Coates Elementary's Jesse Kraft Named Principal Of The Year

HERNDON, VA — Jesse Kraft, the principal at Coates Elementary School in Herndon, was named The Washington Post’s 2020 Principal of the Year, according to a Fairfax County Public Schools press release. Kraft was selected for the honor from a group of 19 finalists from schools across the Washington, D.C. metro region.

“Jesse has taken strides to make our community feel welcome and to partner with them as much as possible,” nominator Josie Mani, Coates' gifted education teacher, told the Post. “He has made Coates more inviting and welcoming to all. We have bright, colorful murals and artwork inside, and welcoming signs and banners outside. Jesse invites community members, such as churches, businesses and the Coates family.”

In its story about Kraft, the Post highlighted his leadership during the coronavirus pandemic, when students had to study from home because all of the county's schools were closed. Teachers and staff used Coates' Facebook page to share lessons with students.

Kraft has been a principal at Coates Elementary since 2016. Before that, he was a teacher at Newington Forest Elementary and assistant principal at both Westlawn and Oak Hill elementary schools. In 2009, Coates took on his first tenure as a principal at Providence Elementary. He was named FCPS Outstanding First Year Principal in 2010 and was nominated for FCPS Teacher of the Year in 2004.

Read the Washington Post's story ...

For The Post’s Principal of the Year, leading through crisis came naturally