American Heritage Leads U.S. In STEM Local Students Win Prestigious Science, Math And Engineering Awards

By Melanie Hoffman

As the world continues to advance technologically, American Heritage Schools keeps pace with the global shift by integrating a culture of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) into its comprehensive and rigorous curriculum.

Founded in 1965, American Heritage Schools (AHS) is a nationally ranked college preparatory school with two 40-acre campuses in South Florida serving grades Pre-K3 through 12. The 4,800 students represent more than 60 different countries, more than 70 percent of the faculty holds a postgraduate degree and the student-to-faculty ratio is 5-to-1.

AHS alumni are notable leaders in their fields who are generating positive differences in the world. Dylan Cahill graduated from the AHS Palm Beach campus in 2014, from Dartmouth College in 2018 and is attending Harvard Medical School.

“American Heritage prepared me for college academics,” Cahill said. “Though I didn’t realize it at the time, the study strategies I developed in challenging classes at AHS helped make my transition into the demands of college life much smoother.”

Ranked among the top private schools in the State of Florida in STEM according to Niche, the leader in digital searches for the best K-12 schools and colleges, the students at AHS recently earned high honors in STEM, including No. 1 in Florida at the state science fair, No. 1 and No. 2 private school in Florida in math competition, and No. 1 in Florida in robotics competition.

The American Heritage Science Research Institute for select students in grades six through 12 enables students to conduct research on real-world problems, and in turn, they have earned international recognition for their findings.

The range of equipment in the science lab is unlike any other high school — fluorescent and inverted microscopes, UV/Vis plate reader (a spectrophotometer), a carbon dioxide incubator, a minus 86-degree freezer, a liquid nitrogen cryogenic tank and a scanning electron microscope, just to name a few.

“When our students graduate, they are equipped with a level of research knowledge they would not normally have without the opportunities presented in our program,” said Dr. Iris Thompson, director of science research at the AHS Palm Beach campus. “This sets them apart from their peers when applying to college or graduate school.”

Nolan Wen, a senior at the Palm Beach campus, published his science research as first author, which is an unusual feat for a high school student. His research was titled, “Development and characterization of laponite-enhanced tannic acid-based hydrogels,” in the Materials Letters journal. Wen will be attending the University of Pennsylvania in the fall and was accepted to the school’s highly competitive seven-year bio-dental program.

“The rigorous course offerings and programs at American Heritage not only helped me get into Penn but have also prepared me well for life at Penn,” Wen said. “The BSL-2 level labs and incredible summer research program at American Heritage have provided me the platform to conduct graduate-level research and become an accomplished young researcher (published three times, Regeneron International Science and Engineering Finalist and Regeneron Science Talent Search Finalist). As vice president of Model UN, president of the TASSEL Cambodia Heritage branch, and a member of Education Rocks and various national honor societies, I have been able to both embrace the school community and make a positive difference on a global scale. I’ve had an incredible four years at American Heritage and cannot wait to continue my education at UPenn.”

The mathematics departments at both AHS campuses are equally strong. Starting in the Lower School, honors courses and honors math competition classes are offered for accelerated math students in fourth through sixth grades. This early learning enables the students to learn higher-level critical thinking and problem solving. The school earned the ranking of No. 1 elementary school in Florida and No. 2 private elementary school in the U.S. in math competition, and many of those students advance to the high school level with great success. Both the Broward and Palm Beach math teams at American Heritage ranked No. 1 and No. 2 private school at the Florida Association of Mu Alpha Theta (FAMAT) statewide math competition.

“The American Heritage Schools competitive math program has been an amazing place to foster my love for mathematics and meet other kids who enjoy the STEM fields as much as I do,” said Sharvaa Selvan, a senior at the AHS Broward campus and vice president for the state and national Mu Alpha Theta student delegates. “Our victory at the February statewide was a testament to the countless hours spent by both the students and our amazing coaches over the past few months.”

Selvan has been accepted to the prestigious universities MIT and Georgia Tech.

“Our win at the NSU statewide competition demonstrates the enormous collection of mathematical giftedness of the members of our math competition team,” said Dr. Radleigh Santos, competitive mathematics head coach and an MIT graduate. “I’m proud of all their hard work, and I’m looking forward to their future success.”

