Burton is Stepping Down

Burton+is+Stepping+Down

Rachel Singleton, Sports Editor

Principal Tripp Burton III will be stepping down from his position at Fauquier High School this June

On February 6, Principal Clarence Burton III announced that he will be resigning from his position at Fauquier High School at the end of this school year. Burton has been principal at Fauquier for six years since he came to the school in 2013. Many were shocked by this news and are anticipating what will happen next.

“I’m mostly surprised,” said senior Morgan Gatti. “It seemed pretty out of the blue since he hasn’t been at the school that long.” Sophomore Paige Shorey agreed, saying, “it was kind of out of the blue.” Shorey also said that she was very curious about who the new principal would be.

Burton said that his decision was because of his family moving away. Burton plans on continuing in the education field wherever his family moves. “I’m going to stay in education,” said Burton.

With the announcement of the principal’s resignation, many are concerned about the selection and integration of a new principal. “It’s going to be a huge adjustment for the school, getting new leadership in,” said Assistant Principal Kraig Kelican. He said that despite this, he has no other concerns, as FHS has gone through this process before. “I just hope we get a quality candidate in.”

Kelican said Burton has contributed and improved the school in many ways, especially statistic-wise. “He’s very focused on detail and he has tremendous skill in data collection and data analysis, and like for SOL scores and that kind of thing,” explained Kelican. “He was able to develop comprehensive plans to improve scores and graduation rates.” English Department Chair Lindell

also had many kind words to say about Burton. “Burton is a rational, compassionate leader, who always makes decisions based upon what he believes is just, morally right and best for the students here at FHS.” Palmer said although he may not always agree with Burton, he “truly [believes] that he has noble intentions and truly cares about this school and community.”

Many staff members say that he will be missed and a few can recount fond memories they’ve had with him. Palmer said that Burton has a unique sense of “awkward 80’s movie humor” that he loves, but many students don’t understand. “I’ll […] never forget the day I saw him zip down the main hallway on a scooter. I believe he was demonstrating a point to his freshman team, but at that moment he was living his best life,” said Palmer.

Burton says he is proud of what the school has accomplished in his time being here and emphasized that it was a group effort. “We’ve done so many things, it’s not an ‘I’ thing, it’s a ‘we’ thing.” One thing Burton is most proud of is the use of advisory. “The use of advisory has been good for everyone,” he said. “students like it, not only for extra help and time to do homework, but also for a break in the day.”

Burton says that one thing he will miss most about the school is the people. He said he loves the great relationships within the school and “just the power of positive relationships and how much they really matter for everybody.” Burton has high hopes for the future for FHS, saying, “[I hope] it continues to be the great place it was before I got here and has been when I’m here and that it will continue to be the center of the community.”