This marks my 31st year in education.  I first started as an Elementary Physical Educator in Rockingham County as well as an Assistant Football Coach at Broadway High School.  At the age of 26, I became a Head Football Coach at Broadway High School.  I did not pursue my Master's in Administration until the early 2000s.  The goal has always been to leave an eternal impact on those whom I am blessed to lead by demonstrating passion, commitment, integrity, service, and poise.  I served as Head Football Coach at SDHS for 9 years then transitioned into the role of Assistant Coach at Buffalo Gap High School as well as PE teacher.  I then had the opportunity to use my Admin degree and accepted a job at WMS as Assistant Principal. 

When the opportunity to come back to BGHS opened I jumped at the chance to come back home. One of the highlights of my career is the satisfaction of knowing that I have stayed true to my vision in this mission field. I love every minute of helping all student-athletes reach their full potential and achieve more than they thought they could achieve.  Partnering with the Buffalo Gap community has been a huge blessing.

My teaching career began in  August of 1996 at Green Valley Elementary in Roanoke County. Exploring other options for teaching, took me back to school in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma near Tulsa.  I returned to Augusta County and public school teaching in 2002 at Ladd Elementary. When Wilson Middle School opened in 2006, I taught Physical Education and coached Freshman and JV girls basketball at Wilson High School until 2008. In the fall of 2008, I returned to Buffalo Gap High School as the 10th-grade Health and Physical Education/Drivers Education teacher. I was the assistant girls' basketball coach until I finished my Masters in School Administration. In the summer of 2013, I accepted the position of Principal at Valley Elementary in Bath County. Valley Elementary was a PK-7th grade school.

Once again I returned to Augusta County in the summer of 2015 and accepted the position of principal at Craigsville Elementary. This year, I have returned to Buffalo Gap High School as the Assistant Principal. Every day is different in a school building, and the part I enjoy the most is being able to make a difference every day!

I was born and raised in Virginia Beach. My mother is a preschool teacher, so I spent a lot of time in her classroom or volunteering around the elementary school. I decided to pursue a career in education at James Madison University. I received my Masters of Art in Teaching for Special Education, with an endorsement in Algebra I. I joined ACPS as a special education teacher at Fort Defiance High School! Special education has always been a passion of mine. I have served on several committees and held leadership roles related to advocating for students with disabilities. This position allows me to expand my support, continue to advocate for our students, and help guide effective instruction for all! I also helped coach girls' soccer at Fort, including the season our varsity team was the regional runner-up. 

During my third year of teaching, I began taking classes for a certificate in Educational Leadership. Over the summer, I worked as an administrative intern for June Academy which re-sparked my love for the elementary school! I was very excited for the opportunity to make the leap within the Fort Community, as this community has meant so much to my teaching career. I have loved making so many new connections with students and families! Several students are excited to find out their older sibling or cousin knows me from Fort Defiance! I am looking forward to all the ways I can support our great community!

I grew up in Augusta County Schools. After graduating from Fort Defiance High School, I attended Longwood University for my Bachelor’s degree. My teaching career began in Shenandoah County teaching 5th grade for three years. Augusta County called me back home when I met my husband and I started to teach at Wilson Elementary. I completed my Masters in Educational Leadership through ODU during that time. I’ve spent the last few years working at Churchville Elementary where I have served in multiple roles, first the Intervention Specialist, then the Administrative Intern, and now the Assistant Principal. I’ve spent my career participating in and leading a variety of professional development. Collaborating with educators to make growth in instruction and learning new ways to meet the variety of needs of learners is my passion. I believe everyone brings something to the table and I love utilizing the strengths of a team to give students our best. 

The Churchville community is my favorite part of the job! The staff, students, and families that I get to work with each day are amazing. I also love getting to do a job where I learn something new every day.  It has been exciting to be part of the growth at Churchville!

I entered Augusta County in the fall of 2006 as a Health and Physical Education Instructor at Wilson Memorial High School. During the summer of 2015, I became the Athletic Director at Buffalo Gap High School. During the summer of 2022, I was able to move to Wilson Middle School as an Assistant Principal. I am enjoying the increased time I have with my family this year!

Originally from Colorado, Mrs. Herrera came to the Shenandoah Valley in 2020 with her husband to move closer to family. Mrs. Herrera has filled multiple educational and administrative roles with over 18 years of experience in Colorado before coming to Stuarts Draft Middle School.  She earned her Masters of Arts in Curriculum & Instruction through the University of Phoenix and has served as an Elementary, Middle, and High School Principal. Mrs. Herrera also oversaw the successful construction and opening of two separate charter schools, an Elementary–Middle School and a High School, where she served as Chief Operating & Academic officer at both. 

Mrs. Herrera has already thoroughly enjoyed her time at SDMS and is extremely honored to work with the talented faculty and administrative staff; she considers herself to be very fortunate to work with such a great team and is prepared to lend her talents towards the continued success of SDMS. Mrs. Herrera has a heart to continue to serve students, teachers, parents, and the community. 

“I believe that every student not only needs to be respected and heard but must also be developed into citizens of character and integrity. I’m excited to serve this community.”

My mother and father were both teachers for over 35 years, many of which were in Augusta County.  I began teaching and coaching volleyball at Buffalo Gap High School.  I then taught 6th-grade math at Beverley Manor Middle School and coached volleyball for Fort Defiance High School.  I transferred to Stewart Middle School and was an 8th-grade math teacher for the last 7 years.  My husband is currently the Coordinator for the Shenandoah Valley Regional Governor’s School.  My two oldest children have gone through the Augusta County School System and my youngest is currently in elementary school.

