A few late stragglers roamed the Herndon High School hallways after the first bell marked the beginning of the 2008-2009 school year. There to help direct them to their classrooms was Agustin Martinez, the school’s principal, going through his first opening day at Herndon.
"It went superb," said Martinez of the first hour of the first day. He attributed a significant amount of planning on the part of the faculty and administration to make the first day experience as smooth as possible. However, the conventional wisdom that traffic is not as congested while school is out of session was very much true at Herndon on Tuesday morning. Cars carrying students to the school backed up on Bennett Street in all directions and on Dranesville Road past Herndon Parkway.
Martinez said the school has had huge traffic problems for the past two principals. This summer the administration decided on changing some aspects of the kiss and ride routes and student parking lots. "We’ve been working with the [FCPS] Office of Safety and Security to solve the traffic problem," said Martinez. He encouraged the parents dropping off students and the students driving themselves to school to make their way to Herndon a bit earlier than they are used to. He said approximately 1,100 cars enter the school grounds in the 10-minute window before school starts.
Other than traffic concerns at Herndon High School, Martinez said a major goal for the Hornets this academic year is to support the needs of math students in the high school’s pyramid. "We want to make sure the math students in the elementary schools, the middle schools and the high school are getting the support they need," said Martinez.
Another goal is to further develop the professional learning communities at Herndon, a peer learning process for the faculty. "Teachers will be visiting one another in classroom," said Martinez, to learn each other’s methods. Also, teachers teaching the same sections will have the same planning periods so they can share ideas.
In the meantime, Herndon is building up its partnerships in the community. Martinez said the school has initiated several business partnerships, including ones with the Northwest Federal Credit Union and the United Methodist Church. He said such partnerships were of great importance "especially in a budget crunch year."

ANOTHER PRINCIPAL who experienced a quiet opening to the school day was Shane Wolfe at Armstrong Elementary School. The school is located in Reston but is in the Herndon High School pyramid. Armstrong staff was notified last week that it would add about 60 students choosing to place out of McNair Elementary School under the No Child Left Behind terms, but the additional numbers did not disrupt the first day. "We’ve grown by about 125 students over the last two years," said Wolfe. This year’s growth resulted in an additional Kindergarten and First Grade classes as well as a Reading Recovery teacher, to help students catch up to a specific reading level, and a Reading tutor. There is also a school-wide tutor, who will be working with each grade to help students with all subjects.
"I find so much value" in having students read at an appropriate reading level, said Wolfe. The focus on reading is one of prevention. "I’d much rather be proactive and preventative than have to react and try to fix it later," said Wolfe. The additional students at Armstrong, and additional work with those students, was rewarded. Wolfe said a new conference room and a new teachers lounge were added.
Wolfe had also initiated training for the faculty at Armstrong last week. The teachers listened to presentations about a hands-on approach to learning. "We are giving the teachers more tools they can use," said Wolfe.