Fariss takes over as principal at Lincoln Elementary
There will be a new head greeter at the front gate when Abraham Lincoln Elementary School opens its doors for the first day of school on Aug. 22.
Burroughs High and Cal State Northridge graduate Barbara Fariss has accepted a promotion to become the new principal after a four-year stint as assistant principal at Toll Middle School.
Fariss takes over for Stephen Williams, who retired after more than 30 years with the district.
“She is excited to become a Lincoln Lion and return to the elementary setting,” said Glendale Unified Supt. Winfred Roberson Jr. during a school board meeting last week. “Her enthusiasm and passion for teaching and learning will be well received in her new assignment.”
Though Fariss wasn’t sure the position would be offered to her, she certainly wanted the job.
“I was not confident I would get this,” she said. “You have to wait for the right fit, and it has to be at the right place and at the right time. So I was waiting for that fit.”
Fariss has been on the Lincoln campus since early July, observing her staff and taking notes.
“I would like to go in and see what they’ve got going on already,” she said. “This school has a dynamic team of parent volunteers. They’ve got groups all over the place, and the community is really involved in Lincoln, and the staff is stellar. So, I’m just going to watch and learn and then put my own spin on it as we go forward.”
Fariss, a Burbank resident, received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Cal State Northridge, along with her teaching credential in educational administration.
Education isn’t just a job, but a family tradition for Fariss. Her daughter Madison teaches sixth-grade math and science at Jordan Middle School in Burbank and just married school counselor Sonlay Vorachak.
Prior to 2014, Fariss spent 11 years working in Burbank Unified as a teacher specialist.
At Toll, Roberson pointed out that Fariss was successful in implementing full inclusion for special education students, while also developing a school-wide response-to-intervention system, a program that classifies and aides students with behavioral and learning needs.
“Toll has a great special education department and a lot of intervention was done there,” Fariss said. “So, I felt like if I could partner what I know with the need for middle schools and bring it back to the elementary setting, that would be great team-building for me at the new school.”
