With the 2010-2011 school year just days away, Loudoun County Public Schools will open two new high schools.

After much debate and litigation between the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors and the Town of Purcellville, Woodgrove High School will open in Purcellville, relieving the long-term overcrowding at Loudoun Valley High School.

The $56 million Tuscarora High School in Leesburg will take students from the zones of Heritage High School, Loudoun County High School and Stone Bridge High School.

Both Woodgrove and Tuscarora will follow the LCPS prototype two-story, 1,600-student high school plans, reminiscent of Stone Bridge and Dominion high schools.

Frederic Gauriloff will serve as principal of Woodgrove, while Pamela Paul-Jacobs becomes the first African American principal of an LCPS high school as head of Tuscarora.

Frederick Gauriloff
Principal, Woodgrove High School

Before coming on as principal of Woodgrove High School, Frederick (Ric) Gauriloff spent 27 years in education, coming to Loudoun in 2000 as an assistant principal of Stone Bridge and later as the principal of Mercer Middle School in 2004.

Gauriloff holds an education degree from Gannon University in Erie, Pa. and a master’s in education from George Washington University. Speaking to the Loudoun Times-Mirror two weeks before school starts, Gauriloff, with his commanding voice and affable presence, was clearly “ready to roll.”

You’re just two weeks away, any major concerns about opening?
Not one. We could open and start school tomorrow. In fact, I wish we were. I’m excited to get going. Getting this school up and ready was an 18-month project and everyone’s done a great job. We’re ready to roll.

Will Woodgrove have all the grades its first year?
Freshmen, sophomores, juniors to start off. Right now, we have 1,106 students. We’ll have a good-sized junior class. We’ll have all sports – Varsity, JV, and Freshman – all ready to compete.

Geographically, who is going to go to Woodgrove?
Our zone, for the most part, is everything north of Route 7, some of Bluemont, all of Lovettsvile and Waterford, none of Lucketts. We are located in Purcellville, but none of Purcellville is in our zone.

Will sophomores going into their junior year at Loudoun Valley, who live within the Woodgrove zone, automatically be switched to Woodgrove?
There was a deadline. Everyone got mailings through the county, which basically asked if they wanted to stay at Valley or come to Woodgrove. So every student had that option.

But once that deadline came, if you lived in Woodgrove’s attendance zone and you did not elect that you wanted to stay at Valley, then you automatically were enrolled at Woodgrove.

Each student had a choice. We had the highest amount of juniors ever who chose to come over to a new school. And we’ve had a lot more students put in special permissions. Valley is still labeled as over-enrolled, therefore, students can put in to attend the closest under-enrolled school.

I’m not specifically clear on the reasons. I haven’t asked every student why they chose to come to Woodgrove, but I’ve said from the beginning that it doesn’t matter who comes here, we’re going to have a good school and we’re going to have fun. Whether its 500 kids, 1,000 kids or 2,000 kids, we’re going to have a good time.

What middle schools will feed into Woodgrove?
Harmony. If you go to Harmony, you’ll go to Woodgrove.

What are Woodgrove’s school colors and mascot?
We are the Wolverines, sporting navy blue and kelly green.

What percentage of new teachers do you have?
None. I like having brand-new teachers, they bring a sense of excitement and new techniques. Often, their new energy rejuvenates a lot of people. But right now, I only have three teachers that are new to Loudoun County, but no first-year teachers. We really do have a great staff.

Bullying is a big topic in the public school system across the country right now. What kind of precautions does Woodgrove have in place to handle bullying situations?
Like all Loudoun schools, the counselors do programs with the students and faculty each year. These speak to what bullying is… it’s many forms. We have PEER mediation at the schools. This is where students work with other students to help them work with issues they may be having. Our student handbook talks about how bullying will not be tolerated and this is reiterated to the students time and time again in many ways throughout the year.

The furlough days that are scheduled to take place the Monday and Tuesday before the Thanksgiving holiday may be taken away. Has criticism been vocalized to you by your staff about first mandating the furlough days and now possibly taking them away?
There has been no talk of those days here.

Lastly, what was your inspiration in becoming a teacher, and later an administrator?
I grew up with a father who was a teacher, coach and an athletic director. I was around schools all my life. Watching the effect he had on students led me to choose education. [Becoming] an administrator was the next logical step in my career path.

