Dear Westwood Families,
Welcome to Westwood Hills Elementary School, where the student is the most important person in our school. I am excited to join the many dedicated professionals at Westwood and to work with you to have a fantastic 2019-2020 school year.
This will be my first year as Principal at Westwood and 16th year in education. Prior to becoming an administrator, I taught 7th grade and high school math for 11 years in Page and Rockingham Counties. For the past four years, I have served as the assistant principal at William Perry Elementary School in Waynesboro. I am a native of the area having attended Westwood for kindergarten and 1st grade before moving to the county where I graduated from Wilson Memorial High School. I received a B.S. from Virginia Tech in 2004, a M.Ed. from JMU in 2010, a certificate in Educational Leadership from JMU in 2013, and a Ph.D. from JMU in 2019.
On a personal note, I have been married to my wonderful wife Leslie for 14 years, and we have two boys, Zayden who is seven and Zachary who is five. As a family we enjoy sports, reading, and traveling. We are avid supporters of Virginia Tech athletics and can often be found cheering on the Hokies on Saturdays in the fall.
Westwood Hills Elementary School enjoys a great reputation of being a wonderful school. In conjunction with our PTO, parents, and the surrounding community, I look forward to carrying on this tradition. I cannot wait to work with your children and know that together we can make the 2019-2020 school year fantastic.
Sincerely,
D. Gregory Harris