More News

Being a new principal at the beginning of the school year has its own challenges, but Rebecca Jones has given herself one more.

She plans to learn the names of each of the more than 400 students enrolled at Westbrook Elementary School in Bethesda by the end of the school year in addition to juggling her other duties as the school's new principal. School starts Monday.

"It's hard to kind of start that over and be at a place where I don't know any student's name," Jones said.

During her last five years as principal at Damascus Elementary School, she prided herself in knowing the name of every student at the school. Jones plans to show the same level of devotion to the individual needs of children as she makes the switch to Westbrook Elementary.

"She is energetic," Westbrook PTA co-president Valerie Baruch said. "If that's something that she is planning to do, I have every reason to believe she'll do it."

In addition to learning about 100 more names then at her last school, the job was also a way to tackle new challenges and bring her closer to her home in Chevy Chase, she said.

"It was exciting to think about living and working in the same community," she said.

Jones grew up in Albany, N.Y., and received an undergraduate degree from Ithaca College and a graduate degree from American University. She was a teacher for eight years at Carderock Springs Elementary School in Bethesda, where she taught fourth and fifth grades and computers. She was assistant principal for two years at Highland Elementary School in Silver Spring before working at Damascus Elementary.

Expanding the use of technology in the classroom is one of Jones' goals, and she hopes to acquire a few Promethean interactive whiteboards and several ELMO document cameras that can view and project the image of classroom objects onto a screen.

She will also be keeping technological growth in mind as she helps design an addition to the school which will add 15 classrooms and a gymnasium. The addition is in the planning and design phases and should open in fall 2013, she said.

Westbrook Elementary currently has five portable buildings and is one of the few elementary schools in the county with no gymnasium.

"That's kind of exciting as a principal to design how the space will be used," she said.

Westbrook Elementary has grown substantially over the years Baruch has had children at the school.

She said Jones will be a good advocate for the school during the expansion and mesh well with the students, teachers and parents.

"We have a really terrific school community," Baruch said. "It's a small neighborhood school. We just have these wonderful traditions."

Jones replaced John Ewald, who was principal for five years and will be the new principal at College Gardens Elementary School in Rockville.

After spending time making connections and getting to know the school, Jones said she will consult faculty and staff to create long-term plans.

"I'm a firm believer that the goals of the school are developed as a team," she said.

Students and parents attending Westbrook's open house Friday from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. should expect to see Jones welcoming them at the door and beginning the task of learning their names.

"I love that, I love that moment when they all come in the building and are running to meet their new teachers," Jones said.