C. Maurice Porter calls himself a homeboy and hopes it will serve him well as he becomes principal of Ferebee-Hope Elementary School this fall.
Rosemary DeVillar spent the last year in Qatar and plans to use it to her advantage in her new assignment at Merritt Educational Center.
Arriving from across the District or across the world, Porter and DeVillar are among 23 new principals who will begin their assignments at D.C. public schools this fall. Another new principal, Alex Donahue, will lead Roosevelt's STAY High School.
Most come from other positions in the city school system, but school officials hope they will bring fresh eyes to old institutions, interim Superintendent Robert C. Rice said last week.
Porter, who was born in the District and grew up in Deanwood, said he wants to strengthen ties between the school and the neighboring community and hopes his experience in the city will help.
He is working with community organizations to create partnership programs and wants to hold lunches where adults from outside the school read to students.
He previously served as assistant principal at Marie H. Reed Community Learning Center and asked to be assigned to Ferebee-Hope, he said, in part because he believes the neighborhoods east of the Anacostia River need strong schools and more opportunities.
"The community needs it," he said. "They've been left out of the economic pie of America."
DeVillar also plans to put her experiences to work as principal of Merritt Educational Center. She is keeping in touch with her students and teachers at the school in Doha, Qatar, where she served as principal last year and plans to begin a pen pal program for students.
DeVillar also hopes to expand Merritt's Montessori program, which serves pre-kindergartners through sixth-graders, to include seventh- and eighth-graders as well.
Before her year in Qatar, DeVillar worked in California schools for 25 years, including 12 as a principal.
New principals are listed below. As of Aug. 19, school officials had not named a principal for Alice Deal Junior High School.
Public Schools
Elementary Schools
