Former PWC teacher named principal of Fauquier High School

Clarence (Tripp) Burton III will become principal of Fauquier High School effective July 1 upon the retirement of longtime FHS Principal Roger Sites.

Burton, 40, has been an assistant principal at Kettle Run High School since the school opened in 2008. Prior to coming to Fauquier County,  Burton, who goes by the nickname “Tripp,” worked in Loudoun County as the eighth-grade dean at J.L. Simpson Middle School for four years. In 2006 he served as a high school summer school principal in Loudoun County where he supervised a 1300-student school with a staff of 82.

Before moving into administration, he taught social studies for two years at Loudoun County’s alternative school, The Douglass School, and for five years in both Prince William and Stafford Counties.  In addition to his teaching duties, Mr. Burton coached all levels of boys’ high school basketball for various schools, as well as freshmen girls’ basketball.

Burton has a B.S. in political science from James Madison University and a master’s degree in educational leadership from George Mason University. He comes from a family of educators, a fact that profoundly influenced his decision to pursue a career in education.
   
He was quoted in a news release as saying, “Coming from a family of educators allowed me to see the benefits of a career in education,” he said. “I wanted the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of children. Also, my teachers and coaches were the people that as a student I liked to be around.” Further, the field of education appealed to Burton, he said, because “every day is a new adventure.”
         
The newly named principal said that his biggest challenge as principal of the venerable Fauquier High School will be to “uphold the tradition of excellence that Fauquier High School has established over the last 50 years.”  He said he was “truly humbled and excited to be the new principal at Fauquier High School. I cannot wait to meet the students, parents and educators that have made and continue to make Fauquier High School the special place that it is.”

Burton lives with his family in Culpeper.