Administrators

Dr. Gabriela “Gaby” Rivas, Principal

Dr. Gaby Rivas is an educational leader with more than a decade of experience serving diverse student populations and leading instructional initiatives at the classroom, school, and district levels. She focuses on equity-driven instructional practices, multilingual learner support, and strategic program implementation aligned with school improvement goals. She is passionate about ensuring every child has equitable access to high-quality instruction and thrives in a joyful, inclusive learning environment.

Before becoming Principal of Barrett Elementary School, Dr. Rivas served as Assistant Principal at Gunston Middle School. Previously, she was the Elementary English Language Arts Supervisor for Arlington Public Schools, where she led curriculum design, professional learning, and literacy intervention strategies across K–5 classrooms. Earlier in her career, she served as Assistant Principal at Barcroft Elementary, where she was honored as the 2023 APS Assistant Principal of the Year.

Dr. Rivas holds a Doctorate in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies from Virginia Tech, along with post-master’s certifications in Educational Leadership from George Washington University and Reading Specialization from the University of Virginia. She earned her master’s degree in Education from Marymount University and completed her undergraduate studies in Foreign Service at Georgetown University. She is dedicated to building strong partnerships among families, staff, and the community to help every student thrive

Amin Littman, Assistant Principal

Mr. Littman has been a committed educator for over 30 years. In this time period, he has worked as a special education teacher in both self-contained and inclusive settings across all elementary grade levels. Prior to becoming assistant principal he took on opportunities as an instructional lead teacher, special education lead teacher, and mentor. In these positions he has worked to lead professional development with a focus on data, collaboration, reflection, and proactive planning. As a mentor teacher he has focused on coaching teachers, emphasizing goal setting and work with the county’s implementation of the workshop model in both math and language arts. Last, he has a passion for actively engaging with the community, making sure parents have a voice in all aspects of their child’s education and conducting site visits to Barrett’s community centers to match available resources to students’ needs.

Mr. Littman received his bachelors in Psychology and Economics from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County and then went on to graduate school for a teaching degree, receiving a masters in teaching in 1997 from Goucher College. In 2015, he completed a second masters program in School Administration at George Mason University. For the past 25 years he has loved working with Barrett’s diverse and warm community.