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Schools

New Leto principal wants to change perception

There's what a school is like, and what people think it's like. That bothers new Leto principal David Brown. He expects to improve the image and academics.

By JEFFREY S. SOLOCHEK
Published September 1, 2006

TOWN 'N COUNTRY - David Brown's appointment as Leto High School's first new principal in eight years surprised few at the school.

As assistant principal for curriculum since 2004, he practically ran the school anyway. That's what the top "AP" does - makes sure the bells ring on time and that the students get where they need to be.

What might surprise people is that Brown almost didn't apply to replace Daniel Bonilla, Leto's longtime "spiritual leader," when Bonilla transferred to Jefferson High in July.

"I really weighed my options," said Brown, who lives in the Buckhorn subdivision of Valrico with his wife and four children. "There were two cons of the job."

First, he's not Hispanic. How, he wondered, would the overwhelmingly Hispanic community react to a principal who can't even speak Spanish?

Second, he lives far from the neighborhood that Leto serves. Brown worried whether that would be fair to the school or his family.

He asked his family, and some Leto students, parents and faculty members for their advice. They encouraged him to go for it. Brown started on Aug. 24.

Brown has two immediate goals for Leto. He wants to push the school's state grade up from a C to a B, and he wants to improve the school's image.

"There's so much misperception. We're always the gang school," he said. "Do you know how many fights we've had in the first 15 days of school? Zero. My wife works at Bloomingdale High. They've already had five or six."

How to battle the negative impressions? One parent at a time. Brown figures that continued strong academic results, explained to each parent who expresses interest in using school choice to stay away from Leto, will net increasingly positive results.

He expects to lead with high expectations for all. Seniors used to try to opt out of math classes because the state only required three credits to graduate, he said.

"My response to them every time was, 'You're going to college. You're taking math. You're intelligent,' " Brown said. "I have no seniors darken my door anymore because they know what my answer will be."

While acknowledging the social importance of pep rallies and the like, this former social studies teacher stresses that teacher-student contact time as key. When not at school, Brown enjoys family time, golf and travel.

Brown, 41, was born and raised in Tampa. He graduated from Robinson High School in 1983 and earned a bachelor's degree in education from the University of South Florida. After graduating in 1987, he worked as an insurance agent for four years.

"I was going to make $1-million and retire early," he said, laughing. "I enjoyed it, and it gave me a lot of good skills I use today," specifically listening and people skills.

He joined the staff of Bloomingdale High as a social studies teacher in 1991. He transferred to East Bay High for a year before returning to Bloomingdale, where he remained until 1998, when he became an assistant principal at East Bay and, later, Freedom High. He came to Leto in 2004.

Jeffrey S. Solochek can be reached at solochek@sptimes.com or (813) 269-5304.

[Last modified August 31, 2006, 10:00:20]