At the age of 37, Ryan Richardson was named the new principal of White Oaks Elementary School in Burke on July 1. The school is projected to have 790 students and a staff of 75 in September.
White Oaks’ demographic makeup is 50 percent white, 22 percent Asian, 7 percent black, 15 percent Hispanic, and 6 percent other. To those statistics, he says: “We get to celebrate our diversity and really that’s what makes a school community work well,” he said.
His goal is to build a strong, collaborative environment where students are successful and there’s lots of parental involvement. “My strength is in building relationships and I really want to build partnerships with our parents,” he said. “And that means becoming an active and visible part of the school community.”
The energetic and outgoing Manassas resident sees his youth as both an asset and a hindrance to the job. “I bring an efficient kind of energy,” he said. “But I have to prove myself more in some situations.”
Principal Barbara Messinger, who worked with Ryan as her assistant principal and security and safety specialist, calls him a terrific leader. “At Canterbury Woods, we used ‘responsive classrooms,’ and he helped us reduce significantly the number of student referrals to the office,” she said. “He took time to interview the child, talk to the parents, to really work with them. The disciplines kind of went away.”
Richardson’s personal passion is math; he helped develop some strategies and instructional materials that challenge children in the subject. “He did staff development with the teachers to improve their strategies and help improve the students’ math scores,” said Messinger.
Scott Dreier was the technology support specialist at Canterbury Woods. He says Richardson is rather straightforward with a sense of humor. He recalls one Storybook Character Day when the duo performed a Blues Brothers skit that was broadcast on closed circuit TV. “It was entertaining for the kids but most of them had no idea who we were,” he said.
Jessica Statz has known Ryan since they went to Virginia Tech for grad school. “Ryan is a great role model for young men,” said Statz, assistant principal of Langley High School, referring to the female-dominated profession. “He has a passion for helping students achieve. He really wants what’s best for kids.” “Richardson graduated from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania where he majored in elementary education. He received a master’s in educational leadership and policy studies from Virginia Tech in 2008. He started his career as a sixth grade teacher at Fort Belvoir Elementary. He then taught fourth grade at Hybla Valley and sixth grade AAP at Greenbriar West. He moved into the county’s central office and worked as the advanced academic program specialist in instructional services for three years. Then he became assistant principal at Canterbury Woods for five years. He is married to wife Martha and they have a son, Gavin, age 2 1/2.