In the field of robotics and engineering, the AHS Wyld Stallyns team at the Palm Beach campus qualified for the World Robotics Championship in Houston. The team also won the Creativity Award sponsored by Rockwell Automation.

Senior Dylan McClish is a top student in the AHS pre-engineering program at the Palm Beach campus and was accepted to Princeton, Yale, the University of Pennsylvania, Dartmouth, Brown, Cornell, Columbia, Michigan and the U.S. Naval Academy.

“I’ve been at American Heritage for seven years, and I am forever thankful for how much it has prepared me for college,” McClish said. “It has allowed me to take a vast array of college-level courses that other high schools don’t offer, such as multivariate calculus/differential equations, learning math that many don’t see until they are a few years into college. I have been part of the pre-engineering and science research programs, and it has been fantastic to pursue my interests in AI and robotics with the full support of the school’s amazing faculty and resources. It has been a lot of hard work, but I know that I will be well prepared for college, and I am grateful that American Heritage has given me the tools to succeed at the collegiate level.”

American Heritage Schools is ranked No. 1 in National Merit Scholars out of all schools in Florida and the No. 2 private school in the nation. The students from both campuses comprise 10 percent of all National Merit Scholarship semifinalists throughout the 2,227 public and private schools in Florida.

American Heritage Schools is open all year at both campuses. It also provides an extensive summer program from June to August for children and teens ages 3 to 17 from all over the world. The offerings include traditional day camps, specialty and sports camps, the Summer Institute, available in-person and online with more than 100 courses designed for every student’s interest, and 1-on-1 tutoring. The comprehensive summer enrichment ensures that students are prepared or ahead for the next school year and gives them a competitive advantage to succeed.

American Heritage Schools will continue to set high standards for growth and learning and prepare the next generation of global thinkers and problem solvers to succeed.

To learn more about American Heritage Schools, visit www.ahschool.com.

Get Your Nursing Degree Locally NRI Institute Of Health Sciences Working To Reduce Nation’s Nursing Shortage

By Mike May

Residents of Palm Beach County, specifically those living in the western communities who want to work as a nurse, have a locally owned and operated school where they can acquire the necessary qualifications to get a job in the nursing profession. They can get their nursing degree from the NRI Institute of Health Sciences, based in Royal Palm Beach.

The NRI Institute is a fully licensed and accredited private degree-granting and post-secondary school that is qualified to prepare students for a career in registered and practical nursing, as a nursing assistant, a medical assistant, and in the field of diagnostic medical sonography. Starting next year, students will be able to get a four-year bachelor’s of science degree in nursing from the NRI Institute.

Located at 503 Royal Palm Beach Blvd. in the Royal Plaza at the corner of Royal Palm Beach and Southern Boulevards, the NRI Institute currently has a 12,500-square-foot facility it calls home. When it opened in 2012, it had just 1,000 square feet of space and eight students. Now, it has 125 students with room for as many as 150 students. Since 2012, more than 400 students have graduated from the NRI Institute of Health Sciences.

The owners of the NRI Institute are the husband-and-wife team of Dan Splain and Elizabeth Stolkowski. Splain is the chief administrative officer, and Stolkowski is in charge of operating the school as the president and director of the nursing programs.

Both Splain and Stolkowski are well qualified to operate the school due to their extensive experience in the healthcare field. This includes working in hospital administration, managed care, nursing education and the international recruitment of healthcare professionals. For a number of years, the two of them operated a managed care facility in the Midwest, where they recruited nurses from overseas.

Stolkowski, a native of The Philippines, has three master’s degrees and a law degree.

“She is well qualified to oversee the academic side of the NRI Institute of Health Sciences,” Splain said.

What’s really important about Stolkowski’s role at the NRI Institute is her ability to get the students to cross the “finish line,” so to speak.

“Elizabeth has a talent for coaching students and getting them to pass the Nursing Council Licensure Examination,” Splain said. “After passing the exam, our graduates can then start working as nurses, where their starting salaries can range between $75,000 and $100,000 a year.”

