Dr. Sean Rolon is deeply commit­ted to educa­tion and contin­u­ous growth, and his career so far reflects that. Rolon received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from James Madi­son Univer­sity (JMU), major­ing in History. He began his career at Marshall High School, teach­ing history and govern­ment for six years. During his final two years at Marshall, his passion for lead­er­ship quickly became evident. Rolon served as an assess­ment coach, support­ing student success. 

Addi­tion­ally, he partic­i­pated in the Accel­er­ated Certi­fi­ca­tion Cohort, a Fair­fax County program designed to prepare educa­tors for roles in admin­is­tra­tion. After complet­ing this program, Rolon served as an assis­tant prin­ci­pal at Mclean High School for five years, sharp­en­ing his lead­er­ship skills and support­ing the school’s success. 

A pivotal moment in Dr. Rolon’s career came after being temporar­ily assigned to Glas­gow Middle School, step­ping in for an admin­is­tra­tor on mater­nity leave. “That kind of changed the trajec­tory of where I wanted to be,” Rolon says about his time at Glas­gow. Rolon then applied for the assis­tant prin­ci­pal posi­tion at Falls Church High School, a role he held for two years before land­ing at Justice. On top of his impres­sive career expe­ri­ence, Rolon has also completed a doctor­ate from Virginia Tech, show­cas­ing his dedi­ca­tion to learn­ing and leadership. 

Dr. Rolon’s passion and enthu­si­asm for Justice High School is clear. “This is the perfect school,” he says, “this is exactly where I want to be.” Rolon high­lights the school’s diver­sity, its strong commit­ment to advo­cacy, and its status as an Inter­na­tional Baccalau­re­ate (IB) school as key factors that align with his educa­tional philosophy. 

“Advo­cacy is really, really impor­tant,” Dr. Rolon empha­sizes. He believes that in a diverse commu­nity like Justice, it’s impor­tant for educa­tors to be present and engaged, ensur­ing every student has access to the support they need. While Rolon acknowl­edges there are chal­lenges that come with a large school like Justice, he sees them as worthy of tack­ling because, in his words, “our kids are worth it.” 

Dr. Rolon has several key prior­i­ties as he approaches his first year at Justice. Firstly, he wants to ensure that both students and staff feel safe and supported within the school envi­ron­ment. Rolon adds that creat­ing a strong sense of commu­nity will help students thrive acad­e­m­i­cally and person­ally. He is commit­ted to ensur­ing every student has an advo­cate within the school. “Having one person, just one adult who is there for you, can make all the differ­ence,” he states. 

Addi­tion­ally, Rolon plans to encour­age both students and staff to step out of their comfort zones, hoping every­one “feel[s] comfort­able stretch­ing them­selves a little bit just to try some­thing differ­ent.” Dr. Rolon believes growth happens when indi­vid­u­als are will­ing to take risks. “I think it’s really impor­tant to expose students to rigor,” he says, “I want to make sure we continue to build on our rigor­ous courses while still making them acces­si­ble for students.”

Another key part of Dr. Rolan’s vision for Justice is empow­er­ing students to take an active role in impor­tant school deci­sions. He plans to continue the Principal’s Advi­sory Coun­cil as a way to give students a direct voice in student gover­nance. Rolan believes in stay­ing connected with students at a personal level, some­times work­ing in collab­o­ra­tion with student lead­er­ship classes. “This is your school,” he tells students, “and I want you to help make deci­sions that shape it.” 

When asked about his lead­er­ship style, Dr. Rolan describes himself as a “servant leader.” He believes in lead­ing by exam­ple and never asks staff or students to do anything he wouldn’t do himself. “I like to be in the trenches,” he says, empha­siz­ing a hands-on approach to prob­lem solving. 

Dr. Rolan also values posi­tiv­ity and solu­tion-oriented think­ing. In a profes­sion that can often be chal­leng­ing, he strives to focus on cele­brat­ing successes and work­ing construc­tively to address obsta­cles. “Educa­tion is a hard profes­sion. It’s a hard job, and it’s so easy to focus only on the nega­tive, so I really try to be as posi­tive as I can.” 

With a passion for student advo­cacy, a hands-on lead­er­ship style, and a clear vision for the future, Dr. Sean Rolan is ready to make a last­ing impact on Justice High School. Welcome to the Wolfpack!