As students in College Park head back to class, Patch talks to six local principals about the vision for their schools during the upcoming school year.

Haroon Baqai, principal of the Al-Huda School, an Islamic school on Edgewood Road, had a busy first day on Monday. Parents and students, eager to jumpstart the school year, poured in and out of the administration office shoring up any administrative loose ends while Baqai prepared to address students for the first time as their new principal. While Baqai is new to the position, he is not new to the school. He has served Al Huda for a decade working as a teacher, team leader and most recently as a vice principal.

Baqai sees expansion in the school's future. "We are bursting out of the seams here. We have close to 490 students, and we're graduating our first high school class," said Baqai. "Over the next five to 10 years, I could see the 490 doubling." Founded in 1995, Al-Huda School is one of the few accredited full-time Islamic schools in the nation. Al-Huda students take annual standardized test and are assessed regularly. Their curriculum is guided by the Maryland State Voluntary Curriculum and tenants of the Islam. "All the subject areas that we teach are taught through a religious lens," Baqai said.