Casserian Engeri?
(How are the children?)
This greeting is a tradition from the Masai warriors, one of the most intelligent and accomplished tribes in all of Africa. It is not surprising that “Casserian Engeri” is the common greeting among warriors because it means, “How are the children?” The traditional response is, “All the children are well.” The tribe valued the happiness and care of the young and if the children were well it meant their society was prioritizing the right things. Their exchange embodies the work of our school this year, creating a place where all of the children are well, a school where the focus is the academic, social, and emotional learning of all children.
I am humbled to lead this important work at Langley Elementary School and to work together as a community to build a place where students and adults love to learn and help one another. At Langley, we believe classrooms should be challenging and joyful for all students and prepare them for college and career in the real world. I hope when you visit Langley it will be evident to you that “Casserian Engeri” is the question that guides the daily learning at our school.
Best,
Vanessa Drumm-Canepa
Principal, Langley Elementary School
(How are the children?)
This greeting is a tradition from the Masai warriors, one of the most intelligent and accomplished tribes in all of Africa. It is not surprising that “Casserian Engeri” is the common greeting among warriors because it means, “How are the children?” The traditional response is, “All the children are well.” The tribe valued the happiness and care of the young and if the children were well it meant their society was prioritizing the right things. Their exchange embodies the work of our school this year, creating a place where all of the children are well, a school where the focus is the academic, social, and emotional learning of all children.
I am humbled to lead this important work at Langley Elementary School and to work together as a community to build a place where students and adults love to learn and help one another. At Langley, we believe classrooms should be challenging and joyful for all students and prepare them for college and career in the real world. I hope when you visit Langley it will be evident to you that “Casserian Engeri” is the question that guides the daily learning at our school.
Best,
Vanessa Drumm-Canepa
Principal, Langley Elementary School
Principal, Vanessa Drumm-Canepa
Vanessa Drumm grew up in northern New Jersey in a close-knit Italian family. She graduated from Duke University in 2004 with a major in history and minor in English. During senior year of college, she took an education class and volunteered at a local community center where she fell in love with teaching and found her calling. She went on to complete her Masters degree in Elementary Education at George Washington University and then taught for six years in nearby Fairfax County, Virginia, and in San Diego, California. In Fairfax County, she focused her professional development on balanced literacy instruction and math workshop; she took coursework in small group literacy instruction and reading assessments.
In 2011, she came to DC Public Schools as the instructional coach at Watkins Elementary School and worked closely with teachers to plan units of study and coach them on best practices in the classroom. In addition, she worked on the math curriculum design team here in DCPS and the Chancellor’s Reading cabinet to help make informed decisions about literacy instruction in DCPS. In 2013, Ms. Drumm moved into the Assistant Principal role at Watkins and led the Literacy and Special Education departments for three years, specifically focusing on supporting struggling readers. Ms. Drumm lives in northeast Washington, D.C., and loves to travel, cook, and spend time with her rescue puppy, baby daughter and husband.
In 2011, she came to DC Public Schools as the instructional coach at Watkins Elementary School and worked closely with teachers to plan units of study and coach them on best practices in the classroom. In addition, she worked on the math curriculum design team here in DCPS and the Chancellor’s Reading cabinet to help make informed decisions about literacy instruction in DCPS. In 2013, Ms. Drumm moved into the Assistant Principal role at Watkins and led the Literacy and Special Education departments for three years, specifically focusing on supporting struggling readers. Ms. Drumm lives in northeast Washington, D.C., and loves to travel, cook, and spend time with her rescue puppy, baby daughter and husband.
Assistant Principal, Dr. Justin Lien
Dr. Justin Lien was born and raised in North Dakota. He is a Board-Certified Special Educator (B.C.S.E.) holds a Bachelor’s degree in Special Education (B.S.), a Master’s degree in Educational Administration (M.S.A.) and a Doctoral degree (Ed.D.) in Educational Leadership and Management with a concentration in Special Education Leadership. Dr. Lien has worked with District of Columbia Public Schools since 2011 as a central office employee developing programming supports, monitoring educational interventions and curriculum as well as modeling best practices. He has a deep commitment to the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) where he has been delivering state and national presentations on special education topics since 2015. In his free time, Dr. Lien enjoys traveling, party planning, hockey and wedding planning.
