Vanessa Faerber selected as Community Superintendent for Fort Buchanan and Ramey, Puerto Rico

Kent Worford, the Department of Defense Education Activity Mid-Atlantic district superintendent, is pleased to announce Vanessa Faerber as the new community superintendent for Fort Buchanan and Ramey.

“As an educator, Vanessa Faerber focuses on the whole child. That holistic approach means our students achieve academically and in life,” said Worford. “Mrs. Faerber is a compassionate, collaborative leader. This leadership style will strengthen education at Fort Buchanan and Ramey. I am delighted to announce her new role as community superintendent for DoDEA’s Puerto Rico schools.”

Faerber embraces a holistic approach to educating students that promotes all facets of a student’s development, including social-emotional, academic, physical and overall wellness for the self and family. She has dedicated her career to ensuring that student achievement is paramount with a strong focus on embracing cultural diversity to value and celebrate uniqueness.

“I am extremely honored to serve military students, their families and Puerto Rico communities as the new community superintendent,” said Faerber.

About Vanessa Faerber
Faerber earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of South Florida, a master’s in elementary curriculum and instruction from Nova Southeastern University, along with an educational specialist degree in administration and technology.

Faerber’s career began by teaching dropout prevention language arts for sixth through eighth grade in Land O’Lakes, Florida; she brought individualized instruction to students who needed additional assistance learning to read.

She joined DoDEA in 2006 as a kindergarten-through-eighth-grade special education teacher at Boeblingen Elementary Middle School in Stuttgart, Germany. In subsequent years, she provided intensive reading support for BEMS students as a reading coach and a Read 180 teacher. Four years later, she moved to Okinawa with DoDEA and taught sixth grade social studies and sixth grade reading at Ryukyu Middle School.

In 2011, Faerber began her administrative career at Bechtel Elementary as the assistant principal. Two years later, she was promoted to the principal at Bob Hope Primary School on Okinawa. She forged community partnerships with the command and solidify commitments of support in a Partner in Education agreement. Faerber later became the principal at Netzaberg Elementary School in beautiful Bavaria, Germany and served there for five years. There she developed a peer mentoring program to support teacher advancement that received accolades during the accreditation process.

Always looking for a challenge to be a lead learner, Faerber then moved into working at the complex area level as a school renewal specialist for the Department of Education in Hawaii. There she learned how to support 18 various schools, focus on K-12 academic pathways and assist schools with distance learning at the start of the pandemic. Additionally, she was the lead for a grant team that focused on reading support for the students of her district. Ultimately, they were awarded over $6 million in funding to support literacy in their district. This was a huge win for students and an accomplishment she felt very grateful to be a part of.

Faerber served as the principal of Antilles High School during the last two years. She led the school through remote learning and back to brick and mortar by implementing COVID safety protocols and creating new procedures to return safely to the classroom during the pandemic. She sought to actively cultivate community partnerships and build networks of support systems that fostered a collaborative environment. This ensured continued academic growth and real-world experiences for students beyond the classroom walls. In fact, the school has one of the highest percentages of diplomas with CTE endorsements within all of DoDEA. She is devoted to supporting DoDEA schools in Puerto Rico, communities and the amazing students at Ft. Buchanan and Ramey Schools.

About DoDEA Americas
DoDEA Americas operates 50 schools in seven states, Puerto Rico, and Cuba. There are two school districts and about 1,835 teachers and 550 educational aides. School locations include Camp Lejeune, North Carolina; Coast Guard Air Station Borinquen, Puerto Rico; Fort Benning, Georgia; Fort Bragg, North Carolina; Fort Buchanan, Puerto Rico; Fort Campbell, Kentucky; Fort Jackson, South, Carolina; Fort Knox, Kentucky; Fort Rucker, Alabama; Fort Stewart, Georgia; Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, South Carolina; Marine Corps Air Station Quantico, Virginia; Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama; Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba; Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren, Virginia; and U.S. Army Garrison West Point, New York.