25 Years Bring World of Change for Veteran Va. Educator

By Lynn Olson

Nancy B. Earl smiles when she thinks back on the day, in the late summer of 1971, when she walked into a classroom for her first look at the 33 3rd graders she'd be spending the school year with.

Ms. Earl, now a principal, has changed a lot since then. So has this Northern Virginia community and the children who attend its schools. And so has the world of education.

"When I taught in 1971, I never thought of talking about drugs or AIDS or anything like that," she recalled. "Now, we have to address...