Dear Hayfield Secondary Families, Faculty and Staff:

Each spring I publish via the PTSA's Hayfield Happenings newsletter names of soon to be Hayfield Secondary retirees. As we plan for the close of this school year and begin preparations for the next, I share with you that my name will accompany those that are departing Hayfield Secondary in late June. While at Hayfield, I have been very fortunate to have had the opportunity to work alongside some of the most talented educators who have also taught me a few things along the way. And, a principal certainly could not have wished for a more supportive community than I have had the pleasure of serving. Despite my comfort and support received in my current position, after 23 years in FCPS, the last six as Hayfield’s principal, there is still much outside of FCPS in which I wish to become involved and contribute to in order to make a positive difference.

When I was assigned to Hayfield Secondary in June 2004, after having been the Principal of Irving Middle School, I entered an overcrowded post-renovation building without ceiling tiles, with 4060 students enrolled and 57 trailers filling the Hayfield landscape. Since then, together we have accomplished much including an exponential growth of lesson-embedded educational technology, more effective instructional planning based on data analysis, two boundary change transitions with the opening of a new school within our boundary, leading to a 45 percent student population adjustment, a myriad of educational paradigm shifts, a few reality-check events and budget reduction impacts that our community has worked through positively and, I believe, a growth in traditional Hawk pride.

Of course, I will miss most those who have been so supportive in helping lead our school and the students, who despite whatever may have landed on my desk overnight, been sent to my email inbox, or whatever message has been left on the phone, made the challenges of the principalship worth enduring. I have been assured that the principal selection process will be thorough and expeditious so that our students, staff, and Hayfield’s community have continuity during this transition.

All the best to you in your future travels as I continue on mine,

Go Hawks!

Bill Oehrlein

HSS

Principal