Dominion Trail Elementary School in Ashburn is one of the many Loudoun schools experiencing a change in administrators this semester, but, come next week, will be the only one facing a familiar face. As Principal Sharon Keegan-Coppels leaves to take over as principal of the new Sycolin Creek Elementary School in Leesburg, Dominion Trail Assistant Principal Susan Mabee will become the school's new leader.
"I am very much a part of the community here," Mabee said about staying at the school she has worked at for six and a half years. "I know the parents well, I know the students. It feels like home and I think I have a good foundation where I can move forward."
HAVING MABEE move down the hall to become the new principal has made leaving to open a new school easier for Keegan-Coppels.
"[The schools] interviewed a number of people and she was the best person for the job," she said. "I know Susan is going to be wonderful. I am confident in walking away that I am leaving [Dominion Trail] in good hands."
Mabee's new position has also been a positive for parents and members of the school's Parent Teacher Association, Kay Rook, the PTA's president, said.
"I think we were all rooting for her to get the job," Rook said. "We're behind her 100 percent and I think she's behind us 100 percent."
Staying a part of the community that she lives in and works was very important to Mabee when considering a move to becoming principal.
"If I had to move schools I would miss the students so much," she said.
MABEE'S ROAD TO Dominion Trail had her crossing the country from her home state of California, where she began her teaching career. She received her undergraduate and her first master's degree from Humboldt University in California, in speech and hearing, and speech pathology, respectively.
"I have always worked in the school system," Mabee said. "I've worked at all three levels, elementary, middle and high school, but with a solid background in early childhood education."
After working and marrying in California, Mabee and her family moved to Kansas where Mabee worked in the public school system for 13 years. While in Kansas, Mabee got involved with a teacher preparation program for speech pathologists at Wichita State University.
"That's where I first developed a desire to work with teachers," she said. "It's what led me to school administration."
Ten years ago, Mabee and her family moved to Virginia, where she worked in Prince William County and got her second master's degree in administration at George Mason University. While in the Prince William School system, Mabee worked as a summer school principal and as a speech pathologist, before moving to Loudoun and Dominion Trail.
"It's amazing to me how many things I have actually done," she said with a laugh.
LEAVING DOMINION Trail in Mabee's hands was important to Keegan-Coppels, who has been principal at the school since it opened 10 years ago.
"Change is always hard," she said. "I am not as nervous about leaving because I know [Mabee] will be taking over."
When she leaves Dominion Trail at the end of the month, Keegan-Coppels said the hardest part about leaving is not being able to see the faces of her Ashburn students every day.
"This is just such a family atmosphere," she said. "It is going to be really hard to walk away on the last day. I know the parents, I know the students."
Rook said that she knows Dominion Trail has been lucky to have Keegan-Coppels as its principal for so many years.
"We have to consider how fortunate we have been to have her," she said. "But they have worked together for so long that I don't expect many changes. It should be a really smooth transition.
The decision to become principal at Sycolin Creek was the opportunity to open another new school, just as she did with Dominion Trail.
"It is really fun to open a new building," she said. "I am excited to get to know those parents and those students."
The boundaries of Sycolin Creek were contested by parents before they were finally settled, but Keegan-Coppels said she is familiar with the process of boundary changes and the issues it raises for parents.
"Dominion Trail's boundaries changed four years in a row after it opened," she said. "I'm excited to work towards creating the same family atmosphere we have here at my new school."
AS MABEE MOVES up, the assistant principal position will be filled by John Mihalyo, the assistant principal at Little River Elementary School. Mihalyo has been working at Little River for three years. Prior to that he taught U.S. history at Sterling Middle School and was the FUTURA teacher at Horizon Elementary School.
"I saw it as a wonderful opportunity to work with Susan and the Dominion Trail community," Mihalyo, an Ashburn resident, said. "I am really excited to get started."
While Mabee and Mihalyo have not had the chance to meet regularly, as they both prepare to wrap up at their current positions, the two have been e-mailing regularly and are anxious to start working together.
"I think his experience and his personality are a very good fit for this community," Mabee said.
WITH ALL OF the changes coming to Dominion Trail, Mabee and Mihalyo are determined to keep the same successful program at the school that Keegan-Coppels established. In the first couple of months, Mabee plans to immerse herself in the classrooms to fully examine the school's instructional programs.
"Once I do that the biggest challenge is finding the balance between stewardship [of the existing programs] and innovation because I do bring a different skill set to the table," she said.
Mabee and Mihalyo also believe it is important for parents to know they have the students' best interests at heart as the school moves forward.
"I am always there for the kids," Mihalyo said. "All decisions I make are based on how this is going to impact this kid. I put myself in the role of the parent, looking at situations from all possible angles."
Mabee, a mother herself, said parents should feel comfortable trusting her and Dominion Trail with their children.
"Whenever I have the opportunity to work with a child, I think if this were my child, is this the choice I would make?" she said. "We're a very close knit family here because we have had the continuity of a very strong program in a caring and nurturing environment."