Splain noted that there’s a great need for more nurses across the United States. That’s especially the case in Florida because of the large number of residents who are over the age of 65. Here in Palm Beach County, the number of residents over 65 expands greatly during the winter months.

This need for more nurses seems more acute now, but it is not a recent issue.

“Even before the pandemic, there was a nationwide shortage in the U.S. of more than one million nurses,” Splain said. “We still have a nursing shortage in this country.”

Many of the graduates of the NRI Institute of Health Sciences find employment in the western communities at facilities such as Wellington Regional Medical Center and Palms West Hospital, as well as many smaller medical offices and facilities. A number of graduates also land jobs in other Florida cities. And, of course, many of the nursing graduates get hired in other parts of the U.S.

“A large number of our graduates get jobs at Wellington Regional Medical Center because that’s where they do their clinical rotations,” Splain said. “They do such a great job during their clinical rotations at Wellington Regional that some are offered jobs before they even graduate.”

According to Splain, some graduates actually return to the classroom as instructors.

“We even have some graduates teaching in fine institutions all over the U.S.,” Splain said. “The nursing shortage in the U.S. can also be attributed to a shortage of nursing instructors.”

Time wise, getting a degree from the NRI Institute will usually take two years. The clinical rotations are interspersed with the classroom work. There are 12 faculty members, and the classroom sizes are usually eight to 10 students per instructor.

“We like to keep it small and teach them well,” Splain said.

According to Stolkowski, many of the students at the NRI Institute are not what you normally expect.

“We have many non-traditional students enrolled,” Stolkowski said. “We have students in their teens, 20s, 30s, 40s and 50s. Many have families, as well as being enrolled full-time in school. Roughly 85 percent of our students are female.”

In addition to a wide age-range of nursing candidates, they also come from all parts of Palm Beach County, as well as Broward, Martin and St. Lucie counties. “A handful of students travel here from as far away as Vero Beach,” she said.

One aspect of being a student at the NRI Institute is the in-person educational experience.

“We don’t have any online classes,” Splain said. “You really need to have the hands-on academic experience in our classrooms to learn how to be a nurse.”

The NRI Institute of Health Sciences will hold its 10th commencement exercises on Thursday, June 8 at 5 p.m. at the Royal Palm Beach Cultural Center. Thirty nursing and diagnostic medical sonography graduates will receive their degrees. The guest speaker will be Dante Mitchell Tolbert, founder and CEO of Florence Technologies, which is an innovative edtech company that aims to combat the nursing shortage through solutions driven by artificial intelligence.

To learn more about the NRI Institute of Health Sciences, call (561) 688-5112 or visit www.nriinstitute.edu.

Our School Grants Accomplish Crucial Goal $11,000 In Grants Were Distributed To All 11 Wellington Schools’ Arts Departments In 2022

This year’s Wellington Schools feature series in Wellington The Magazine was presented in conjunction with the Wellington Community Foundation’s “Our Schools” grant program.

The WCF Board of Directors — including Chair Tom Wenham, Vice Chair Maria Becker, Treasurer Hope Barron, Secretary Jim Sackett, and directors Joanna Boynton, Dr. Gordon Johnson, Barry Manning, James Seder, Pam Tahan and Maggie Zeller — voted unanimously at the start of the year to present this grant to all 11 public schools in Wellington, specifically to be used throughout the “arts departments” in 2022. Wellington The Magazine followed the progress along the way, featuring one of the schools each month throughout 2022, speaking with the principal at each school and learning more about that school.

Wellington Regional Medical Center hosted a special breakfast event for the principals and other Wellington school representatives in January to launch this innovative program. The principals were invited by the Wellington Community Foundation as the recipients of the “Our Schools” grant, through which the foundation supported the fine arts departments at each school.

Although the arts are usually among the first departments in schools to have budgets slashed, Wellington schools still have a robust arts program to offer, and the WCF board wanted to ensure that this grant can help keep that in place.

Johnson added that music, drawing and other artistic activities engage students and give them avenues to use their creativity in ways the academic classrooms do not. Manning agreed. “All of our students need outlets, especially during these challenging times,” he said.

