Langley lands new leadership
By Monty Tayloe
Last week, Langley High School announced the hiring of its next principal, Matthew Ragone, currently an assistant principal at Chantilly High School.“I'm very excited. ... Langley is a great place with great staff – that's what makes it great,” Ragone said.
Ragone was selected after an exhaustive series of interviews with county staff and parents. He will replace William Clendaniel, who is retiring after eight years as principal at Langley.
“It was pretty intimidating, but I had a lot of fun in there,” Ragone said of the process.
Ragone doesn't anticipate any problems adjusting to the McLean community because he spent six years as a teacher at McLean High School, on the other side of the legendary rivalry.
During his 13 years of teaching, Ragone also taught at Falls Church High School and Lake Braddock Secondary School. As a co-author of the Fairfax County Public Schools Program of Studies for World History and Geography II, he had a role in deciding what students all over Fairfax County are taught.
Although he specializes in history, Ragone actually got into education as a swimming instructor.
“I was teaching swimming to kids, and I was good at it, it worked. Everything they taught me to do worked with them ... so I went into teaching,” said Ragone, who went from the pool to Mary Washington College, George Mason University and Virginia Tech.
Ragone, a Herndon resident and father of two young children, says he is ready to work with Langley parents and their legendary high expectations.
“I consider myself one of them. ... They care about their kids and they want people to work hard for them,” Ragone said.
Ragone's official start date is July 1.