The former principal of Ritchie Park Elementary School in Rockville who was acquitted of assaulting a student in 2024 won’t serve as the assistant principal of Rockville’s Rock Creek Valley Elementary after deciding he no longer wants to be assigned to a Montgomery County public school, according to a Thursday letter sent to Rock Creek Valley families.
Andrew Winter “has informed Montgomery County Public Schools [MCPS] that he no longer wished to be assigned to Rock Creek Valley Elementary or any in-school role in the district,” MCPS Superintendent Thomas Taylor said in the letter. “We will honor his request and he will not be placed at your school.”
MCPS Spokesperson Liliana López said Friday that Winter will continue to work for MCPS.
On Jan. 3, Rock Creek Valley Principal Jae Lee said in a letter to the Rock Creek Valley community that Winter, 54, would serve as the assistant principal until June 30. Lee’s letter, as well as a statement from MCPS, noted that Winter’s return to work followed MCPS protocols and careful consideration and review.
Winter was charged in June with second-degree assault in connection with a Feb. 9 incident caught on a surveillance camera at Ritchie Park Elementary School, where he was serving as principal. According to the surveillance video, Winter grabbed a kindergartener by his hoodie to make him sit down in the cafeteria and then appeared to stomp on the student’s foot.
During a roughly five-hour bench trial in November, Montgomery County Circuit Judge Sharon Burrell found the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office didn’t provide enough evidence to convict Winter of second-degree assault.
The assignment to Rock Creek Valley Elementary raised concerns among some parents, including Rachel Schiffenbauer, who created a petition advocating that the district rescind the assignment. The petition garnered 639 signatures and was updated with a red “victory” banner as of Friday afternoon. According to the Rock Creek Valley PTA website, Schiffenbauer is the chairperson of the PTA’s reflections art program committee.
On Thursday afternoon, Taylor sent the Rock Creek Valley community a message expressing gratitude for families’ sharing of their thoughts and concerns about the assignment.
Taylor said Kate Bradley, the recently retired principal of Bannockburn Elementary School in Bethesda, would be filling the role of assistant principal at Rock Creek Valley.
In an update to the petition, Schiffenbauer wrote that Winter’s departure came as “a relief to so many in our community,” and that the community’s concerns had been heard. Schiffenbauer didn’t immediately respond Friday to requests for comment.
