October is National School Principals Month. We celebrate our dedicated school leaders who play an essential role in shaping their communities and paving pathways for success for each and every student and staff member in their school. 

At the 2024 FCPS Honors ceremony, Jamie Gadley, principal of Dranesville Elementary School, was named Outstanding Principal. Read on to learn why she was nominated by her peers for this recognition. 

Outstanding Principal Jamie Gadley

Jamie Gadley has been the principal of Dranesville Elementary School since 2020. She joined FCPS in 2003 after teaching in Baltimore City Schools. 

Jamie’s nomination for Outstanding Principal focused on the kindness, consideration, and care she brings to her work. She recognizes the dedication and achievements of others, which encourages staff to continue to do their best. 

Jamie “prioritizes people over everything,” said Jillian Palacios, assistant principal at Dranesville. “Jamie leads with her entire heart and soul in every action she takes and decision she makes.” Through her empathetic leadership, Principal Gadley has earned the respect of her entire school community, including the students themselves. 

“She is always thinking about the whole child and how we can equitably support their individual needs,” Jillian said. Jamie has succeeded in providing all students with an opportunity to equitably access education at school by improving attendance schoolwide. Students deemed chronically absent, missing 18 or more days in the 180-day school year, went from 20.6% of Dranesville students in 2022-23 to just 6.9% in 2023-24.

“From weekly lunch bunches to meaningful conversations in the hallway, she knows her students' needs, wants, and passions,” said Jaclyn Young, school-based technology specialist at Dranesville. After a student shared a classroom success with her, “Mrs. Gadley responded with a giant smile, words of affirmation, and a high five that left the student glowing as she bounced down the hall. The students know that they are loved and cared for with Mrs. Gadley around.”

Jamie also encourages staff to give their all in their work. “Jamie expects excellence from all, and will work harder than anyone to make sure that all barriers have been removed so that students and staff have the opportunity to be the best that they can be,” Jaclyn said. “In addition to providing growth and leadership opportunities for staff to constantly stretch their learning, she provides many opportunities for rest and reflection, including organizing weekly staff Yoga before school, pickleball after school, and sweet treats to keep up morale in the building. It is difficult to find a harder working, kinder, more fierce champion of education than Jamie Gadley.”