Tahan, who also serves as CEO of Wellington Regional Medical Center, offered to host the special breakfast in the Community Conference Room on the hospital’s campus, and the new annual principal’s breakfast was born.

Tahan and her staff did a wonderful job organizing and preparing the room, the menu, and takeaway gifts for all the principals. The buffet-style breakfast included a made-to-order omelet station with all the fixings, French toast casserole, bacon, sausage, kielbasa, home fries with peppers and onions, fresh fruit, assorted Danishes, and coffee, water and freshly squeeze orange juice.

The principals and other school representatives, along with the foundation board members, including two newly elected board members, Michael Gauger and Donald Gross, were welcomed with opening remarks by WRMC Chief Operating Officer John Mark Atchley, who thanked everyone for taking the time out of their busy schedules and joining in on this breakfast prepared just for them.

Wenham, chair of the foundation, also thanked everyone for coming and thanked the WRMC team for putting on a great event. He went on to thank each of the schools for all that they are doing for the community’s children.

“We know it has been hard,” he said, adding that events like the breakfast serve to further enhance and better the community’s understanding of Wellington’s schools. “Coming together like this is something we should consider doing more often.”

Becker, who recently stepped down as vice chair of the foundation, noted the happy reason for the day’s event.

“Today, we were able to bring together representatives from all of our local schools and award them money that they can now use to help fund a part of the budget that is often overlooked, the arts,” she said. “The arts provide a needed outlet for students at a time when they need it most. I’m excited to see how each school uses the funds to enrich the lives of their students. This morning has been a classic example of what makes our village an amazing community for families with children.”

The foundation’s “Our Schools” grants have been awarded for the past five years with a different concentration of spending, varying from elementary after school programs to middle school requests for laptops to additional tutoring staff to assisting students needing help affording the annual safety patrol trip.

The grants have targeted either elementary schools, middle schools or high schools independently each year. But this year, the board felt it was necessary to fund every Wellington school — and found the budget to do so.

The foundation recently passed a 2023 budget that once again includes funding for all 11 schools. The foundation will work with school principals to identify another area from each school that can utilize the grant dollars to benefit Wellington students.

These projects are only made possible through the hundreds of generous donors, annual sponsors and volunteers that continue to support Wellington’s neighbors through the leadership of the Wellington Community Foundation and its board of directors. It is just one way that the community continues to show up and help its most vulnerable members — children, seniors and veterans.

For additional information about this “Our Schools” grant project, and other foundation projects, visit www.wellingtoncommunityfoundation.org.

A Fine Arts Academy And Much More Wellington’s Oldest School Continues To Thrive Under Principal Dr. Maria Vaughan

By Deborah Welky

Wellington Elementary School was the first public school built in the young community of Wellington back in 1981, opening its doors with 13 educators teaching grades three to six under the direction of the legendary Principal Buz Spooner and Assistant Principal Marge Mosser.

Spooner went on to lead Wellington Elementary for 20 years before he retired, setting up a school culture that continues to thrive today. Since 2014, the school has been led by Principal Dr. Maria Vaughan.

Vaughan grew up in London, England, and received her bachelor’s degree from Kingston University there. In 1996, she moved to the United States to live closer to her parents, continuing her education at Nova Southeastern University, where she received both her master’s and doctoral degrees.

“I moved to Florida because of the beautiful weather and family connections here,” Vaughan said, adding that she moved to the western communities in 2019.

In London, Vaughan attended what is called “primary” school there, here known as elementary.

“I loved my primary school!” she recalled. “However, after I left and went on to secondary school, I realized that there were many gaps in my education and, because of this, I struggled — specifically in the area of math.”

As often happens, it only took one dedicated and inspirational educator to turn things around.

“A teacher named Ms. Okikiolu took me under her wing and tutored me one-on-one after school,” Vaughan said. “She was the most patient and kind teacher I had ever had. If it was not for her, I would have been unable to pass the exams needed to go to college to become a teacher.”

And a teacher is what Vaughan wanted to be, even as a child.

“Once I became a teacher, I started to think about how I could have a greater impact on student learning, and how I could help other teachers to develop their potential,” Vaughan said. “So, I became a team leader, and that was the beginning of my road to becoming a principal.”

