Dr. Berlin Gets Started

After seven weeks of work, Dr. Lois Berlin, the new superintendent of the City of Falls church public schools, has started to take on the task of leading the small system into further growth and change, a job that the School Board is confident she is suited for.

In the past seven years, under Mary Ellen Shaw's leadership, the City’s school system received recognition as one of the nation’s best. Berlin intends to improve upon that performance even as the system continues to grow and adjust to change.

While new to Falls Church, Berlin is familiar with Virginia. She has worked in the Alexandria school system since 1980, first as a teacher, then, starting in 1988, as an administrator, where she started as an assistant principal for four years and another 10 years as principal of George Mason Elementary School. The last two years she was the associate superintendent of Alexandria schools.

Since officially taking the post in Falls Church July 15, Berlin has been caught up in the flurry of work to get ready for the school year. Meeting with PTA leaders, school administrators, and teachers, Berlin has familiarized herself with the construction projects, the curricula, and the newly hired teachers.

Amid all the work, Berlin is cognizant of the standards that the system will be held to with her as its superintendent, and the pressure those standards create. She said that with the City’s inception in 1948 being the result of a desire for self-governance of the schools she realizes how important they are here.

But she said that the focus on the schools also means that there are a lot of people willing to help out. “It’s a very supportive place when it comes to the schools,” she said.

Even with the support, the job does not promise to be easy. With the building of a new middle school now underway and renovation of another, the technical details of the projects could cause some problems.

When former superintendent Mary Ellen Shaw talked to the News-Press about her time as superintendent, she said that the toughest part was dealing with the constant surprises that construction projects created.

But changes in the school system extend beyond school facilities. Berlin said that projections show the school system adding 60 or 70 students this year, and the growth is expected to continue.

“When they hired me, they saw me as someone who has managed growth and has handled the challenges of a diverse education,” she said.

As she noted, the changing demographics in the City have led to ever increasing numbers of students for whom English is a second language.

Berlin talked about targeting some of the issues that the change in diversity trends could create. After looking at the recent standards of learning (SOL) test scores, Berlin said that more work has to be done with Limited English Proficiency (LEP) students and special education students in terms of their English performance. She emphasized that while they did well, they have the ability to perform better.

While far less diverse than Alexandria, Falls Church has seen a steady increase in its English as a Second Language (ESL) population, which has become more important now that the “No Child Left Behind” act has mandated that all students perform at the same level.

Coming from Alexandria where minorities exceed 40% of the overall population, Berlin is aware of the challenges of a diverse system, and as Falls Church continues to evolve she hopes that her experience will help make the changes relatively painless.

Along with its diversity, the Alexandria system is also smaller system like Falls Church’s. Her experience also makes her aware of the special challenges created by this..

“I know what it’s like to wear many hats in a small system,” said Berlin.

As the school year begins Berlin will be meeting with many of the schools teachers and she plans to make herself available to teachers on a day to day basis in the schools.

Despite all the attention on her, Berlin emphasized the help that she is receiving from people throughout the system. “A lot of work has already been done,” she said.

As students return to school on Tuesday she will see how well they’ve prepared so far and how much still needs to be done.