Janet Funk of Vienna is the Principal of William Halley Elementary School in Burke, and has received numerous awards for her work in education. She is this week's People Profile.
Number of Years in the Community. She has lived in Vienna for 27 years, and has spent the last 10 at William Halley.
Family: Husband Ken, an engineer with SAIC. Her son, Brian, is an engineer at Johns Hopkins University and has three children, Bailey, 8, Cameron, 5, and Carina, 2. Her daughter, Stacie, is a teacher with Fairfax County Public Schools and has a daughter, Lydia, 5.
Education: She received her bachelor of arts degree from California State University in Fresno, and her master of education degree from Virginia Tech.
Current Job: Principal, William Halley Elementary School, Burke.
Awards: Fairfax County Principal of the Year, The Washington Post Distinguished Educational Leadership Award, Virginia Association of Elementary School Principals School Bell Award.
Associations: She is the president of both the Fairfax Association of Elementary School Principals and the Northern Virginia Chapter Phi Delta Kappa.
Activities/interests/hobbies: School-related activities and committees keep her very involved. She enjoys spending time with grandchildren, attending concerts at Wolf Trap and reading. Funk also serves on the preschool board of her church.
Favorite local place: Meadowlark Gardens — "a hidden treasure."
Community concerns: With the increase in gang activity throughout the country, keeping out children safe is a major concern of Funk's. She cites the need to be more vigilant and to provide after-school activities where children are supervised and involved in appropriate activities.
Inspiration: Her father, Henry Heintz. "He was born in Russia and as a member of a large family had to leave school early to go to work and provide financial support. His constant encouragement to achieve and to go to college influenced my entire family. All of his children and grandchildren attended college and most have advanced degrees."
Professional Goal: To continue to provide the kind of environment that will allow and encourage the Halley students to achieve a high level of academic success.
Personal Goal: To exercise more consistently.
Know of someone who should be acknowledged for his or her accomplishments or contributions to the community? Send People Profile nominations to Jon Whiten at vienna@connectionnewspapers.com or call 703-917-6422.