The annual shuffle: Lake County schools announce new principals, administrative appointments

TAVARES — About a dozen Lake County schools and district offices will operate under new leadership next school year.

Superintendent Diane Kornegay announced the administrative changes over the past few weeks, as the district prepares for the return of students in August. Here is the information, which comes from a school district news release.

NEW SCHOOL BOARD LEADERSHIP ROLES

Chad Farnsworth

Pending School Board approval, Chad Farnsworth, assistant superintendent of human resources, will become deputy superintendent, overseeing operations and facilities while continuing to support the work of human resources, employee relations, technology and teaching and learning.

Farnsworth will assume the duties of Assistant Superintendent John Carr, who is retiring after eight years of service to the district, along with additional responsibilities.

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Guido Zamora

To fill the vacancy left by Farnsworth, Guido Zamora has been promoted from director of human resources to assistant superintendent of human resources.

Zamora began his career in education in 1999 working as a teacher for Miami-Dade County Public Schools and joined Lake County Schools in 2004. Since then, he has served as a teacher, program specialist and assistant principal before he joined the HR department.

Robert Feltner

Robert Feltner is moving from the role of regional executive director for Region 1 to assistant superintendent for teaching, learning and leadership.

Throughout his 27-year career, Feltner has served in various roles, from teacher to principal to district administrator.

Marlene Straughan

Marlene Straughan, principal of Mount Dora High School, has been promoted to regional executive director for Region 1, which includes schools in Eustis, Umatilla, Sorrento, Lady Lake and Mount Dora, along with Lake County Virtual School.

Straughan is a lifelong resident of Lake County and a 1997 graduate of Umatilla High School. After graduation, she attended the police academy and became a deputy sheriff with the Lake County Sheriff’s Office. She changed careers in 2008 to begin teaching at Mount Dora High School, where she was later promoted to assistant principal before being appointed principal at Triangle Elementary in 2017.

She has been principal at Mount Dora High School for the past four years. She was named Lake County’s Principal of the Year in 2023 and was one of three finalists for Florida Principal of the Year in 2024.

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Quiana Peterson

Quiana Peterson has been promoted from instructional recruitment partner to director of human resources.

Peterson has more than 20 years of HR experience, focusing on recruitment, employee relations and program coordination. She joined Lake County in 2013 as employee relations manager before moving to her recruitment role.

Jake Stein

Jake Stein, principal of Tavares High School, where he established Lake County’s first International Baccalaureate Program, has been appointed director of exceptional student education. He is replacing Melissa Lyford, who is retiring. Stein is a 27-year employee of Lake County Schools, having served as coach, teacher, assistant principal and principal. He was named Lake County’s Principal of the Year in 2018 while at Mount Dora Middle School.

NEW SCHOOL PRINCIPALS

Stacy Keaveny, Tavares High

Stacy Keaveny, assistant principal at East Ridge High School, has been named principal at Tavares High, replacing Stein. She began her educational career in Osceola County in 2001 as a school counselor after several years of working as a civilian with the U.S. Air Force’s family support centers and social service programs within Florida.

After three years working at the middle and elementary school levels, including the opening of Pine Ridge Elementary, Keaveny pursued the opportunity to work with young adults at East Ridge High School. Starting as a school counselor and then moving into administration in 2015, this year marks her 20th year at East Ridge High.

Kyle Bracewell, Mount Dora High

Kyle Bracewell, principal at Seminole Springs Elementary, is returning to Mount Dora High, where he had been an assistant principal eight years. This time, he will serve as principal, replacing Straughan.

Bracewell began his career at Umatilla Middle School as an ELA teacher and spent a year at Leesburg High School as literacy coach before being promoted to assistant principal at Mount Dora High. He was appointed principal at Seminole Springs Elementary in January 2023.

Terri Soos, Seminole Springs Elementary

Terri Soos, principal at Eustis Heights Elementary, is moving to Seminole Springs Elementary as principal, replacing Bracewell. Soos has held multiple roles in Lake County Schools including assistant principal at Eustis Heights, dean at Triangle Elementary and teacher and instructional coach at Eustis Elementary.

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Juanita McCall, Eustis Heights Elementary

Juanita McCall,assistant principal at East Ridge Middle School, will replace Soos as principal at Eustis Heights Elementary. She grew up in Leesburg and is a product of Lake County Schools. Before joining the Lake district, she worked as a high school assistant principal in Osceola County.

Andrea Nelson, New Minneola K-8 school principal

Andrea Nelson, principal at Sawgrass Bay Elementary, has been appointed principal of the new K-8 school that will open in August 2025 in Minneola. Nelson started her education career in 2005 in Osceola County, where she worked as a teacher and instructional coach. She joined Lake County Schools in 2015 as a school specialist at the district office, where she provided support to schools and teachers. She was later appointed assistant principal at Sawgrass Bay Elementary and then, in 2020, principal.

Gary Locuson, Sawgrass Bay Elementary

Gary Locuson, assistant principal at Mount Dora Middle School, will replace Nelson as principal at Sawgrass Bay Elementary. A product of Lake County Schools, Locuson has worked as a paraprofessional, teacher, instructional dean and assistant principal.

This article originally appeared on Daily Commercial: Lake County Florida schools announce new principals and administrators