Principal, Assistant Principal Of The Year Named: Sarasota Schools

SARASOTA COUNTY, FL — Sarasota County Schools has named Dr. Stephen Covert of Pine View School as the Principal of the Year, according to a news release from the district.

Jessica Fuesy of Brookside Middle School was chosen as the district’s Assistant Principal of the Year.

This puts them in the running for the statewide Principal of the Year and Assistant Principal of the Year awards, respectively.

The Florida Department of Education’s Principal Achievement Award for Outstanding Leadership (Principal of the Year) was established in 1988 to recognize the state’s principals for their contributions to their schools and communities, the district said. The program to similarly honor assistant principals launched in 1997.

Three state-level finalists for each award will be announced in the spring with the winners revealed next summer.

Sarasota County Schools has received two prior Florida Principal of the Year awards. Alta Vista Elementary School’s Dr. Barbara Shirley (Ret.) received the honor in 2014, and Booker High School’s Dr. Rachel Shelley received the honor in 2017.

Covert, an educator for 30 years, previously served as executive director of human resources, assistant superintendent of the office of human resources and the director of the office of human resources for Spotsylvania County Schools. He also worked as a principal, assistant principal and a Spanish teacher, among other roles, in Virginia before coming to Sarasota County.

Before joining Brookside, Fuesy was assistant principal at Raa Middle School in Tallahassee, dean of curriculum at Montford Middle School in Tallahassee, a project manager for the superintendent’s office in the Leon County School District, and a high school and middle school math teacher.