Prince
William
County
Public
Schools
(PWCS)
announced
today
that
Neil
Beech
has
been
selected
as
the
principal
of
the
13th
high
school,
effective
July
1.
Beech
has
served
as
the
principal
of
Osbourn
Park
High
School
since
2010.
"I'm
fortunate
to
have
had
so
many
rewarding
professional
opportunities
in
Prince
William
County,
throughout
my
career,"
Beech
said.
"I've
loved
every
minute
of
my
time
at
OP
and
will
always
have
fond
memories
of
being
principal
of
such
an
outstanding
school.
I'm
excited
to
have
the
opportunity
to
be
involved
in
opening
a
new
school.
It
will
be
a
different
type
of
work,
initially,
and
a
new
challenge
for
me.
I'm
looking
forward
to
being
able
to
work
with
the
community
to
develop
the
culture
and
characteristics
of
the
13
high
school,
to
make
it
the
most
positive
learning
environment
that
we
can
for
generations
of
students
to
come."
The
13th
high
school,
which
will
be
formally
named
later
this
spring,
will
open
by
the
beginning
of
the
2021-22
school
year.
It
is
located
at
13150
University
Boulevard
in
Gainesville,
near
Jiffy
Lube
Live.
While
serving
as
principal
at
Osbourn
Park
High,
Beech
led
efforts
to
increase
the
graduation
rate,
improve
scores
on
the
SAT
and
ACT,
reduce
disciplinary
infractions,
and
increase
participation
in
the
Advanced
Placement
program.
He
served
as
assistant
principal
at
Osbourn
Park
High
for
three
years
prior
to
being
named
principal.
He
was
also
the
testing
coordinator
and
a
biology
teacher
at
Brentsville
District
High
School.
In
2019,
Beech
was
named
the
Virginia
Association
of
School
Librarians
Administrator
of
the
Year.
He
is
also
a
Milken
Educator
Award
recipient,
and
Visiting
International
Faculty
Cultural
Education
of
the
Year.
He
was
also
a
finalist
for
the
Washington
Post
Agnes
Meyer
Teacher
of
the
Year.
Beech and his wife Jess have two children who attend school in PWCS.