Thursday, Aug. 21, 2008
Working in Montgomery County high schools for more than a decade and sitting in traffic on I-495, there was no guarantee Dian Carter could get home to Upper Marlboro in time to help her two children with their homework or even tuck them in at night.
But in September, Carter's children will have her at their full disposal when she begins as the new principal of their school, St. Ambrose School, a private K-8 school in Cheverly.
In addition to being closer to daughter Bryanna, 9, and son Caleb, 6, Carter, 37, said she likes St. Ambrose because it has an existing community support system and dedicated parents, teachers and staff.
Carter served as an assistant principal at Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School from 2003 to 2005 and at Wheaton High School from 2005 to 2008. Prior to taking the position at Bethesda-Chevy Chase, Carter taught at Bethesda's Walter Johnson and Lanham's DuVal high schools. Carter, a 1988 DuVal graduate, said the transition will mean less behavior problems and a chance to prepare eighth-graders for high school.
Despite her responsibilities, Carter remained a notable face at St. Ambrose. She served as a room mom—a volunteer parent in the classroom—cheerleading coach and president of St. Ambrose's Home and Schools Association.
Carter said Bryanna is excited to see her often but Caleb already thought she worked at the school because of her extracurricular activities. After being deemed "the boss of the school," Carter said Caleb thought he would be teased if sent to the principal's office but she reminded him he never did anything to warrant a trip there before.
Carter will launch a series of firsts for the school, including a daily lunch program designed to give children options in addition to Thursday pizza lunches. Carter said children can purchase a lunch for $3.50 or parents can pay $56 a month for their child to eat lunch every day. She also wants to start after-school science and quiz bowl clubs and offer tutoring for children who need extra help with schoolwork.
Within a few years, Carter hopes the school will offer algebra II and geometry for advanced level students and eventually pre-International Baccalaureate and pre-AP courses because she said the school has to stay competitive with public schools. St. Ambrose currently offers math up to algebra I. She also wants continued exposure to technology, such as using computers for research. Currently St. Ambrose students begin computer use as early as pre-kindergarten.
Following years of high school education, Carter said she knows what's expected of incoming ninth-graders.
"I know where they have to end up and I can help them get there," Carter said.
Carter is responsible for another of the school's firsts. She began its first summer day camp in 2007. Each week of the six-week long camp had a different theme such as "America the Beautiful" and "Kids in the Kitchen" where children were given cooking projects. Campers also took weekly field trips to places such as the U Street Corridor and National Zoo in Washington, D.C.
Stacey Polk of Bowie worked alongside Carter as a member of St. Ambrose's Home and Schools Association. Polk said her two children attended Carter's camp last year and begged her to enroll them for a second year.
"She's a good parent," Polk said. "She's good with the kids. She knows how to play on their level where they don't see her always as a dominant figure but know what point they need to respect her and when to play with her. I like that about her."
Jim Goeke-Morey, St. Ambrose's junior high social studies teacher, said Carter brings experience and energy to the school as well as new resources such as finding parents with catering and food service experience to help plan the daily school lunch.
"The thing everybody notices about Mrs. Carter right away is the enthusiasm and dedication she has toward the children and school already," Goeke-Morey said. "She thinks about the big picture. She always has ideas of how can we do things better."
E-mail Natalie McGill at nmcgill@gazette.net
