Sunrise Valley ES Hires New Principal

Sunrise Valley Elementary School has a new principal.

Kevin West of George Mason Elementary School in Alexandria will take over beginning July 1, Fairfax County Public Schools Cluster 8 Superintendent Fabio Zuluaga said in an e-mail to SVES parents.

Tim Stanley, a retired FCPS administrator, had been serving as the school’s interim principal for 2013-14 after former principal Beth English retired last year.

From Zuluaga:

It gives me great pleasure to inform you that Mr. Kevin West has been selected as principal of Sunrise Valley Elementary School beginning July 1^st 2014. Mr. West comes to us from the City of Alexandria, where he is currently the principal of George Mason Elementary School and where he served with distinction.

Mr. West brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the principalship. Under his leadership, his current school earned a three-year waiver from annual accreditation due to “achievement of SOL passing rates of 95% or higher in all four tested SOL content areas for two consecutive years” — only 5% of schools in the state earned this waiver.

His school also received the Virginia Board of Education Excellence Award for advanced learning and achievement, and was recognized as “Best Elementary School” in Northern Virginia Magazine. In Alexandria, Mr. West served as the Lead Principal for Curriculum and Instruction for the city’s schools.

Mr. West began his career in the Fairfax County Public Schools, serving as a 5^thgrade teacher at Crossfield Elementary School and 8^th grade social studies teacher at Robinson Secondary School.

In 2004 he moved to Arizona where he taught, served as an instructional and technology coach and instruction specialist. In 2005, Mr. West was promoted to assistant principal and then principal of Canyon Ridge School. Canyon Ridge is the division’s Math, Science & Technology Concept School and also includes the District Gifted Program. Under Mr. West’s leadership Canyon Ridge emphasized 21^st century learning and instructional innovation, including problem-based learning, content and technology integration across all grade levels. Mr. West was recognized as a “Visionary Administrator” at Canyon Ridge.

Mr. West earned his B.S. at James Madison University, his Masters of Education at Marymount University, and his Certificate in Ed. Administration at Arizona State University West.

Photo:  Kevin West (right) and George Mason ES student/Credit: ACPS