Dean of Students, Monique Robinson
Monique Robinson is a passionate education advocate for children with five years working for the District of Columbia Public Schools. Before calling Langley Elementary home, she worked with students that had unique abilities. This is where she credits discovering how important it is to develop meaningful relationships with students to foster both their social emotional and academic success. Ms. Robinson is a native Washingtonian with a zest for the performing arts. She attended Duke Ellington School of the Arts majoring in Vocal Music. She continued to pursue her passion for performing arts by studying at Wilberforce University also, majoring in voice. She has always had an interest in working with children but discovered her professional path by working at Langley Elementary. She worked strategically to shift Langley’s culture in a more positive way. Since doing so Langley has been recognized for making significant gains that impacted positive school culture through a successful year of implementing Conscious Discipline. Ms. Robinson is pleased to have been apart of Langley’s growth and looks forward to serving this beloved community as Dean of Students!
Director of Operations, Colin Welch
Colin is a data nerd who enjoys playing a support role with teachers and school leaders. Colin has worked as a sandwich artist, bus driver, social studies teacher, nonprofit manager, data manager with two charter schools, and data specialist with DCPS central office. Colin has lived in DC with his wife for eleven years including the past five years in Eckington. He and his wife just welcomed their first child and is looking forward to having his little one join the Langley community in school year 2023-24.
Assistant Principal of Math, Alka Aggarwal
Ms. Aggarwal is a veteran educator and has been working in education for seventeen years. She spent ten years as a classroom teacher, before moving into coaching/interventionist role for five years. For the past two years, she coached elementary and middle school teachers in full Instructional Coach capacity. Langley is a special and unique community of which she is proud to be a part of. Her goal as an Assistant Principal is to provide the leadership that will facilitate the best possible academic instruction. She is confident that our school will continue to be a place where our students can learn and grow academically and socially.
SPIN Coordinator, Victoria Lyles
Ms. Victoria Lyles will serve as the SPIN coordinator. Ms. Lyles is a native of Prince George’s County, Maryland and is a graduate of Davis and Elkins College in West Virginia where she earned her Bachelor’s degree, and she earned a Masters Degree in Education Administration in 2018. Ms. Lyles has an intense commitment to the school community and the maturation of social and emotional learning for ALL students.
She has worked in the DCPS community since 2012, serving underserved students and students with exceptionalities. You will often hear Ms. Lyles speak about relationship building and the value of her team, which she attributes as a huge part of her success and the success of her students. When she is not working she enjoys to travel, play football on the Washington Prodigy Women’s Tackle team, and spend quality time with family and friends. She is thrilled to join the Langley team and committed to helping keep this community on its current trajectory to 100% satisfaction for all stakeholders.
She has worked in the DCPS community since 2012, serving underserved students and students with exceptionalities. You will often hear Ms. Lyles speak about relationship building and the value of her team, which she attributes as a huge part of her success and the success of her students. When she is not working she enjoys to travel, play football on the Washington Prodigy Women’s Tackle team, and spend quality time with family and friends. She is thrilled to join the Langley team and committed to helping keep this community on its current trajectory to 100% satisfaction for all stakeholders.
Connected Schools Manager, Dwaine Carr
Dwaine has worked as Director of Social Emotional Learning at Washington Leadership Academy in Washington, DC for the past 2+ years. Prior to that, he served as Dean of Students in Harlem, New York as well as a social worker in New Jersey. Originally hailing from New Jersey, Dwaine obtained his Bachelor's degree from Rutgers University, where he majored in Labor Studies and Employment Relations with a minor in Psychology and his Masters in Social Work from Kean University. Dwaine enjoys meditating, basketball and spending time with family.