The Region 3 Leadership Team is pleased to announce that Ms. Kathleen Sain has been appointed as principal of Lynbrook Elementary School. 

Ms. Sain has been an educator with Fairfax County Public Schools for 13 years and brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the principalship. She has successfully served as the acting principal of Lynbrook ES for the past year.  Prior to serving as acting principal, she has held the following positions, all in Region 3 schools:  special education classroom teacher, special education resource teacher and special education administrative teacher at Lane ES, and as an assistant principal at both the Comprehensive Services Site at Hollin Meadows ES, and at Lynbrook ES.

Ms. Sain began her teaching career as an enhanced autism teacher.  Her expertise as a special educator and leader is exemplified in the depth and understanding of special education and has allowed her to model best practices and support teachers in their work with creating inclusive learning environments.  She has led and continues to work collaboratively with professional learning communities in her school to plan instruction to meet each student by name and by need.  As the special education administrative teacher at Lane ES, Ms. Sain strategized with county specialists to improve the outcomes of the school’s special education instruction and in turn provided instructional coaching to staff.  In doing so, she built the capacity of teachers by providing opportunities to refine their skills to meet the diverse needs of learners in their classrooms.  Through this work, teams experienced student achievement growth, which also had a lasting impact on her leadership in which she has ensured this shared best practice was in place on grade level teams.

Ms. Sain has a wealth of experience with working in Title I schools having served as assistant principal at both Hollin Meadows ES and Lynbrook ES.  At Lynbrook ES, Ms. Sain led the school to full accreditation status.  She developed the School Improvement and Innovation Plan (SIIP) with cross-cutting instructional strategies across all content areas and focused on academic conversations in the classroom to develop connections across the curriculum. Additionally, she incorporated school wide attendance strategies within the SIIP, which included increased parent engagement opportunities and home-school collaboration through home visits and personal outreach to families.

Ms. Sain believes that a caring culture is a priority for her school community and works tirelessly to support and build it each and every day at Lynbrook ES.  As acting principal at Lynbrook ES during this unprecedented school year and through the SIIP, there is targeted emphasis on family engagement and equitable practices.  She has demonstrated through her leadership that English Language development should not be a barrier for students to be successful in their learning and at school.  Through the use of multiple modes of communication, both virtual and in-person, she has hosted family coffees, created and provided informational videos for families, and used social media to inform families of school and community events. 

Additionally, Ms. Sain has sought out community partners to assist Lynbrook families in need with food, clothing, and additional instructional resources.  She transitioned the school’s Family Learning Center to an accessible, virtual environment so that families could continue to have daily access to education supports and community resources. A hands-on leader, Ms. Sain coached and mentored teachers to develop innovative virtual learning strategies to meet their students individual academic and socio-emotional needs, thus resulting in increased overall student achievement in a virtual school setting.

Ms. Sain earned her Bachelor of Arts in History at Virginia Military Institute and her Master of Education from George Mason University.  She holds a Post-Graduate Certificate in Educational Leadership from The George Washington University and holds professional licenses with endorsements in Administration and Supervision PreK-12, Specific learning Disabilities K-12, Emotional Disabilities K-12 and Intellectual Disabilities K-12. 

Please join me in welcoming Ms. Sain as the new principal at Lynbrook Elementary School!  She is looking forward to continuing to work closely with students, families, and staff in creating a warm, safe, nurturing, and inclusive learning environment for all.