As the search for a new principal pushes into the current school year, interim principal Dan Meier has entered our sphere to be acting principal for one year. He hopes to be accessible to the student body and involved in school activities.

Meier has experience in education and has been a teacher, football coach, guidance counselor, assistant principal, guidance director, and the principal of a middle school and of a secondary school. Additionally, he has been interim principal at over 14 schools. Meier said he loves working directly with students and has enjoyed the opportunity to give back to his teachers and students.

“So my biggest goal is to try to make an impact on these kids, try to connect with them, try to  help kids in every school I go to,” Meier said.

Coming from ten years spent at Robinson, Meier said he’s very impressed with the students and staff LB and has enjoyed seeing the other side of the rivalry. He said he wants the students to think of him as a resource for help and has spent the past two weeks getting to know LB.

“I’m really just trying to be visible,” Meier said, “Know the students, visit classrooms and see what’s going on, get familiar with the place.”

One way Meier has interacted with students in the past has been deciding the phone policy at previous schools. He said that Robinson used to have a strict phone policy where the kids couldn’t have them out in the cafeteria. He told the seniors that if one of them could beat him in a push-up contest, they could use their phones in the hallways and cafeteria. Meier lost by one push-up to state champion diver, Cory Bowersox, 50-51.

“It was just a fun way of showing that we were changing with the times,” Meier said. “I like to have fun, I think we should laugh in the school and we’ve got a lot of work to do, but I think we should have time to laugh.”

Students like junior Mary Huynh said that she thinks he seems to care a lot about student’s education by being strict about the bell-to-bell policy.

“He has a lot of experience because he’s worked at Robinson and Oakton,” junior Marisa Dang said.

Meier said he has gone to the football games this season and loves seeing the students do what they have a passion for. He said that high school is a time to expand your horizon.

“I think he’s more involved with the school and he’s more interactive with us,” junior Mary Farag said.

His experience has helped him in transitioning to different schools. Meier said he learns from his students and is excited to get to know the students.

“And it’s not important that you like the adults in your life right now,” Meier said, “It’s important that you respect them ten or 15 years from now. It’s the teachers and the coaches that made you better that really made the difference.”

Meier said that he remembers things becoming impersonal at his high school and he wants to do what he can to make sure this isn’t the case with LB, even though it is a big school.

“We as educators have the opportunity to make a different in young people’s’ lives each and every day,” Meier said.

“I’ve been in this business for over forty years,” Meier said, “I’ve enjoyed every step of the way and I’m certainly enjoying these first few weeks at Lake Braddock.”