To Replace Prized Principal, Fairfax Looking All Over
By Maria Glod
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, February 17, 2006; Page B02
Fairfax County school officials are launching a nationwide search to replace a respected principal who transformed one of the district's most diverse and troubled high schools into an academic success.
Mel Riddile, 55, who headed J.E.B. Stuart High School in Fairfax, surprised school officials this week when he announced that he will retire and become principal of Alexandria's T.C. Williams High School. Riddile will stay at Stuart until the end of the school year in June.
As in any search for a principal in Fairfax, parents and teachers will offer input on what type of person they think should lead the school, and the position will be announced online and in education publications. But Stuart's prominence on the national stage will be on the minds of officials as they search for Riddile's successor.
"It's a high-profile school because of its success," School Board member Phillip A. Niedzielski-Eichner said of Stuart. "We're going to want to pay close attention to whoever steps in to make sure they can continue that success."
During his nine-year career at Stuart, where about 50 percent of students are from poor families and a little more than 40 percent are immigrants learning English, Riddile instituted mandatory after-school tutoring and started a program that automatically places wake-up calls to chronically tardy students. About 30 percent of the school's 1,500 students attend summer school.
Riddile, who recently was named principal of the year by MetLife and the National Association of Secondary School Principals, has been credited with reducing absenteeism and improving test scores. In 1998, only 65 percent of juniors at Stuart passed the English portion of Virginia's Standards of Learning test. In 2004, 94 percent passed. The school's SAT scores climbed more than 100 points in the past five years. Last year, President Bush delivered a speech at Stuart about the federal No Child Left Behind Act, saying he had selected the school because of its academic turnaround.
John Ponton, Annandale High School principal and a former social studies teacher at Stuart, said that before Riddile arrived in 1997, teachers spent a lot of energy just trying to minimize disciplinary problems.
"We were just trying to keep a lid on the school from a behavioral perspective," Ponton said. "When he arrived he had a real mess on his hands."
Ponton, who went on to work as assistant principal under Riddile, said Riddile's success came from collaborating with teachers, administrators and the community. "There's a culture at that school of 'You work as a team,' " Ponton said. "Like Mel always said, 'We're in it together.' "
Riddile said that at T.C. Williams he will continue to focus on literacy and will support the school's program to issue a laptop computer to each student. He will replace longtime principal John Porter, who will serve as the assistant superintendent of public affairs for Alexandria schools.
Niedzielski-Eichner said Riddile's focus on building a strong staff at Stuart will help to ensure that students there continue to do well. "One of his real strengths as a leader is that he has tried to fill the pipeline with capable people who cannot only fill in behind him but also step up in other leadership roles in the county," Niedzielski-Eichner said.
John English, a Fairfax schools assistant superintendent, said that in coming weeks, parents, teachers and others will be asked for input on Riddile's replacement. "We ask not who they want but what kind of leader do they want."
English said the traits and qualifications highlighted in those meetings will be used by a panel of parents, teachers and a student that will interview candidates. English will then interview finalists and choose the new principal.
