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Dear Coates Staff & Families,
It is with mixed emotion that I tell you that my time as principal of Lutie Lewis Coates Elementary School will be coming to an end soon. Today, FCPS announced that effective October 1, I will be serving as Executive Principal of Region 3 schools. In this new role, I will have the opportunity to support 45 schools in another region of Fairfax County. After 25 years of service and over 12 years as a principal, I feel ready for this next step in my career.
While I’m excited by a new professional challenge, I am saddened to leave Coates. I’m immensely proud the of the work we’ve done together to make our school an awesome experience for all children. In the past 5 years, we’ve raised test scores, narrowed achievement gaps, grown our PTA membership, increased minority placement in advanced academics, implemented the Positivity Project, built a home-school compact that brought staff and families together, developed a shared mission that resulted in our rigorous Ready to Shine learning opportunities for all kids, survived the pandemic shut-down and distance learning, achieved consistently high working conditions ratings, grew our awareness of bias and tools to combat it, taught kids to “talk like a boss”, and hired and retained the best staff in FCPS. The list could go on!
I am most proud of playing my part in preserving the best thing about Coates – our warm, affirming culture. Metaphorically, this place is one big hug. In my first days here, I could observe the everyday acts of kindness, recognize the trust among everyone, and basically feel the warmth. That won’t end when I go – it’s part of the Coates DNA.
I will explain myself to the students tomorrow at school. I want them to understand how promotions work and to hear directly from me how much they mean to me and how much I will miss them when I go in a few weeks.
As I complete my final weeks at Coates, I am confident that our Region 5 Assistant Superintendent, Ms. Rebecca Baenig, will work tirelessly to ensure that Coates continues its path of excellence under highly capable leadership. The Region Office and FCPS Human Resources Department will begin the principal search process in the next few weeks. Ms. Baenig will be in touch very soon to share additional details on how you can learn more about the principal selection process and ways you can provide written input regarding the skills, experience and leadership characteristics needed for our school.
Sincerely,
Jesse Kraft
Proud Principal
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