“I Gotta Feeling” that the band will “Keep on Rocking.” Beloved long-term sub Jim Kirchenbauer (affectionately known as “Mr. K”) will be staying on until the end of the year.

Kirchenbauer was originally expected to end his stint as the interim band director at the end of first semester, due to the FCPS policy which states that “no substitute teacher may work in one classroom for more than 90 consecutive school days.”  Substitutes who work for over 90 days in one classroom are considered long-term teachers, and are therefore ineligible to continue receiving retirement checks, as Kirchenbauer had been.

Because he was so adored by the Langley band students, Kirchenbauer decided to request an exemption to the FCPS policy. After dealing with an excessive amount of red tape, he was able to work everything out with FCPS, and will now be able to continue teaching at Langley through the end of the year.

“Mr. K is a great band director. He always tries to guide us in the right direction,” said sophomore Katie Moody. “I’m so glad he’s here to finish off the school year.”

Kirchenbauer brings a great deal of experience to the Langley band. He was a band conductor at McLean High School from 1982-2007, and led the group there to win several medals in competitions.