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When Dresden Koons of Potomac was hired to teach ninth-grade English at St. Andrew's Episcopal School in 1999, she was terrified. She thought back to the 1980s movies about rebellious teens who tortured teachers with endless pranks. She was so nervous on her first day that the only thing she wrote on her lesson plan was her name, so she wouldn't forget it.

Eleven years later, Koons, 35, is now the dean of the Lower School, in charge of 110 students, grades kindergarten through third. She started the position July 1.

"I've said for the last 10 years I really believe that I have the greatest job in the world as a teacher," Koons said. "I never thought I'd take a position out of the classroom."

But Koons' promotion will not keep her out of the classroom. Although she will not teach English, she will work directly with faculty and students to implement her goal to bridge the lower, intermediate, middle and upper schools, which comprise kindergarten through 12th grade.

As an English teacher for seventh and 12th graders, Koons had her 12th grade students work with first graders to author and illustrate children's books. This collaboration between the two schools is an example of what Koons hopes to accomplish: a single community.

Koons' other goals include curriculum mapping of every grade level and discipline, and continued development of service learning initiatives and a multicultural education.

Spring C. Swinehart, the dean of admissions at the Lower School, described Koons as a perfect fit because of her 11 years of experience teaching at St. Andrew's. Swinehart has known Koons for two years as both a co-worker and a parent of a student at the school.

"She's just great, so energetic and warm, very approachable," she said.

Molly Widrick, a Boston College senior and former student, is pursuing a career in education because of Koons and other influential teachers at St. Andrew's.

"She's such a loving person, she really makes the classroom a family," she said.

Aside from her new position and other job as a mother of two, Koons is also finishing her Ph.D. in literature and education at George Washington University.

A 1999 graduate of Duke University, Koons majored in English and Women's Studies. She initially wanted to become a university professor and enrolled in the doctoral English program at the University of Maryland, but wanted to get her feet wet teaching.

Koons recalled one of the defining moments in her career: three months into her first position, her ninth-grade students tested her by dropping their books on the floor in unison and walking out of the classroom. It was in that moment that Koons had to decide if she was going to laugh, cry or keep a stiff upper lip. She walked out of the classroom, locked the door and told the class that if they wanted to return they would each have to get a yellow permission slip from an administrator. She sat back down at her desk, pretended to be busy and 15 minutes later opened the door to all of her students, each bearing a yellow slip and an apology.

"As soon as I got through that I knew it would stick," she said.

Nostalgic for the classroom, Koons walks down the hall every day and visits children attending summer camp at St. Andrew's.

"There's a moment when you're working with a child, whether you're a teacher or an administrator, when something just clicks and their face lights up," Koons said. "To know that you played some role in that is so powerful it defies language."

St. Andrew's Episcopal School was founded in 1978, opening in the basement of a church, with 40 students.

In the 1979-80 academic year, the school moved to space in Clara Barton Elementary School in Cabin John and two years later relocated to the former North Bethesda Junior High School.

In 1998, St. Andrews dedicated its nearly 20-acre campus in Potomac. The school's enrollment is now more than 500.

Source: St. Andrew's website