That is what first brought her to the western communities.

“After being an elementary and middle school teacher for 20 years, I was fortunate to be promoted to assistant principal at H.L. Johnson Elementary School in Royal Palm Beach,” Vaughan said. “I was then promoted as an instructional support team leader (ISTL) for the south and west area offices. I served in that position for three years and was then promoted to be the principal at Wellington Elementary School.”

She didn’t know it yet, but when she started down that road as a team leader, she was about to meet a key mentor.

“Dr. Matthew Shoemaker has had the biggest influence on my career,” Vaughan said. “He was the west area superintendent, and I worked under him. As a leader, he would take the time to mentor me and share his reasoning behind decisions. He demonstrated what it means to be a servant leader and led with the ethos that we should always make decisions that are in the best interest of students. I have adopted that philosophy as a leader, and that is what guides my decision making.”

And for an elementary school principal, what could be in the best interest of students more than choosing top-notch teachers? However, it’s not always easy.

“The biggest challenge I face as a principal is the severe teacher shortage that we are now facing nationwide,” Vaughan said. “I have tried to combat this by, firstly, making sure that we retain the teachers we have and, secondly, by being proactive in finding and hiring new teachers.”

Attracting and retaining students is another challenge that one does not usually consider when talking about elementary education in public schools. Yet Vaughan ranks this as one of the highlights of her tenure.

“One area that we here at Wellington Elementary have been successful in is attracting students back to a public school who had otherwise chosen charter or private schools,” she said. “The opening of our fine arts academy has helped with this, as it offers a variety of programs that encourage and foster artistic creativity and spark students’ interest.”

The fine arts academy began in 2016 and includes, musical theater (productions and chorus), handbells, strings (orchestra ensemble), art (club, competitions and showcases), physical education (running club and team sports), and communications (TV production, journalism club and yearbook).

While the fine arts academy first began with baby steps, it has now evolved into a respected, recognized program.

“In the future, I would like to see our fine arts program expand so that more students can participate in some of the programs offered, and also to add components like dance, keyboarding and band,” Vaughan said.

Wellington Elementary’s gifted center also regularly receives accolades, Vaughan noted.

Set on more than 20 acres, this green school also has a lavish nature trail. The school is also involved in health and wellness, participating in various causes and walks, such as National Walk to School Day, Autism Speaks, the American Cancer Society, Heroes for Education and more.

Meanwhile, Vaughan feels driven to pass on her knowledge to those just starting along educational roads of their own. “Personally, I would like to continue helping teachers, especially new teachers, to grow professionally,” she said. “I want to work to attract more people to the education profession.”

A Nurturing  And Challenging School Culture Equestrian Trails Elementary School Principal Michele Chorniewy Aims To Create Resilient Young Learners

Story by Deborah Welky  |  Photos by Denise Fleischman

Equestrian Trails Elementary School opened in 2003 to serve Wellington’s eastern neighborhoods. Located adjacent to the Olympia community, the school will be celebrating its 20th anniversary next year.

For the past 12 years, the principal at Equestrian Trails has been Michele Chorniewy, who grew up in a small, rural, “horse country” town just outside Ocala.

“I enjoyed elementary school tremendously,” Chorniewy recalled. “I can even look back on specific years and specific teachers who made that time special for me.”

Her first mentor, however, was her mother, Marlene.

“My mother should’ve been a teacher,” Chorniewy said. “I grew up in a single parent home with one sister. My mother had this mindset of high expectations, especially for us girls, that nothing could hold us back. She didn’t accept anything but the best we could possibly do. She was a huge influence in my wanting to be a teacher and make a difference, and she helped me find that inner drive within myself.”

Chorniewy received her undergraduate degree at the University of Central Florida and her master’s degree at San José State University in California. She also took part in a program and taught leadership to other teachers, her first steps toward administration.

“I taught for two years in Connecticut and for 10 in California, but I always knew I would be coming back to Florida,” she said. “I relocated when an opportunity presented itself right after 9/11. I spent one year teaching and observing at Cholee Lake Elementary School in Greenacres, then mentioned my degree to the principal. Soon after that, I became a team leader and then ESOL coordinator at the school.”

