Quander Road School principal moving to new position in FCPS

Quander Road School

The principal of the Quander Road School has been promoted to a new position within Fairfax County Public Schools.

Thompson

Joe Thompson, who has been at Quander Road School since the fall of 2014, is moving on to become the principal of Mountain View High School in Centreville. The transfer is effective Nov. 12.

Thompson sent a letter to the Quander Road School community last week announcing the move. In the letter he praised the students and staff members he had worked with through the years for creating a culture of “resiliency and excellence.”

“[A]ll that makes up the essence of Quander’s greatness is embedded in the students and staff,” Thompson wrote. “As a leader, I consider myself fortunate to have been taken along for the ride over the last 5 school years. And although I will be leaving here shortly for a new school, I feel comforted in the fact that I know these elements that have humbled me since my first day will remain.”

Thompson has worked in FCPS since 1996, teaching students with emotional disabilites at Woodson High and then later moving on to Oakton High School. He became an assistant principal at Annandale High School in 2011 and worked there until becoming principal at Quander Road School, which is one of two high schools in FCPS that specialize in teaching students with emotional, behavioral or social challenges.

Thompson was also the head football coach at Oakton from 2003 to 2010, and led the Cougars to a Division 6 state championship victory in 2005 and a Northern Region title in 2008.

An interim principal will take over at Quander Road School until a new principal is hired. No timetable was announced for that decision.