Q: As the school year winds down, what do you have to share?
A: I am super excited about the Class of 2023 finishing strong. It is always fun to celebrate our graduates. This is also the time of year that we have leadership changes and as we continue to grow we will always have these changes. This year in District 4, we say goodbye to Dr. Joy Reichenberg, who is moving from Palm Valley Academy to Julington Creek Elementary. Zachary Strom will serve as Palm Valley Academy’s new principal after having served as assistant principal there since the opening of the school. We look forward to his leadership.
Q: Do you have any kudos to share this month?
A: On April 25, we celebrated our American Youth Character Awards students. Representing District 4 were:
Nease seniors: Gavin Bickerstaff, Francesco Caruso, Kalani Laughlin, Lauren Pease and John Alves.
Nease juniors: McKenzie Cherry, Amber Fields, Thavy Lanh, Rylie Larkin, Gabriel Mitchell, Thanh Pham, Hailey Pitches and Shay Stacey.
Ponte Vedra seniors: Ava Heinz, Maddox Johnson, Ella McCarthy, Zeta Washington, and Brett Reed.
Ponte Vedra juniors: Benjamin Black, Cooper Bradshaw, Sasha Crowe, Kalidora “Kali” Jackson, Sofia McIntosh, Maya Richards, Nastasia Solomou and Peyton Wright.
Also, we celebrated our Take Stock in Children program participants and scholarship recipients. Nease scholarship recipients Joseph Lepera and Celine Taylor were mentored by Danny Gurr and Diane Farmer.
Q: What else do you have to share with District 4?
A: This summer, schools as well as the district office will be going to a 10 hour a day/four day work week, like many colleges and other school districts. The four days that schools and the district offices will be open are Monday through Thursday.
The district just went through our five-year accreditation process and we are pleased to have exceeded what we expected. We received many commendations from the accreditation committee, but still have some areas we want to work on and start moving towards with our strategic plan process in the coming months.
Finally, we are still recruiting teachers in all certification areas. The district will host a Teacher Recruitment Fair on Monday, June 26 from 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. at Nease High School. Interested applicants can find more information and register online at www.stjohns.k12.fl.us/recruitment/jobfairs/
Q: How can our readers contact you?
A: They can email me at kelly.barrera@stjohns.k12.fl.us or call me at (904) 547-7510.
