The Connection

Springfield — With 16 years in education, Cindy Conley, age 40, of Woodbridge was named the new principal of Irving Middle School in Springfield on Aug. 17, 2016, replacing Danny Little, who retired. She will oversee a school with 1,057 students and about 125 staff members in the West Springfield Pyramid.

According to the school's website, the ethnic breakdown is: 54.6 percent white; 16.4 percent Hispanic; 9.2 percent Black; 13.3 percent Asian; and 6.3 percent other. There are 35.1 percent of students in Advanced Academics - Level IV; 13.7 percent in Special Education; and 14.9 percent on free or reduced meals.

"It's a diverse population; we have students who have a variety of needs who bring in a variety of perspectives," said Conley, who also served as Irving's Assistant Principal for eight years.

The school has a large military population with 183 families who have either an active duty or a reservist in their family. "I think this is important because our students bring diverse perspectives to their learning as they have moved and traveled throughout the country and world," she said.

What's unique about Irving is its German Immersion and STEAM programs (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math) that they incorporated into their advanced academics programs. Incoming students who graduated from Orange Hunt can continue their foreign language by taking German One in seventh grade, and German Two in eighth grade. "Because of our families transferring from a variety of areas, it's a nice way for them to transfer in," she said.

With the STEAM program in its third year, students in the advanced academic classes work in cross-curricular units by making connections so they can apply their learning to real life situations. "We had a neighborhood project where students looked at a specific area in the community -- the land, the houses and how to use materials that were eco-friendly," she said. "Students designed homes and printed them on 3D printers so they got an idea of how to start and finish a project using all of those skills."

CONLEY said one of her main goals is to expand the business partnership with Whole Foods and other businesses. "We're looking at companies or businesses that can provide real world examples of how the kids can use the skills they're learning in future careers," she said. "We're looking for businesses to come in who can show kids how math works in the real world and how they can apply that. We often hear, 'Why do I have to learn this?' We are trying to show them through partnerships in businesses or companies."

As far as personal goals, Conley said she has two: "The first is to have students to be able to explain where they're at in their learning. I strongly believe that students, if they understand where they're at, where they need to improve -- if they can own that learning, they're more likely to take ownership of that learning," she said.

"My second one is to further those business partnerships -- to make connections. We are in such a rich area for resources; I know there's a lot we can tap into to enrich our students' experiences."

What she loves about her job is that it's never the same day. "You can walk in every day and something new is going on. It's definitely an adventure every day, and watching middle school kids have those 'a-ha' learning moments, it's so fun," she said.

She added: "There's just so many different things happening developmentally for them. Watching them grow from seventh grade to eighth grade is such a huge transition; it's only two years, but the growth in those two years is astounding sometimes."

Conley grew up in Olathe, Kan., and graduated from Olathe North High School in 1995. She studied secondary education with an emphasis in history at Kansas State University, graduating in 2000. She started her master's at Kansas State and finished at George Mason University, graduating in 2005. She's now working on a doctorate from Virginia Tech; it's all finished except for the dissertation.

SHE STARTED her career at Manhattan High School in Manhattan, Kan., where she taught history, government, and street law for two years. Then she moved to Northern Virginia where she taught civics for three years at Fred Lynn Middle School in Woodbridge. From there, she went on to work as the assistant principal at Freedom High School in Prince William County, and two years later began working as the assistant principal at Irving Middle School for eight years.

Conley tries to stay behind the scenes and highlight the great things the staff and students are doing. As a way of recognizing her staff, she created a thank-you board for staff to write notes to other staff members for doing something kind. "This year, I started a thank-you award, recognizing staff members who are doing something above and beyond," she said.

She added: "Our staff and students are phenomenal. They're willing to jump in and try new things, to help students learn. Our kids are really willing to take the leap and try something new and step outside of their comfort zone and learn in a different way."

According to Meg Gollinger, Director of Student Services at Irving, "Cindy Conley has a passion for education and understands the importance of involving all stakeholders - students, staff, parents and community members - to best meet the needs of our community. That said, however, students come first and before making any decision she collaborates with others in order to determine the right course of action. Ms. Conley makes time to hear concerns from everyone and truly listens," she said.

LouEllen P. Brademan, Ph.D., the Coordinator for Curriculum Integration and Management, added: "Cindy Conley is an outstanding instructional leader and mentor to both teachers and administrators. She is organized, thorough, innovative, collaborative, insightful, and communicative. Cindy maintains positive, productive relationships with students and parents -- always considering what is in the best interest of each student. Cindy gives 110 percent every day and truly enjoys working with students, parents and teachers."

Jan Gibbins, Administrative Assistant at Irving, added: "Cindy Conley has hit the ground running as Irving’s new principal. Being a principal is hard work, especially for someone new to the job, but she is enjoying every aspect of it – taking care of the students, planning community events, and being available to everyone who has a suggestion or vision for Irving. I think she realizes that being a successful principal involves learning from every single person who makes this school a success: teachers, students, maintenance staff, custodians, bus drivers, etc."

Conley is married to husband Ben; and the couple lives in Woodbridge and has a daughter named Caylee, age 2 1/2.