Principal Litz reflects on first year

Principal Jeffrey Litz speaks at the grand opening ceremony, which marked the end of  the four year construction project. Superintendent Karen Garza and Fairfax County School Board member Ryan McElveen were among those in attendance. The event featured tours led by Marshall students, a preview of the Marshall musuem and a reception.
Principal Jeffrey Litz speaks at the grand opening ceremony, which marked the end of the four year construction project. Superintendent Karen Garza and Fairfax County School Board member Ryan McElveen were among those in attendance. The event featured tours led by Marshall students, a preview of the Marshall musuem and a reception.

Most people would be consumed by just working on a doctorate.  After a year as principal, Jeffrey Litz has proved his ability to multi-task by working towards his doctorate, learning and executing the responsibilities of a new job and even subbing in an IB Biology class.

While the job title was new, Principal Litz  was prepared to tackle a the venture.

“I sort of knew what I was getting myself into because I had been here 7 years before,” Litz said.

Despite moving further up the administrative ladder, Litz continues to maintain a strong connection to the teaching staff.

“I’ll always be a teacher,” Litz said. “I think even though I’m a principal, I must always put myself in the shoes of a teacher because in a lot of ways teachers are some of the most important [individuals] in this building because they are the ones that spend the most time with our kids and have the biggest impact on them.”

Litz’s experience as a teacher is an important part of his role as principal.

“I hope I never get to the point where I forget what its like to be a teacher and I will always consider myself a teacher,” Litz said.

In his first year as principal Litz got to see the Marshall community accomplish what hadn’t been accomplished in years or ever before.

“[It’s fun] to see see our kids thrive as much as they have in athletics, in the arts, certainly what our sports teams are doing this spring, and how well our kids are doing with SOLs so far,” Litz said.

Having a full plate seems to suit Litz as he expressed his contentment with the present.

“My future plans are to stay where I am,” Litz said. “One of my goals was to not make a lot of changes and I don’t think a lot of changes need to be made.”

Despite what he claims, Litz wanted to make a change in starting a conversation on ways to improve access to honors and IB courses for the kids who wouldn’t otherwise consider taking them.

Even throughout this year, Litz continues to learn new things.

“I’ve learned more about the interworking of the central office, how they work, how they support schools, and that being in a principal position it’s easier to pick up the phone and ask for help than it is if you’re an assistant principal,” Litz said.

Though renovation is just coming to a close, overpopulation will continue to be a problem that Litz and the rest of the administration will have to work creatively to combat.

“Certainly one of our challenges is our continued growth … we’re already going to be a little bit over capacity.” Litz said. “I think we’ll be fine next year, but after next year I think one of the challenges is going to be to continue to be as student-friendly as we are, with several hundred more kids.”