Tuscarora High School in Leesburg. Times-Mirror Staff Photo/Beverly Denny.

Pamela Paul-Jacobs
Principal, Tuscarora High School

Going into her 25th year as an educator, Pamela Paul-Jacobs began her career in Loudoun County Public Schools as a special education teacher at Loudoun County High School in 1987.

A graduate from Winston Salem State University with a degree in special education and a master’s in education administration from Shenandoah University, Paul-Jacobs has held several positions with LCPS. Most recently, she was the assistant principal of Park View High School and, earlier, of Broad Run High School.

At Tuscarora, Paul-Jacobs will assume her first role as principal. Speaking to the Loudoun Times-Mirror on the eve of her school’s first home football game against Woodgrove, Paul-Jacobs, dressed in a personalized Huskies football shirt, was eagerly anticipating opening the doors for the new school year.

I understand that this is your first job as principal. How does it feel starting as a new principal at a brand new high school?
It is an honorable experience. It’s been a lot of work, but so rewarding. It’s surreal almost. The whole process has been a phenomenal experience so far.

When did you find out you would come on as principal of Tuscarora?
In May 2009, I found out that I’d be principal here, and I began on July 1, 2009. Looking back, I now realize why they gave me a year to get ready. It really is quite a task to get everything organized and make connections in the community and get the students mobilized.

How many students will attend Tuscarora?
We are opening with roughly 1,100 students.

Will the zoning for Tuscarora extend all the way to Lansdowne?
There is a small pocket of Lansdowne children coming to us. Also children from Heritage and Loudoun County High School will attend. We also had a few students from Stone Bridge that elected to come here.

What middle schools will feed into Tuscarora?
All the children at Smart’s Mill Middle School will come here. We also have about 138 students from Belmont Ridge Middle School that will attend.

Tuscarora will only open with the first three high school grades right?
Correct. Loudoun opens schools with three grades – 9, 10, and 11. This gives seniors the opportunity to remain where they’ve been for the last three years.

You’re a week and a half away from opening. How are you feeling?
I’m very excited. I can’t wait for the first day when the buses roll around and the children come through the front door.

Your first big football game is tonight. Are you hoping to start a county rivalry between the two new high schools?
We’re a new school, and with that comes a sense of building. We are very encouraged by the number of children that tried out for football. We’re very happy with the turnout for football, as well as all of our other athletic programs.
(For the record, Tuscarora beat Woodgrove 33-21.)

What are Tuscarora’s school colors and mascot?
We are the royal blue and black Tuscarora Huskies.

Do you have any first-year teachers on staff?
We have four brand new teachers here. And it’s great. New teachers tend to bring a lot of innovation, new ideas and a great amount of energy.

Can you comment on the furlough days?
I think the furlough days were initially instated for the collective good for all of our colleagues. While it was a slight change for everybody, it is better than huge upsets for a few families that would’ve lost jobs. If the days are reinstated, then I’m sure the staff will make the appropriate adjustments.

How did the name Tuscarora come about?
There was a naming committee, and there was actually a middle school student on the committee, a rising Tuscarora freshman. Lots of names were being thrown around, and this student didn’t really like any of them. She saw a sign for Tuscarora Creek, thought about it and pitched the name Tuscarora.

In that vein, it was really great having a student transition team that met monthly to help with the decision process of getting our school in order. It’s their school, it’s their building, so they deserve to be a part of what is decided.

Bullying is a major topic across the country right now. If these situations arise, how is your school going to handle bullying situations?
Well, kids are kids, and sometimes it inevitably comes up. You have to take it very seriously and be proactive with it. We establish safe school ambassadors, peer and conflict mediation, and adults are made very aware of what bullying is and how to identify it. If bullying is brought to the attention of any adult in this building it will be immediately investigated and looked into. The way to stop bullying is to make sure it’s reported and dealt with appropriately. No kid deserves to come to school and be uncomfortable with that type of activity going on in the building.

Lastly, what inspired you to become an educator?
I had wonderful teachers throughout school. During my third or fourth year of teaching, my assistant principal at Loudoun County High School kept telling me to get my masters and seriously consider administration. After a few years, I enrolled in a program and found out that I really enjoyed it.

When I was an assistant principal, I started gaining experience and having some new ideas. So after a while, I realized that I wanted to be a principal. I love my job. I wake up every day and think how much of a blessing it is that I get to come to a job every day that I enjoy so much.