Her time at Cholee Lake helped Chorniewy make the transition to assistant principal, first at Limestone Creek Elementary School in Jupiter and then Marsh Point Elementary School in Palm Beach Gardens.

“I stayed with that principal, Maureen Werner, for three years and joined her when she went to open a brand-new school,” Chorniewy said. “We chose the design, the colors and hired every single person. At that time, you had to be an assistant principal for five years before you could apply to be a principal.”

Chorniewy credits Werner, who recently retired, with being a key mentor.

“With her as my mentor, I learned how to create a caring ‘school family,’ a supportive environment — especially for staff — where everyone feels appreciated and wants to come to work and views it as a happy place,” she said.

While working at Marsh Point, Chorniewy moved to Wellington, and her own daughters attended Polo Park Middle School and Wellington High School. By the time Equestrian Trails had an opening for a principal, Chorniewy was more than ready.

“I’ve been here at Equestrian Trails for 12 years now,” Chorniewy said. “When I got here, the school had dropped to a B-rated school. I needed to build a strong foundation through students and staff with relationships and a ‘we can do it’ attitude. Now, we’re an A-rated school with state-of-the-art programs and hands-on, project-based learning. We have lots of opportunities for kids to showcase their talents through arts, technology and more.”

The school is highly competitive in the Academic Games and does well in the STEM-based SECME competition.

“We’re a STEM choice school, something I created,” Chorniewy said. “We used to have a few clubs, but now we have robotics, a positivity club focusing on the importance of kindness, and a drama club, which I run myself. I consistently work to bring forth new programs, to make sure kids can compete globally for the jobs of the future, and to promote that to girls especially.

This past year, Equestrian Trails was second in the school district and 18th in Florida on state testing. “That was very big, coming off the pandemic,” she said.

When the pandemic struck, Chorniewy had unique experience for dealing with it.

“A big influencer on my career was Dr. [Martin] Krovetz, my lead professor at San José State,” she said. “He has written books on fostering resiliency in children and was well known around the U.S. I did my graduate work underneath him and learned the importance of creating a nurturing and academically challenging culture at school. In short, making sure students get what they need mentally, preparing them to overcome challenges and being there for them so they can sustain that while, at the same time, maintaining a top-notch academic culture for all kids equitably.”

Chorniewy has found getting back to normal harder than dealing with the early phases of the pandemic.

“The aftermath has turned out to be the hardest,” she said. “Teachers are having a hard time getting kids to learn. We’re seeing how academics suffer when students are home for long periods of time, with no parent in the room with them. And there’s a loss of social skills, especially in those kindergarteners who are now in second grade. We’re seeing kids who don’t know how to talk to one another, nor problem solve.”

Her focus recently has been getting those students the extra resources and assistance they need.

“True, some kids enjoy being on the computer and have the inner drive to listen to a teacher remotely but, especially on an elementary level, they’re not there yet,” Chorniewy said. “The majority of children need to be in school. Sadly, a lot of our kids who really needed to be in school were the last ones to come back. When they had the choice, they stayed home.”

In the future, Chorniewy hopes to get deeper into project-based learning and to have students work on global problem-solving, over weeks and months if necessary. She wants to bring in technology that students will need when they go to middle and high school.

“I want my students to problem-solve and work together,” she said. “We need to come back to that.”

While retirement may be in her future, she has no immediate plans to leave Equestrian Trails.

“I plan on retiring right here at Equestrian Trails,” Chorniewy said. “I recently remarried, so I’m looking forward to traveling. My daughters are older and getting married. I’m looking forward to grandchildren. There are always new things. In the meantime, I want to keep the school growing. I want to find new ways to inspire kids. I want to leave the school much better than when I got here. I’m already looking at staff for leadership ability. Great leaders create an environment where things continue to run well whether they are there or not. Everyone should continue learning.”

High Expectations For Students And Staff Binks Forest Elementary’s Principal Michella Levy Lives By The School’s Motto ‘Expect The Best’

Story by Deborah Welky | Photos by Denise Fleischman

Binks Forest Elementary School opened in February 2000 as the third elementary school in Wellington, serving the community’s growing western areas. For the past 13 years, the school has been led by Principal Michella Levy.

