They range from age 36 to 53. All have quite a bit of experience. All are eager to put their imprints on their schools.
By ELISABETH DYER
Published August 1, 2003
When the 2003-04 school year starts on Wednesday, six new principals will greet students in South Tampa-area public schools.
While they may be fresh to the job, all have years of experience in the Hillsborough County school system as teachers, guidance counselors and assistant principals.
Students and parents can meet principals at open houses today, Monday and Tuesday. (See School Notebook on Page XX for times and details.)
Ballast Point Elementary
Mary Cunningham
AGE: 53
SCHOOLING: Bachelor's degree from the University of Tampa; master's from University of South Florida.
HOME: Town 'N Country.
FAMILY: Married; sons, ages 24 and 22; daughter, 19.
HOBBIES: Playing bridge and traveling.
At Ballast Point Elementary, former assistant principal Mary Cunningham is taking charge.
She always planned to be a teacher but never a principal, she said.
Until now.
"I've never had a day I wasn't looking forward to going to work," said Cunningham, whose parents were also educators. "I've loved every job I've had."
After seven years of teaching in New Jersey and Virginia, Cunningham started working for Hillsborough County schools in 1977. Two years later, she quit to stay home with the first of three adopted children.
Her teacher certificate expired, but she continued to stay active in education by volunteering at her children's school for several years.
"It gives a person a different perspective, especially as a stay-at-home mom," she said.
When her youngest started kindergarten, a friend offered her a teaching position. She has been with Hillsborough schools ever since.
As principal at Ballast, she plans to establish business partners in the community and generate a new interest in the historic school, which employees a veteran team.
"The staff is like family," Cunningham said. "They come and they stay."
Lockhart Elementary
Tracye Brown
AGE: 37
SCHOOLING: Bachelor's degree from the University of Central Florida; master's from the University of South Florida.
HOME: Virginia Park.
FAMILY: Married; two daughters, ages 8 and 1.
HOBBIES: Spending time with family.
Tracye Brown says she's not the only new face at Lockhart Elementary. Over the summer the school changed to a magnet school for the arts, resulting in many new employees and students who live in a zoned area west of U.S. 301 and south of Hillsborough Avenue.
The school has struggled academically for several years. The school received an F from the state in 2002 and improved to a C in 2003.
"The slate's been wiped clean," Brown said. "This is a new school."
In the magnet program, students will have opportunities to compose and play their own music, write scripts and perform, she said. They also will use digital cameras and design PowerPoint displays.
Brown, who began teaching in Carrollwood in 1988, grew up in Volusia County. Her mother worked as a middle school counselor and her father taught physical education. Her husband, Samuel Brown, teaches business technology at Franklin Middle School in Tampa.
She comes to Lockhart from Sulphur Springs Elementary School, where she was principal.
"I feel very passionate about what I do. I strongly believe that all children can learn," Brown said. "If I can touch one life, that's to be celebrated."
West Tampa Elementary
Linda Geller
AGE: 51
SCHOOLING: Bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of South Florida; educational specialist degree from Nova Southeastern University.
HOME: Temple Terrace.
FAMILY: Married; two daughters, 25 and 20.
HOBBIES: Gardening, reading and shopping.
Linda Geller may be new at West Tampa Elementary, but she has lived in Tampa her entire life and worked in local schools for 30 years.
"My mother would tell you from the time I could talk I wanted to be a teacher," she said.
Geller was a guidance counselor for 20 years and most recently was an assistant principal at Thonotosassa Elementary School for four years. She decorated her new office in a Victorian theme with dolls that her mother-in-law made.
West Tampa Elementary's student body is 96 percent minority, the second highest rate in the county. The school receives grants for supplemental programs and equipment. The students come from 16 countries and speak nine languages.
The school received a D from the state in 2002 but improved to a C in 2003. Geller says she looks forward to even more success.
"I want to continue the upward spiral we're on right now," she said.
Wilson Middle School
Stephanie Woodford
AGE: 36
SCHOOLING: Bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Florida; educational specialist degree from Nova Southeastern University.
HOME: Clearwater.
FAMILY: Married; two sons, ages 9 and 6.
HOBBIES: Reading, gardening and tennis.
Stephanie Woodford says Jean Hamilton will be a hard act to follow. Under Hamilton's leadership, Wilson earned national recognition as a Blue Ribbon school in 1996 and 2001.
"I'm really going to work to assure community and faculty that the school isn't going to change," Woodford said.
Woodford taught sixth-grade language arts at Wilson Middle from 1992 to 1996. She knows firsthand the high involvement of parents and expectations of students.
She discovered she wanted to teach while taking an education elective during her junior year as a business major at the University of Florida.
Woodford began her teaching career in 1990 at Chiaramonte Elementary School. Most recently, she served as an assistant principal at Dowdell Middle Magnet School near Palm River.
Hamilton says she's a good choice for Wilson.
"She's the kind of person who's going to come in here and see where Wilson is and she's going to take it another step higher," Hamilton said.
Blake High School
Jackie Haynes
AGE: 42
SCHOOLING: Bachelor's degree from the Florida State University; master's degree from the University of South Florida.
HOME: Seffner.
FAMILY: Married; daughter, 15; son, 9.
HOBBIES: Gardening and playing the flute.
Jackie Haynes, former assistant principal at Blake High School, takes over as principal this year.
Haynes began her career in 1987 at Plant City High School and came to Blake as assistant principal for curriculum in 2000.
"I treat every student as if they were my child and evaluate the program as if my child were there," Haynes said. "It helps me decide where I want to go with a program."
Haynes, a Tampa area native whose parents were also educators, decided to be a guidance counselor in her senior year of high school.
As principal at Blake, she hopes to create a stronger academic focus and get the word out that Blake is a great school, despite its recent D rating from the state. An art and drama magnet school, Blake draws the most talented students in the county, she said.
Haynes also aims to set high expectations for students, enforce discipline fairly and get parents more involved in their children's education.
Among the employees, she wants to instill a collaborative effort and encourage discussion about what works with students and what doesn't.
Haynes holds the distinction of being the first African-American female principal at a Hillsborough school.
"It feels wonderful that I've made history," she said. "I'm honored."
The honor is especially significant to her entire family because her father graduated in the Blake's first class.
"My father is beaming with pride," Haynes said.
Jefferson High School
Lou Diaz
AGE: 49
SCHOOLING: Bachelor's degree from the University of Tampa; master's degrees from Nova Southeastern University and Mississippi State University; educational specialist degree from University of Tennessee.
HOME: Odessa.
FAMILY: Married; son, 25; and daughter, 18.
HOBBIES: Sports, training, aviation, history, traveling and reading.
Lou Diaz takes over as principal at Jefferson High School, not far from where he grew up in West Tampa.
"I came from this neighborhood," he said. "I know how important education is to make a difference in the life of a child."
Diaz began his teaching career in 1980 at Pasco County High School and came to Hillsborough County in 1986 to teach at Leto High School. He stayed there until 1991, when he became assistant principal at Pierce Middle School in Tampa.
Most recently, he served as assistant principal at Alonso High School.
Diaz decided to become an educator during his last year at University of Tampa. He found it a good match for his interests in history, athletics and community service.
He particularly enjoys working at Jefferson because it's a magnet school with an international focus. Classes include business, marketing, finance, hotel operations, hospitality, culinary arts, travel, tourism and law.
"The international studies is a wonderful anchor," Diaz said.
His goal: to give students the "opportunity and confidence to be what they want to be."
