THE BEGINNING

When Shea walked across the stage for his high school graduation, he had no idea that thirty years later he would be the one handing out the diplomas. "Given some of my experiences in high school, it was amazing to me that I have become a high school principal," Shea says.

Shea grew up in a military family, causing him to move all over the world and attend nine schools before graduating in 1969. He went to high school for just one year in Montgomery County, attending Good Counsel. He spent his final three years of high school in England, at an American high school on an Air Force Base.

"I was pretty active in class office for three years, but I also managed to come by every now and then for referrals or notes from teachers of concern that the principal would want to see me," Shea says. While he was never suspended, he admits that he "spent a lot of hours in community service. I was told I was volunteering a lot."

While he did not yet know he would become a principal, Shea was sure he wanted to carry on a family tradition of working in education. After high school he attended Georgetown University, where he received his undergraduate degree in English Literature. He went on to earn his masters in reading at the University of Maryland.

Shea has spent the last 28 years working for Montgomery County Public Schools. He began as an English teacher, teaching nine years at Julius West and Martin Luther King Middle Schools. Eventually, he worked his way up into an administrative position. He spent eight years as the assistant principal at Seneca Valley High School and five years as the principal of Westland Middle School.

SHEA COMES TO QO

In July of 1996, Shea became the principal of QO. He was first attracted to QO because of its "positive reputation" and "good to excellent staff." He also cites the strong parent and community involvement and the "pretty good to excellent student body" as pluses.

After arriving at QO, the new principal worked hard to establish an open-door policy between himself and students. "I prefer more the open style," he says. "I think there are some issues I can handle on my feet facing a student or staff member, taking care of it immediately."

Shea eliminated the principal stereotype of someone who only occupies himself with his own work, and who is only reachable through his secretary. "I hope students see me as approachable, but also as an authority figure," he adds.

His openness also extends to parents. "It's important we keep real close communication with parents," he says. "The more the parent is involved, the [more] success for the student."

Having been principal for seven years, Shea has left his mark on QO, but there is much more he wants to accomplish.

He points to three critical goals. "I want to continue to try to find very bright teachers who can work well with students. Number two is to provide a comprehensive high school in a safe environment for all kids. The last thing I am trying to do is make sure kids find a place where they feel important and hopefully we can close that gap on student achievement."

Essentially, Shea wants QO to be able to "provide a high school for a hundred percent of the students in the community where they feel they can go off to excel in colleges and universities, as well as provide a school where kids who are in desperate shape can pick up their basic skills and move on well in the world of work."

Possibly nothing bothers Shea more than watching students drop out. "That's a real sad story," he says. In 1996, Shea took over the school with a four percent dropout rate, and through a variety of programs he has helped that number decrease to two percent.

However, he is hardly satisfied. "If you look at 1900 students, [that means] 38 students are dropping at annually. We cannot afford one high school where 38 students can dropout. It is unfortunate we can't solve the problems. That's an agonizing march to the front door to drop out. The staff and myself tend to take it personally because we wonder, 'what else could I do.'"

But while Shea takes students dropping out personally, he also takes pride in watching freshmen develop into successful seniors ready to head out into the world. Whether it's watching students excel in academics, music or athletics, Shea receives an "absolutely fantastic feeling" watching students mature. "[Watching] the tall, gawky, gangly kid turn out to be a great athlete or the quiet studious student who turns out to be a wonder acclamation on It's Academic is a lot of fun."

Shea says he can name hundreds of students who have graduated and gone on to be successful. "It's real important that educators take pride in the successes of their school," he says. "We take so much heat for the youth of America even though we only have the youth of America for four years, six hours a day. But we take a lot of the responsibility in our job."

LIFE BEYOND QO

To ask, "What is principal Daniel Shea doing when he's just citizen Daniel Shea?" is, in a way, impossible to answer. When he can escape from QO, which is not often as he spends approximately 80 hours a week in the building, he still carries the weight of principal as a community leader. "I love being in the community," the principal says. "I get to see a lot of students in different settings. It's fun to be shopping or at church and acknowledge parents." His active presence has helped reinforce the parent-school bond that Shea feels is so essential.

Shea is just one of two Montgomery County high school principals who live in the community of their school. "It is hard sometimes to separate [from the Quince Orchard community], but I don't resent my place in the community."

But that's not to say Shea doesn't have a life. He attends church at St. Rose of Lima weekly and loves to go sightseeing. "I enjoy going downtown to see sights," he says.

His family has always been very important to Shea. He has two daughters, both of whom have attended QO. Meghan graduated in 2001 and Caitlyn is currently a freshman. Being the principal keeps Shea busy, but it also allows him to attend his daughters' activities without interfering. "I've always worried that I impacted their time here, but apparently that's been okay. . They're pretty independent kids, but they run their own lives," he says.

SHEA NOWADAYS

This October, with the sniper still at large, Shea stood out in the parking lot in the pouring rain watching every student enter. Shea has one daughter at QO, but in another sense he has 1900 sons and daughters. "It was important to be visible at that time," Shea says.

Shea's job is one of enormous responsibility. From the Columbine High School tragedy to September 11, Shea says, "the issue of safety is becoming certainly bigger than it's ever been before." Shea is ultimately accountable for the safety of every student at QO. "It's daunting," he admits. "We are learning things that I never thought I would be learning."

Another unfortunate role of the principal is the one of disciplinarian. "I clearly know my role," he says. "It's an unfortunate circumstance, but I want safe schools. The vast majority of the students want safe schools, but there are a handful of kids taking advantage of that and we have to work with them. But if we have to suspend or expel those students, [I will]."

Aside from securing the safety of students, Shea is often overloaded with many other tasks.

"I've been to two meetings this week where I sat for seven or eight hours, listening to presenters and watching statistics. It's kind of mind- numbing to try to bring all that in and come back to the school and translate [the statistics] into action plans."

Yet, despite the sometimes overwhelming responsibility, Shea enjoys being the principal. He adds: "There are times when you wish it was somebody else's responsibility, but I believe I'm the right person to be there."

And he would like to continue to be that person. "I think I am a person who belongs in a high school. It's one of the best jobs a person could have."