONE. They are leaving ASAP.

It’s a great example of why FCPS is foolish to offer a separate pension. They’re getting taken advantage of by these people. They’ve authorized a raise and salary extension for administrative. Hope that helps with retention.

This plan went away in 2000. If you think FCPS just started offering this retirement plan to people in their late 40s/early 50s, you don’t know very much about anything.

And you’re actually suggesting that FCPS shouldn’t offer a decent retirement and that teachers and admin should be stuck with just the state retirement system??? Go pound sand. Again, you don’t seem to be a deep thinker.

You didn’t seem to understand anything I wrote. Obviously this plan wasn’t offered when people were in their 40s and 50s. It clearly wasn’t a smart choice since people are collecting retirement and a full salary from elsewhere.

And FCPS still offers ERFC which none of the neighboring systems offer. They shouldn’t be offering this extra pension since people aren’t staying loyal to the district. Why should FCPS offer something no one else is offering?

To attract employees, that’s pretty obvious.

What’s obvious is that it’s counterproductive.

You don’t think it attracts prospective employees?

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All I know is that a roughly 45 year-old principal used the word 'retire' in her resignation letter. Seems ridiculous to me.

Do you know she’s 45? If she started at 22 as a teacher, she’s probably 47/48 and just hit 25 years.

She said she graduated from FCPS in 1996.

So 18 in 1996 plus 27 years is 45.

I read that to read that she started her career with FCPS AND she was also an alumnus. I find it hard to believe that she got her bachelors and doctorate while working full-time with FCPS.

Doesn’t matter then- she got her 25.

Admin are DONE. They are leaving ASAP.

It’s a great example of why FCPS is foolish to offer a separate pension. They’re getting taken advantage of by these people. They’ve authorized a raise and salary extension for administrative. Hope that helps with retention.

This plan went away in 2000. If you think FCPS just started offering this retirement plan to people in their late 40s/early 50s, you don’t know very much about anything.

And you’re actually suggesting that FCPS shouldn’t offer a decent retirement and that teachers and admin should be stuck with just the state retirement system??? Go pound sand. Again, you don’t seem to be a deep thinker.

You didn’t seem to understand anything I wrote. Obviously this plan wasn’t offered when people were in their 40s and 50s. It clearly wasn’t a smart choice since people are collecting retirement and a full salary from elsewhere.

And FCPS still offers ERFC which none of the neighboring systems offer. They shouldn’t be offering this extra pension since people aren’t staying loyal to the district. Why should FCPS offer something no one else is offering?

To attract employees, that’s pretty obvious.

What’s obvious is that it’s counterproductive.

Anonymous wrote:LOTS of school staff get their doctorates while working full time. Some of them do it while having babies, caring for aging parents and more.

True, but my comment was about getting her undergrad AND doctorate while working, which is less common.