Annandale Community Insider - Newly Promoted Atoms!

Annandale Students, Parents and Community:

We have accomplished incredible things at Annandale these past few years, coming together to navigate the pandemic and its aftermath to support our students, and I am so proud of the work we have done. None of this would have been possible without our staff, who collaborate every day to meet students’ needs. I am always proud to share with prospective candidates that working at Annandale can be challenging, yet incredibly rewarding, and when you join our work, you will grow and make an impact. 

To that end, I would like to celebrate a large number of staff members who have been promoted allowing them to amplify their impact throughout FCPS and beyond. While their leaving is a loss for Annandale, I know they will do great things in their new positions. See below for details about each of these amazing Atoms!

Please join me in congratulating them and wishing them well! 

Shawn DeRose, Principal

Awesome Atoms!

Several staff members here at Annandale have been promoted or will be moving into positions that will allow them to continue to amplify their impact throughout FCPS and beyond. Please join me in congratulating them and wishing them well in their new positions!

Johnelle Sweet - Assistant Principal: Congratulations to Johnelle Sweet, who has accepted an Assistant Principal position at Rocky Run Middle School for the 2023-24 school year. Although Johnelle was only at Annandale for a short time, she worked to build relationships and support the work of the World Language, Visual Arts departments and the Administrative team. She is grateful for all that she learned from her time here at Annandale and will always be proud to say she was an Atom.

Jacqueline Blair - Assistant Principal: Congratulations to Jacquie Blair, who was promoted to Assistant Principal at Mount Vernon High School for the 2023-24 school year. She is returning to her high school alma mater to give back to the community. Jacquie served as our Dean of Attendance & Academic Support. She created and implemented successful attendance and academic systems to support students, families, and teachers. Her commitment to building relationships with students and families had a tremendous impact at AHS.

Brent Roberson - Assistant Principal (November 2022): Congratulations to Brent Roberson, who was selected as an Assistant Principal at Alexandria City High School earlier this year. Since 2018, Brent served as our Systems of Support Advisor. He did a tremendous job of building solid relationships with students and families. In addition, he was responsive and flexible, supporting teachers, counselors, and the administrative team.

Melissa Smith - Assistant Principal (November 2022): Congratulations to Melissa Smith, was selected as an Assistant Principal at Kilmer Middle School earlier this year. Melissa joined Annandale this past August and did an excellent job of supporting the World Language and Visual Arts Departments. In addition, she supported the Attendance Team and spearheaded efforts to gather information and perspectives from students through a student experience survey, FCPS Youth Survey and the distribution and collection of the Federal Impact Aid. Despite only being an Atom for a short time, Melissa formed strong relationships with students and staff across the building. 

Don Colgan - Athletic Director: Congratulations to Don Colgan, who was hired as Athletic Director at Central High School in Woodstock, Virginia, for the 2023-24 school year. Since 2017, Don has served as a Health and Physical Education teacher and assistant football coach. Don has been a “do anything” person for us at Annandale, from teaching Health & PE classes for grades 9 and 10, facilitating the HPE Edmentum classes, game management, facility improvements, to whatever else was asked of him, all while building relationships with students, athletes, and parents. Check out this article, which appeared in The Northern Virginia Daily about Don’s promotion.

Catie Bishop – Assessment Coach: Congratulations to Catie Bishop, who has been named Assessment Coach at Oakton High School for the 2023-24 school year. Since 2011, Catie has supported Annandale, first as a special education teacher for 8 years, then in the Social Studies Department. She served as the Social Studies Department Chair and Tech Lead prior to her most recent role as Social Studies coach. As a coach, she worked to support teachers and CTs, particularly with the development and implementation of performance based assessments.

Stacie Shaffer - Assessment Coach (October 2022): Congratulations to Stacie Shaffer, who accepted a promotion as the Assessment Coach at Falls Church High School earlier this year. Stacie was a School Counselor here at Annandale for 10 years, during which time she served as the SAM program counselor, as well as a founding member of our Student Support Coordinator Team.

Christina Eagle - Employment Transition Representative (ETR): Congratulations to Christina Eagle who has been promoted to an employment and transition representative (ETR). This past year she had the honor to work alongside the incredible PACE and high school CAT B team and develop work experiences within the building. In her new role, Christina will assist students, families and school staff with career exploration, goal setting, job skills, and planning for the future.

Nikita Parmar - SPED Department Chair (October 2022): Congratulations to Nikita Parmar, who was selected as the new Special Education Department Chair at Marshall High School earlier this year. In her short time at Annandale, Nikita taught Algebra I, Part I, and Algebra I. In addition, Nikita supported the Activities Office, leading the Staff Cookout and Senior Class Movie Night.

Alejandra Navarrete - Administrative Assistant II: Congrats to Alejandra Navarrete, who was recently promoted to Administrative Assistant II at Pulley Career Center. Ale graduated from Annandale and started working in the SPED department right after graduation. In this new role, Ale will serve as the principal’s administrative assistant. In addition to supporting the principal, she will also serve as the finance tech.