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Eastern Middle School Principal Charlotte Boucher will succeed John Poole Middle School Principal Rick Bishop when he retires from the Poolesville school July 1.

The appointment is something of a homecoming for Boucher — she lives on the Dickerson farm where she used to spend summers visiting her grandparents, and her parents met while teaching at Poolesville High School.

"I'm telling myself I won the lottery," said Boucher, 58, who is married with two grown children. "It's a community I grew up with and have a great deal of affection for."

Eastern has been at the forefront of several system-wide initiatives such as middle school reform, a three-year program that emphasizes technology-based education, and Read 180, an intervention course for struggling readers, during Boucher's six-year tenure at the Silver Spring school, she said.

"It's a wonderful school and wonderful community — it will always be in one of the warmest places in my heart," Boucher said, adding she's looking forward to continuing practices already in place at John Poole and seeing what her impact on the school will be.

"She was extremely passionate about, at this time in career, having the opportunity to be at John Poole Middle School," said PTA President and interviewing committee member Melanie Dahlen.

Bishop, 59, came to John Poole from Gaithersburg Middle School in 2005. He began his career in Montgomery County Public Schools in 1971 as a physical education teacher and plans to spend more time with his family including his first grandchild, due in September.

"I've been several places and any time you go to a new school you learn a lot. It's always great," the Ijamsville resident said. "The sense of community here is different from a lot of places, it's very unique."

Bishop said some of things he's most proud of from his tenure at John Poole include the school's annual Science Expo, improved Maryland School Assessment testing scores and the creation of the Poolesville Youth Symphony Orchestra.

Boucher received her bachelor's degree in French and English from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn., and a Master of Arts in teaching from Wesleyan University in Middletown, Conn., and she also completed advanced coursework in administration and supervision at American University in Washington, D.C., according to MCPS documents.

Boucher began her teaching career in the county in 1972 at Edwin W. Broome Junior High School, according to MCPS. She taught in Michigan for five years and ran a sweater-designing business in Canada before returning to the county in 1985 as a French, English and ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) teacher at Earle B. Wood Middle School.

Boucher was an interdisciplinary resource teacher at Wood Middle and at Briggs Chaney and John T. Baker middle schools. She started at Rocky Hill Middle School as a resource teacher in 1995 and served as assistant principal from 1997-99.

She was a secondary English coordinator for the school system from 1999-2000 and coordinated Richard Montgomery High School's International Baccalaureate program from 2000-03.