Five Minutes With Olivia Toatley

principal Olivia Toatley is retiring this month after 40 years with  Fairfax County Public Schools, including 13 years at Hunters Woods.

Toatley spoke with Reston Patch about leading the large and diverse school and what she’ll miss.

Reston Patch: You are retiring after a 40-year career in the Fairfax County Public Schools, including 13 years at Hunters Woods.  Has it hit you? What are your plans?

Olivia Toatley: It’s exciting but bittersweet. It’s going to be interesting the first day of school when I don’t go to school! I hope to travel, relax, spend time with my grandkids, that kind of thing.

RP: Have kids changed in 40 years?

OT: I think they have in some ways.  But they are still the same in that they thrive when they know people care about them, and encourage them. On the other hand, they are much more technologically savvy, at least a lot more than I am. I always say these kids are the technology natives, and we are the immigrants.

RP: Does the emphasis on technology present a challenge?

OT: As educators, we have to be able to embrace the technology. But that doesn’t mean we give up the personal relationship. That is never replaced. And the most important aspect of learning is still the same – an effective teacher.

We are a large school, more than 1,000 students, and so we have worked very hard to maintain our relationships with all our students and community. I’m going to miss that so much. Those hugs, the "Good Morning, Mrs. Toatley,” every morning. I love this school.

RP: I’m sure you’re proud of many things.  

OT: We have been able to maintain our focus on arts integration in this era of accountability that seems to be hinged on paper and pencil tasks. There are other ways for students to show what they know besides filling in the bubble on an answer sheet.

I’m proud that we have a partnership with the Kennedy Center and were founding members of the Kennedy Center’s Changing Education through the Arts program. I’m very proud of our Saturday school for the arts and sciences, a partnership between Hunters Woods, and George Mason University’s Potomac Academy. We hold it at Southgate in the winter months and some Saturdays we have as many as 50 kids who delve into music, dance, and the visual arts and sciences. They are taught by these students at George Mason who are majoring in these subjects. Our kids have an opportunity to see that the arts are a source of discipline.. and passion.

RP: The school system has just named your successor, Emily Cope (coming from a position as assistant principal at Forest Edge Elementary).  Any advice for her?

OT: Open your heart, take this place into your heart. That’s the easy part. That will happen naturally. The harder part – understand that your own family comes first. Don’t miss the development of your own children. 

Here at school, continue to establish relationships with the kids. Work to learn their names. Support our teachers. Reach out to your colleagues, principals at other schools. I am still friends with the people I went to “principal school” with.  Never stop learning.