I am a member of Delta Kappa Gamma; a society that promotes women educators.  This past spring I won the 2022 Virginia State Organization Scholarship.  I was also the 2019 Teacher of the Year at Stewart Middle School. I enjoy working with the students and staff at Stewart Middle School.  I am thankful for the incredible community support.  I went to school here, my children went/will go here, and my home is in this community.  I am a Stewart Bulldog.

I attended to Cassell Elementary School, Stuarts Draft Middle School, Wilson Memorial High School (Class of '97), and Ferrum College (Class of '00). I was hired by Dr. Eric Bond and Mr. Larry Landes to teach Agriculture at Stuarts Draft High School (SDHS) and Wilson Memorial High School (WMHS) in 2000. I taught at SDHS in the morning and WMHS in the afternoon from 2000-2002. In 2002, I began to teach at WMHS full-time and was an assistant football coach from 2002-2010. I was the head football coach from 2011-2019. I was hired by Waynesboro Public Schools and Waynesboro High School (WHS) to be the Assistant Principal and Athletic Director from 2020-2022. In 2022, Dr. Nick Nycum hired me as the Assistant Principal/Athletic Director at Stuarts Draft High School.

 I am proud to have started a Turfgrass Program at WMHS in 2013 where students learned about soils, turf, fertilizer, irrigation, and cultural practices. Students were also responsible for taking care of baseball, softball, football, and soccer fields by managing them and getting the game ready. I also started an Agriculture and FFA Program in 2021 at WHS which has never had a program.

I am enjoying being back in Augusta County. I do not regret working in a different school district for two years as I learned a lot working in a one-high-school district. It has been enjoyable working with a great administration, faculty, staff, and community at SDHS that has the same philosophies about education that I do. I am looking forward to creating more opportunities for the community to be involved in athletics at SDHS.

I moved to Woodbridge, VA after graduating from Buffalo State College with a degree in Elementary Education.  While there, I taught 5th grade, 6th grade math and science, and high school math for a total of ten years.  I also met my wife while in Woodbridge.  My wife grew up in Stuarts Draft and we decided to move to Augusta county when we started our family.  After leaving Woodbridge, I taught one year at Monticello High school and another at Wilson Memorial High School.  I then transitioned to an assistant principal at Hugh K. Cassell Elementary School (HKC) for three years followed by being principal at HKC for an additional three years.  I am now proud to be back where I started in ACPS and working with the students I worked with at HKC.

My favorite thing about my new role is getting to work with students that I have previous experiences with and getting to reconnect with them and their families on their educational journey.

I did not begin a career in education. I graduated from Augusta County Public Schools (Riverheads High School) in 2001. Mrs. Reed inspired me to pursue a career in Biology and continue my education in college. She gave me the belief that I could go to college and while I did not begin as a teacher, modeled much of my early style after what made her so special to me...her passion, enthusiasm, charisma, and love of science. My Bachelor's degree was in Biology (Wildlife), I graduated from Bridgewater College (BC) in 2005 and was considering graduate school at Virginia Tech for Wildlife Biology at that time. I began working for a global fitness company directly out of BC initially. My wife, Elizabeth has her Master’s in Teaching and was already teaching Social Studies. As a family, we were exploring other options for my career path at the onset of the recession and I began pursuing teaching licensure. Western Albemarle High School had an opening for Science and Football coach and offered me a position. 

Over the next 5 years, I taught Biology, Earth Science, Ecology, Animal Studies, AVID, coached football, and track and field. I was selected to be the Director of the new Magnet Science Academy for Environmental Studies and moved into a half teaching, half administrative role at that point. I spent the following 8 years as Director of that program growing it from 18 students in the first year to over 160 enrolled from across the county, building the curriculum, creating community partnerships, designing enrichment programming, and all finances. Additionally, I was the Science Department Chair for several years. I had been encouraged for many years to pursue administration fully, and when COVID shut down in person learning and much of our athletic seasons, took the necessary coursework to complete my graduate degree in Education (MED Admin and Supervision from Averett University). 

My professional highlights include: developing a magnet science academy, advocating for funding of a multimillion-dollar improvement and addition to the facilities for that center, coaching 35 seasons of sports from youth to college-age athletes over the past 17 years (football, track, wrestling), Golden Apple Teacher of the Year recipient, and Red Apple Finalist twice.

Being the new Athletic Director at Riverheads is very fulfilling as athletics were such a tremendous part of my wife and I's development, as they are for our own children. Knowing that I get to be around athletics and support coaches and student-athletes, and being able to watch my own children compete as they go through high school, makes me excited about my job. I love working with the coaches and athletic/academic programs so I value them all tremendously and know that there is a place for everyone. Being engaged in activities helps so many young people value school and gives them a place to belong. I love being back in the community where I went to high school, my entire wife's family graduated from RHS, and being able to give back to a school that meant so much to me growing up. My wife and I both competed in multiple sports programs at RHS. Currently, our family builds our daily, weekly, and monthly calendar around the kids' sports seasons and activities. This new role just adds another layer to that nightly athletics commitment but is one that we have fully embraced. I am also truly enjoying reconnecting with so many families and people from the Riverheads Community that I had lost touch with over the past two decades as I have been blessed to come back home.