Peter Balas and his efforts to improve Mount Vernon Community School as its new principal were profiled in Wednesday’s edition of The Washington Post.

Balas took over as principal last spring, replacing Tina Radomsky. He is the school’s third principal in five years.  

In March, Superintendent Morton Sherman placed the school in a “corrective action” because of its failure to meet certain benchmarks after two years of school improvement plans and five years of failing to meet certain federal standards.

The Post story discusses Balas’ attempts to transform MVCS much in the same way he helped T.C. Williams High School improve during his four years there as an administrator.

Classes resumed at MVCS last week and Balas has made efforts to tie teachers to their instructional strengths and improve morale. He will also have teachers take a course on instructional best practices, according to the Post.

Balas has also introduced the school’s colors as blue and red and added a mascot—a lion with a conductor’s cap.

About 40 percent of the 713 students at MVCS this school year are English-language learners, according to the Post. Balas is learning Spanish with hopes of becoming conversational in the spring.

For more, check out The Washington Post story and take a look at the photo gallery accompanying the story.