Administration

Highland Springs High School Senior Leadership Team

Ms. La Toya Draper Follow @HSHS_AsPDraper	Associate Principal	Ms. Draper was raised in Hampton, Virginia and attended Virginia Commonwealth University for both undergraduate and graduate studies. She earned her Post-Master’s In Educational Leadership from The George Washington University. Ms. Draper, formerly a School Counseling Director has a Biology degree that she still utilizes by working as a Laboratory Technologist! She is married, and is the mom to two boys and one dog. Fun fact – everyone in her house has a name that begins with “J” except her! She loves to travel, and made trips to Curaçao and Antigua last year!
Mr. Rick Lilly Follow @Springer_AP	Assistant Principal	Mr. Lilly was raised in Charlottesville, Va. where he graduated from Charlottesville High School. He attended Randolph-Macon for two years before transferring to the University of Virginia and graduating with a degree in Foreign Affairs. Mr. Lilly began his career in education as an International Teaching Fellow in Thessaloniki, Greece. He then taught government for 5 years at Charlottesville High School, being recognized as an Annenberg Teaching Fellow in Washington, D.C. Mr. Lilly then served as a high school Director of Student Activities for 13 years, including two at Highland Springs High School before being appointed as an Assistant Principal. Mr. Lilly was recognized as the 2013-14 Virginia Athletic Administrator of the year, 2017 National Award of Merit and 2020 Frank Kovaleski Professional Development Award for the NIAAA Section II. Mr. Lilly obtained his Master’s degree in Administration and Supervision from Shenandoah University and is currently in his third year in their Doctoral program in Educational Leadership. He resides in Henrico County with his wife and two children.
Mr. Salman Parvaiz	Assistant Principal	Mr. Parvaiz has been a public educator for 20 years. Prior to becoming an assistant principal, he was a Physics and Astronomy teacher. He brings with him teaching and leadership experience from middle and high school environments. Mr. Parvaiz is a graduate of the University of Virginia where he earned his bachelor's degree in Physics with a minor in Economics. He returned to UVA for his Masters in Public School Administration and Supervision. He considers himself an advocate for Agile methodologies, virtual reality/augmented reality education, PBIS and 3D printing.
Mrs. JoAna Smith Follow @JoAnaMJSmith	Assistant Principal	JoAna Smith is excited to serve as an assistant principal of Highland Springs High School. She has 15 years of experience teaching Spanish at the middle and high school levels, including Advanced Placement (AP) courses. She is also a licensed English as a Second Language Teacher. Mrs. Smith graduated from Randolph-Macon College with her degree in Spanish and is endorsed to teach PreK-12. Her certificated to teach English Language Learners is from George Washington University. JoAna earned her Master’s Degree in Administration & Supervision from the University of Virginia. Ms. Smith and her husband have two dogs and enjoy playing and watching sports, especially soccer and lacrosse.
Mr. Michael Dunson Follow @HSHS_Dunson	Administrative Intern	Mr. Dunson was raised in the small country town of Lawrenceville, VA. There, he graduated from Brunswick High School, the home of the Bulldogs. In 2015, Mr. Dunson graduated from Longwood University with a degree in Liberal Studies with a Focus in Middle School Mathematics with an Algebra 1 endorsement. After graduating from Longwood, Mr. Dunson went to work at L. Douglas Wilder Middle School, where he served for 6 years as a 7th grade and algebra 1 mathematics teacher, he also served in the role of the grade-level chair and administrative aide. Currently, Mr. Dunson is attending Regent University working towards a Master’s degree in Administration and Supervision with an expected completion date of August 30th, 2021. Mr. Dunson resides in Chesterfield County with his beautiful wife, and in his spare time, he enjoys spending time with his family and friends. He knows that being a part of the Springer family will be an incredible learning experience.
Mr. Joshua Hurley Follow @JoshHurley14	Director of School Counseling	Mr. Hurley graduated from Massaponax High School in Fredericksburg, VA and earned his Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Virginia Commonwealth University. He worked at Richmond Behavioral Health Authority for 5 years as a Youth Day Treatment Lead Case Manager before returning to VCU for a Master’s in School Counseling. Since 2014, Mr. Hurley has worked as a director of school counseling at a high school in Hanover County and has recently joined the team at Highland Springs High School. Mr. Hurley served on the Virginia School Counselor Association Board for 3 years before returning to VCU to pursue his PhD in Counselor Education and Supervision. He was also recently named VSCA School Counselor of the Year for the state of Virginia. Mr. Hurley enjoys spending time with his family and treasure hunting.
Mr. Brian Smith Follow @HSHS_Teachers	Instructional Coach and New Teacher Coordinator	Mr. Smith has a BA in History and a Master of Teaching (Broad Endorsement in Social Studies) from Virginia Commonwealth University. He is currently serving as the Director of the Futsal Development Academy for 9 Time USYF National Champion FutsalRVA. Mr. Smith is the Director of Futsal RVA Metro Futsal Program. The best part of his job is that he gets to spend his time collaborating with other creative, civic minded, people for the benefit of young people, and the community as a whole. He has a side hustle as a mural artist. Mr. Smith’s interests include anything with 2 wheels, community involvement, gardening, and nerd stuff.