Teachers Group Names Fairfax Principals of the Year

As teachers handed out end-of-the-year awards to students this month, some educators also took time to honor the accomplishments of principals.

For nine years, the Fairfax County Federation of Teachers' Principal of the Year Awards have given FCPS employees the opportunity to rate their superiors through a survey administered between April and May.

“A good principal sets the tone for employee morale and accomplishment,” said FCFT President Steve Greenburg in an email.  “Those who respect their staffs, and encourage their professional voice and autonomy rate most highly. There is little as important as a good principal. They provide the support to staff that then allows them to improve student achievement.”

Principals are evaluated anonymously by their employees on how well they support their staff, whether they build morale, how they handle disciplinary decisions, whether they help build positive relationships with parents and the community, and more.

Jeff Yost, principal at W.T. Woodson High School in Fairfax, received an award for the third consecutive year.

“It’s a wonderful compliment,” said Yost, whose employees surprised him with the award at their last faculty meeting.

Yost came to Woodson as a math teacher in 1999. He was appointed assistant principal in 2003 and took over as principal in 2007.

Yost said he approached his job by always pursuing “win-win situations,” whether it be with students, faculty, parents or the administration.

“I try to make sure that I honor their time, that I respect what their comments are,” he said. “I try to actively listen to what they’re saying.”

Although he was sad another school year was ending, Yost was excited to have new faces coming through the doors at the end of the summer.

“For me to feel that a fair number of my folks support me and the work we’re doing here at Woodson is awesome,” he said.

School Board Member Ryan McElveen said the awards were a great opportunity for FCPS employees to honor their principals.

“It's great to award our educators in as many venues as possible,” he said in an email. “Although we do so at the county level, in a county with as many schools as Fairfax it helps to have groups like FCFT that can reach out to teachers and school staff and directly gauge their input on our principals, and then recognize them accordingly."

Award Recipients

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