Burning Tree Elementary School principal Nancy Erdrich will leave the school for another MCPS administrative position June 30, she announced in a May 16 email to parents.
During Erdrich’s three years as principal, Burning Tree has incorporated new technology like Promethean and ELMO boards into every classroom and won grants for arts, special education and environmental programs. Bethesda Magazine readers also voted Burning Tree “Best Elementary School” this year.
“Leaving a school and the children I have watched grow is always difficult,” Erdrich wrote in a letter to the community. “Burning Tree will continue to have a special place in my heart.”
PTA president Ellie Abramowitz said she respects Erdrich’s choice to leave the school.
“It was Mrs. Erdrich’s decision to leave Burning Tree, and we wish her well in her next endeavor,” Abramowitz said.
Erdrich helped her students develop an awareness of social issues at a young age, parent Lisa Lerner said.
“The kids have been involved in charitable projects for Japan and Haiti,” Lerner said. “I think it’s good to bring those kind of projects to the school.”
Other parents believe Burning Tree’s reputation suffered while Erdrich was principal, citing different measures of school performance including lower test scores.
“I’m not particularly fond of what she’s done,” a Burning Tree parent said. “I think there’s a lot of stuff at the school that has changed, and not necessarily for the better. I don’t know if that’s necessarily a reflection of the principal’s abilities, but it happened under her watch.”
Although fifth graders’ math and reading scores on the Maryland State Assessment increased by an average of 2.95 percent from 2008 to 2010, third graders’ scores dropped by an average of 8.05 percent, and fourth graders’ scores dropped by an average of 4.4 percent, according to data from the School Improvement of Maryland website.
Erdrich faced criticism from parents in March after accidentally forwarding confidential results from third-grade gifted and talented selection tests to BTNet, the parent listserv.
Community superintendent Sean Bulson and Denise Greene, cluster director of school performance, will meet with parents and staff this month to gather community input before selecting Erdrich’s replacement. The first community meeting for parents to discuss desired qualities of a new principal is scheduled for May 24 at 7 p.m. in the Burning Tree media center.
“A principal should be somebody who has a good communication style with the parents, the children and our very strong PTA,” Lerner said. “We need somebody who’s going to be an advocate for our school and for the funding.”
