A familiar face in Lynchburg City Schools is set to take the lead at E.C. Glass High School next school year, after the division named Daniel “Dani” J. Rule as the midtown school’s next principal.
The Lynchburg City School Board approved Rule’s appointment 8-0 on Tuesday night, with board member Anthony Andrews absent.
The announcement came after an extensive search for the next principal of Glass, the division said, which included community involvement sessions and online candidate profiles.
In a news release, the division said it landed on Rule as the top candidate due to him “demonstrating a strong vision for the school’s future and aligning his plan of action with the community’s expectation for excellence.”
Rule graduated from Liberty University with a degree in elementary education and teaching, and he completed master’s and doctoral degrees at the University of Lynchburg, according to the school division.
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Rule’s new office at E.C. Glass will be just a short trip across town from where he serves as principal now — Paul Laurence Dunbar Middle School for Innovation — and is even closer to where he got his start in the division as a principal at Dearington Elementary School for Innovation.
A 17-year veteran of Lynchburg City Schools, spending time as a teacher, administrator and principal, Rule said he believes his experience will help make the transition smooth.
“There’s students here that had me as their kindergarten principal ... and so there’s a number of students I already know names to and just have relationships with, and you can’t lead without relationships,” Rule said Wednesday inside the Marie Waller lecture room at E.C. Glass.
Throughout several community conversations, school stakeholders voiced the importance of having a principal who understands the diverse nature of Glass, something Rule said he believes gives the school strength.
Coming from a place of experience with two schools in the division, Rule said, “I feel very well equipped and prepared just because the students have taught me so much in my time already.”
With hopes of getting the school to national recognition, Rule also said he wants to focus on parents as resources and involve them in the process as much as possible.
Rule said school officials must view parents as just as important as, if not more important than, the school system’s seven hours each day with students.
“So that is holding high accountability to the parent phone calls, and we’ve got to make deposits that are positive as well. I don’t want to just reach out to you as a parent when things are challenging. We need to involve you from the beginning ... seeing [parents] as a partner in their child’s educational excellence is vital.”
Rule also spoke about his experience at other schools and how that will play into what he said is the most important part of his job: safety.
“Over my 10 years as an administrator, we’ve had situations in the communities I’ve been able to serve at ... and at the end of the day, that’s equipped me to make quick decisions with the safety of the students and staff first,” Rule said.
Rule will replace outgoing Principal Rose Flaugher, who in December announced her retirement at the end of the school year.
Flaugher, Rule said, was a mentor of his when he was becoming an administrator. He added their friendship has helped him develop an understanding of the school.
“She’s a legend,” Rule said. “I mean, what better person to grab the baton from and continue to accelerate E.C. Glass, so she has been so open and welcoming since the announcement.”
Until the 2023-24 school year begins, Rule will remain in his role at Dunbar Middle, but he will be working with Flaugher to “ensure a seamless transition,” LCS said.
To reach his goals of academic excellence and national recognition, Rule said, nothing can happen “without great relationships.”
“I’m committed to this community. I’m committed to E.C. Glass,” Rule said. “I’ve had an incredible experience at the two schools I’ve been at for most of my tenure and I’m excited for the same here at E.C. Glass.”