The School Board named Iliana Gonzales Principal of Taylor Elementary School at its June 24 meeting. Gonzales is currently the Assistant Principal at Claremont Elementary School.

“Ms. Gonzales’ compassion for education is evident. She is enthusiastic and prepared to contribute her knowledge, passion, and skill set to maximize the student learning experiences at Taylor,” said Superintendent Dr. Francisco Durán. He continued, “Her commitment, alignment, and direction are key to leading Taylor to the next level of excellence. Ms. Gonzales is open to new ideas, focuses on communicating with parents and works to involve them in students’ academic success. She exhibits the professionalism, experience and dedication needed to support the Taylor community.”

She is a native Spanish speaker and attended a Spanish Immersion elementary school and studied one year in El Salvador. Gonzales received a bachelor’s degree in Communication from George Mason University and a master’s degree in Administration and Supervision in Education from Johns Hopkins University.

Gonzales brings over a decade of experience as a bilingual instructional leader with her most recent experience as an assistant principal at Claremont Immersion Elementary and Wakefield High School. She began her career as an elementary school teacher in Baltimore, and continued as a high school Spanish teacher in Fairfax County. She served as an assistant principal at Wakefield High School where she led the Freshmen Foundations, World Languages, and Spanish Immersion programs.

She has been instrumental in increasing achievement and life outcomes for students of color by warranting a high-quality bilingual education as evidenced by more than 90% of Claremont students continuing on to immersion in middle school. While at Claremont, Gonzales helped strengthen the support system and professional development by continually offering both bilingual faculty and non-instructional staff opportunities to grow and remain leaders in the field, increasing the school’s bilingual faculty to 80%.

Her appointment begins July 1.