3 Pasco County schools get new principals
With just days to go before classes resume, the Pasco County School Board on Tuesday filled a handful of school and district leadership positions.
Clare Ennis, assistant principal at Starkey Ranch K-8, will become the new principal of Oakstead Elementary. She replaces Claudia Steinacker, who is taking a leave of absence. Ennis, in her 17th year with Pasco schools, was a teacher and literacy coach before becoming an assistant principal five years ago.
Lisa Grimsley, assistant principal at Sand Pine Elementary, will be the new leader of Double Branch Elementary. A music educator, Grimsley joined the Pasco district as a teacher in 2009 after working in Louisiana schools for 12 years. She became an assistant principal in 2019.
The Double Branch position was open because its principal, Lori Wiggins, was appointed principal of Pasco eSchool a week ago. Wiggins, who holds a doctorate in education from the University of Florida, has been an administrator in Pasco schools since 2013. She replaces Rebecca Jarke, who resigned from the district.
The board also approved the appointment of Samantha DelValle as director of the district Leading and Learning department. DelValle had been running the department on an interim basis since May, when Lea Mitchell resigned to take a new job out of state. DelValle joined the district in 2009 as a teacher at Land O’Lakes High, became an assistant principal at Pasco High in 2013 and joined the Leading and Learning office in 2016.
Jeffrey S. Solochek is an education reporter covering K-12 education policy and schools. Reach him at jsolochek@tampabay.com.