Before the summer started, staff members at Spring Hill Elementary School in McLean, Virginia, approached Principal Amy Briggs with an idea.
They wanted to paint a mural on part of the wall to illustrate the Portrait of a Graduate, a Virginia mantra that characterizes the skills students need to thrive after graduation. She was intrigued, but asked them to explain what exactly that would look like.
One staff member took her at her word, volunteering her own time over the summer and painting a mural on a school wall. It inspired other educators to do the same, and now, there are four murals where 鈥渟taff members came in, dedicated their time to making this space look better and something to be proud of, and more colorful.鈥�
Teachers noticed them when they returned from summer break, Briggs said, explaining the positivity they created was contagious.
It鈥檚 the impact she has hoped to have as principal of the school she once attended. She wants kids, and colleagues, to have the same experience she did.
鈥淚 wanted to be here every day,鈥� Briggs said. 鈥淚 was excited to come here every day. And I want that for everyone who walks through these doors. I want them to feel that same feeling. It鈥檚 just a really special place.鈥�
Briggs attended Spring Hill from kindergarten through sixth grade, and her two kids were students there, too. She became a substitute teacher for one of her former teachers, then became a student teacher, fifth grade teacher and technology specialist.
For five years, she was an assistant principal. Now, she鈥檚 in her third year as principal.
鈥淚 loved my teachers,鈥� Briggs said. 鈥淚 absolutely love them. I love them so much I wanted to be one of them, because I felt that I wanted to do the same thing for others that they did for me.鈥�
As a student, Briggs was one of about 600 kids. Now, the campus has over 1,000 students, and is represented by 48 different languages and 52 countries.
Despite its growth, 鈥渋t鈥檚 a small feel. And everyone knows each other, and everyone works together. And I think that鈥檚 why it鈥檚 so special,鈥� Briggs said.
There have been several renovations since Briggs attended Spring Hill, but the flooring in the PE hallway has been the same since the ’70s. When she walks through, she reflects on how she was treated as a student and how to create that same feeling for current kids.
鈥淭he job is not easy,鈥� Briggs said. 鈥淚t is tiring. It is exhausting. But then anytime I start to feel, 鈥榃ow, it鈥檚 getting a little bit challenging,鈥� I go into a kindergarten room, or I鈥檒l go into a classroom and they鈥檒l ground me right back to where, 鈥楾his is why we鈥檙e doing the work we鈥檙e doing.鈥�
To keep everyone excited throughout the long school year, Briggs started planning pep rallies. Teachers have a walk-up song and get introduced, and they dance to the music. The students enjoy it, and it gives the educators a break, too.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a privilege and honor to be in this position and there鈥檚 a lot of joy in it, so we have to stay in that, because there鈥檚 a lot of it,鈥� Briggs said.
Briggs and the school staff felt similar positivity when students returned for open house and parents attended back-to-school night. It鈥檚 exactly as she remembers it.
鈥淚’m just thrilled that now we have a whole lot of staff members who are so invested in the school, that they’re giving back in this way, and it’s just spreading and it’s showing, and it鈥檚 been wonderful,鈥� Briggs said.
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