Terraset Elementary principal Carol Bradley sat in the middle of the school gym Saturday afternoon, surrounded by parents and teachers. Cameras flashed occasionally as Terraset students filed in, grade by grade, taking their place on a metal riser.
Bradley listened as her students sang song after song, wishing their principal farewell. As the students sang, a number of thoughts flashed through Bradley’s mind.
"There was joy, some sadness," Bradley said. "There’s a sense of accomplishment."
AFTER NINE YEARS at the elementary school, Bradley is retiring. She is leaving the school to assistant principal Ellen Cury, who will take over at the beginning of next school year. Cury has been meeting with staff, preparing for the next school year.
"I’m trying to remember all the things I learned from Carol," Cury said. "It’s very difficult to see her go."
Cury mentioned that Bradley has a large collection of socks, and that she will often wear funny socks to school. She has jokingly told the current principal that hers will be "big socks to fill."
"She’s so classy, so professional," Cury said. "She’s so kind to the children. I’ve tried so hard to learn those things from her."
Debi Donable, a parent who has had two children at Terraset, said Bradley has been a champion for the children at the school.
"She has a heart for every child at the school," Donable said.
School librarian Josie Stanmyre said Bradley makes every child at Terraset feel important, and knows all the students by name. First and second grade teacher Margie Henry agreed.
"She quietly comes into the room almost every day," Henry said. "She says, ‘Oh, how’s everybody doing?’"
Susan Farrell, a parent who had three special learning needs children go through the school, said Bradley always made her children feel good about themselves.
"Even outside the school environment," Farrell remembered, "If you would see her at Safeway, she would say, ‘Oh, what a good worker you have here.’"
ACCORDING TO STANMYRE, Bradley worked with children through various volunteer organizations throughout Reston. But Bradley is a humble person, Stanmyre said, and teachers would only find out about those volunteer activities by accident.
"We would find out all the time that, oh, Carol works with Reston Youth Basketball," Stanmyre said.
Long-time Restonian Tom Wilkins, who canceled a business meeting in New York to be at the farewell celebration, said Bradley is "quiet yet effective."
Bradley said she has worked hard to ensure the safety of her students, and to teach them to respect and celebrate diverse cultures. Her philosophy, as an educator, has been to instill a love of learning in her students.
"They couldn’t possibly learn everything," Bradley said. "But I want them to love learning itself."
School Board chairman, and Reston resident, Stuart Gibson mentioned that Bradley lives in the same neighborhood as the school. He hoped that, after Bradley gets a chance to decompress, she will come back to the school to help out here and there.
"It’s tough to see a great principal retire," Gibson said.