NEW: Boynton High's new principal, 12 others take the reins. Check out the list
At least 13 public schools in Palm Beach County had new leaders at the helm as classes began Aug. 10.
The school district has named new principals at Boynton Beach, Palm Beach Lakes and Palm Beach Central high schools, along with new leaders for seven elementary schools and one middle school. Dr. Joaquín García High, the district's newest high school, has opened with Oscar Otero in the principal's office, and Joe Peccia now leads the district's newest middle school, West Boynton Middle.
The school board began appointing new school leaders in January and appointed its largest group, five new principals, on June 7. Two principals, at Boynton Beach High and Sunrise Park Elementary, were approved Aug. 16 — nearly a week after the start of school.
The number of schools with new leadership at the beginning of an academic year is historically between 10 and 20 across more than 180 Palm Beach County district-operated schools. Leadership changes are driven by a host of personnel matters, including retirements, promotions and departures for other positions.
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This summer, several high-level administrators left the school district, prompting their replacements. Regional Superintendent Peter Licata left the district in July when he was named the superintendent of Broward County schools. Rachel Capitano stepped into that job when he left.
The superintendent's Chief of Staff Jay Boggess moved to a new job in June overseeing private school expansion for Family Church, a network of nine Baptist Christian churches around Palm Beach County. He was replaced by Jamie Wyatt, who served as a district instructional superintendent for 16 years.
The school district's Chief of Human Resources Erica Reger also left over the summer, and was replaced by Tim Kubrick, who was working in the district's labor relations department and has been with the district since 2001.
Director of Communications and Engagement Claudia Shea departed the district in May. She was replaced by Angela Cruz Ledford, who is the district's new chief officer of strategic communications and engagement.
All but one of the educators named to principal positions for the 2023-24 school year come from within the district. Reginald Myers retired from the school district in 2021 but will return as an interim principal at Palm Beach Central High this school year.
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Here are the principal appointments made in preparation for the new school year. If they haven't already, principals will meet students on their new campuses for the first time at the start of the school year:
Berkshire Elementary - Diana Fernandez
Boynton Beach High - Moody Fuller
Clifford O. Taylor/Kirklane Elementary - Orlando Mastrapa
Coral Reef Elementary - Sean Bohne
Forest Park Elementary - Sharonda Alleyne
Galaxy E3 Elementary - Vonda Daniels
Lake Worth Middle - Caelethia Taylor
Dr. Joaquín García High - Oscar Otero
Palm Beach Central High - Reginald Myers (interim)
Palm Beach Lakes High - Rosalind Gray McCray
Roosevelt Elementary - Annick Charlot
Sunrise Park Elementary - Kristin Menschel
West Boynton Middle - Joe Peccia
About the new high school principals
Myers has been chosen as the interim principal at Palm Beach Central after four school employees and one district employee were arrested last week and charged with failing to report suspected child abuse of a student.
Palm Beach Central Principal Darren Edgecomb, assistant principals Dan Snider and Nereyda Cayado de Garcia, chorus teacher Scott Houchins and then-guidance counselor Priscilla Carter face felony charges, leaving the Wellington school without three of its seven top administrators.
Myers retired from the school district in 2021 after working there for nearly 40 years. He was principal at Park Vista High School when he retired.
McCray doesn't have to move far to step into the principalship at Palm Beach Lakes High — she was previously an assistant principal at the school and has worked for the district since 1989.
McCray replaces David Alfonso in the top job. Alfonso was named principal of the year in 2019 after just three years in the position. Neither he nor the district have said publicly where he's going next.
Otero will lead Dr. García High for its first school year. The new school has space for 2,600 students and is located on Lyons Road in western Lake Worth. Otero previously worked as principal at Conniston Middle, his alma mater, from 2012 to 2022.
On Aug. 2, the school board promoted Boynton Beach High's principal of five years Anthony Lockhart. He'll be an instructional superintendent for the district's southern region.
Replacing Lockhart is Moody Fuller, whose promotion was approved Aug. 16. Fuller worked as an assistant principal at John I. Leonard High School for five years before coming to Boynton Beach High.
About the new middle school principals
West Boynton Middle opened for its first school year with Joe Peccia at the helm. The school, located west of the Turnpike on Boynton Beach Boulevard, pulls students from Woodlands and Christa McAuliffe middle schools.
Peccia, who transferred from the principalship at Eagles Landing Middle School after six years, leads the school that includes three education buildings and two specialty programs: a medical academy and a technology program.
Caelethia Taylor will take over at Lake Worth Middle after a tumultuous year in which former principal Michael Williams was suspended and removed from the school following a confrontation with a woman in the school's parking lot after a traffic collision.
Taylor previously worked for 10 years as an assistant principal at Lake Worth High School. She is an adjunct professor at Palm Beach State College in teaching and education.
About the new elementary school principals
Diana Fernandez will take over the principalship at Berkshire Elementary in West Palm Beach after serving in the same role at Wellington Elementary last school year while principal Maria Vaughan was on sick leave. Fernandez was previously an assistant principal at Jupiter High.
At Clifford O. Taylor/Kirklane Elementary in Palm Springs, Orlando Mastrapa will begin his term as principal this school year. Mastrapa previously worked as an assistant principal at New Horizons Elementary in Wellington.
Sean Bohne will move to Coral Reef Elementary's the top job from his previous role as an assistant principal at the western Lake Worth area school.
Sharonda Alleyne will begin her term as principal at Forest Park Elementary in Boynton Beach this school year after working as principal at Roosevelt Elementary in West Palm Beach.
Annick Charlot will take her place as principal at Roosevelt.
Charlot comes from the district's strategic management office and has a background as a teacher and assistant principal in the school district.
Vonda Daniels will start as principal at Galaxy E3 Elementary this year after working as a "principal on special assignment" in the district's school transformation department, which oversees the district's participation in federal programs and special projects for schools. She served as principal at Northmore Elementary school from 2014 to 2021.
Kristin Menschel has moved from her job as an assistant principal at Sunrise Park Elementary to the principalship. She's worked for the school district for 13 years, including five years as the school's assistant principal.
Katherine Kokal is a journalist covering education at The Palm Beach Post. You can reach her at kkokal@pbpost.com. Help support our work, subscribe today!
Editor's Note: A previous version of this story included an incorrect photo of Diana Fernandez. The photo has been removed.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: New principals at Palm Beach County schools for 2023-24 year
