When Cathleen Lopez was asked in Julyto become principal of Northfield Elementary School in Ellicott City, it was a dream come true.

The 23-year educator, a Howard County native, said she found her passion for administration during her teaching years and is anxious for the start of school this week at Northfield Elementary.

Lopez’s assignment is one of numerous administrative changes made under Interim Superintendent Michael Martirano, who took the helm of the school system in June.

The Howard County Board of Education approved nearly a dozen school principal promotions and transfers in early August. In addition to Lopez’s promotion, Long Reach High School assistant principal Nelda Sims will become Reservoir High’s new principal and Cradlerock Elementary assistant principal Jennifer Zinn will become the school’s new principal.

Promotions extended to Pointers Run Elementary, where reading specialist D. Christy Conklin was transferred to Bellows Spring Elementary as its new assistant principal, and Hammond High teacher Malcolm Anderson was promoted to assistant principal at Long Reach High.

Lopez was busy setting up her office and introducing herself to faculty and staff weeks before the start of school at Northfield.

Her first day on the job as principal was Aug. 7, she said as she stocked rows of children’s books, stuffed animals and family photos on her bookshelves.

Lopez began climbing the ranks in Howard County public schools after graduating from Radford University in Virginia, where she received a Bachelor of Science degree in interdisciplinary studies and elementary education with concentrations in math and special education.

A 1989 graduate of Howard High School, the Ellicott City resident was hired as a special educator at Forest Ridge Elementary in 1994 and started teaching third and fourth grade the following year.

In 1999, Lopez was transferred to Atholton Elementary as a third-grade teacher and instructional team leader for one year and returned to school in 2000 for a master’s degree in education administration and supervision at what is now Loyola University Maryland.

“I began thinking about administration and what that would mean for my career,” Lopez said. “Many of my co-workers quickly went into administration, but I was not done yet teaching in the classroom. I felt like I had not done everything I’d set out to do.”

In 2006, Lopez took her first administrative position, at Jeffers Hill Elementary as an assistant principal. Lopez said she later moved to Bellows Spring Elementary in 2012 under the same job title.

At the end of her first year at Bellows Spring, Lopez said, she found herself with another possible job opportunity when the school’s then-principal, Jackie Klamerus, announced her retirement. Lopez applied but didn’t get the job.

“It was the people who said, ‘Cathleen, why haven’t you applied yet? You need to do this. You’re a good leader,’?” Lopez said. “I said, ‘OK, I’ll give it a whirl.’ It didn’t work out for me that year, but it was a seed that was planted. It was a really good thing that I had that experience.”

Ann Norton, a fourth-grade teacher at Northfield Elementary who had worked with Lopez at Jeffers Hill, said the new principal was always personable and that Lopez started the cultural proficiency program at Jeffers Hill, which Norton said was forward-thinking at the time.

“She jumped right in and did a great job,” Norton said. “Coming to Northfield, it’s just nice having her back. Northfield has a strong legacy of principals.”

Lopez said the community at Northfield, which is just down the street from her home, welcomed her with open arms during a recent meet-and-greet with students and their families.

“It’s important to have a welcoming environment for students and staff, she said, and “show what kind of person I am.

“I feel like I’ve been very well supported by our personnel and everyone. [Howard County schools] do a great job of developing leaders.”

At Reservoir, Sims said her promotion not only changes her title to principal but marks her return to the high school, where she was the assistant principal from 2011 to 2016.

Sims was assistant principal at Long Reach High last year, and before that had been assistant principal at Wilde Lake High since 2003. The Marriottsville resident was hired at Wilde Lake as a special education teacher and instructional team leader in 1999 after moving from Youngstown, Ohio, where she was a para-educator.

“It was a long road to where I am now,” Sims said. “I’m excited and ecstatic. I was only gone for a year and coming back just feels great.”

Progression continues to play a key role in Howard County public schools, which Sims said she hopes to bring to Reservoir by creating “an environment of unlimited possibilities.”

Martirano’s views of equity and “kids first” have her full support, she added.

“That’s what I’ve always wanted to create,” Sims said. “I want kids to recognize their potential and the staff to reflect on why we’re here and what it is we’re going to do to continue to inspire students. I want students to come through this building and feel like they belong, find their place and find where they can shine.”

anmichaels@baltsun.com