Levy is living proof that success can be achieved no matter what life throws at you. Raised in a small central Florida town, she recalled struggled all through her school years, in a community where education did not seem to be a priority.

“I didn’t get the education that I needed, and I had no family support,” Levy said. “I went from kindergarten through 12th grade with the same group of kids. I was on a work/study program where I learned only basic reading, basic math, and went to work for the rest of the of day. There were 103 in my graduating class. I have a great work ethic, but school was not a great experience. And that’s why I’m a teacher and a principal now — to make a difference.”

Once Levy started reading in earnest, she read everything she could. Although it took her eight years to earn her bachelor’s degree, she completed a typically three-year master’s degree program in just one year — all while teaching full time.

By age 27, she was teaching elementary school at an inner-city school in Orlando. She went on to teach fourth and fifth grade in Palm Springs here in Palm Beach County, while also working as a reading coach, showing teachers how to successfully teach reading. She knew firsthand just how important that was.

This was followed by six years at Hidden Oaks Elementary School in suburban Lake Worth.

“I wanted to become a school counselor, but the principal at Hidden Oaks said, ‘No, I want you as my assistant principal,’” remembered Levy, who earned her master’s degree in educational leadership from Nova Southeastern University and took the job.

Thirteen years ago, Levy was promoted to principal at Binks Forest here in Wellington.

“I’m very grateful and very humbled to be here. I truly do get to make a difference for 1,200 kids every day,” she said. “Every decision I make, I ask myself, ‘Am I doing the best for the child?’ If there’s a problem, I call the kid in, read their soul and see what they need. I’ll move a kid out of a particular class in a minute if that’s what they need.”

Levy gives special thanks to former Area Superintendent Dr. Matthew Shoemaker for his support during her early years as a principal.

“His guidance was amazing — with love and patience. The people who you love, you do things for out of love. The people you fear, you only do it out of fear. So, I lead with love,” Levy said. “I greet them at the door, hug them, want to know what kind of morning they had. I tell them, ‘We’re a family. We don’t bicker. We don’t gossip. We’re family. We love each other.’”

When Levy took over as principal, Binks Forest was already an A-rated school, in part because it was a gifted center, home to high-performing students from across Wellington. Today, most elementary schools keep their high-performing students, so Binks Forest is no longer classified as a gifted center, but it’s still an A-rated school.

“We’re a perfectly rounded school,” Levy said. “One-third of our students are functioning below grade level, one third are at grade level and one third are above grade level. We have more of our students than ever on the free and reduced-price lunch program, and people don’t realize that. It’s not the same ‘clientele,’ but we’re still scoring high on the state tests.”

For the past two years, being a principal meant dealing with many more social and emotional challenges — for staff, as well as students.

“You had to be there for everybody,” Levy said. “Even though we were delivering laptops and desks, kids were raising themselves in front of screens, my own included. I was too busy to ‘enjoy’ the pandemic.”

Yet Levy doesn’t consider the pandemic to be her biggest challenge as a principal. Instead, it’s something much simpler.

“Our motto at Binks is to ‘expect the best.’ I expect the best, and I’m a pro-active person. So, I find it hard to run a school when I don’t have complete control over everything. For example, maintenance and furniture. I know what I need, and it’s difficult, with maintenance budget cuts, to get the resources. Getting a toilet fixed can take a while, but, if a bathroom isn’t fixed, a child loses seven minutes of class time going to another bathroom further away. Maintenance is important.”

Levy has tried to offset the problem by doing some fundraising on her own, but she always works to put her focus on the students.

“We pride ourselves on extremely high expectations for kids, but we also want to make learning fun,” she said. “We’ve planned 11 field trips for our fourth graders because I believe they will remember experiences over workbooks. We turn science, social studies and English into a farming experience. We plant things; we shuck corn. We dress up for a ‘Coming to America’ history lesson. They may not remember a book, but they will remember ‘Coming to America’ in second grade.”

What Levy looks for when hiring teachers goes beyond academics. “My staff and my teachers have to have heart,” she said. “I can teach teachers how to teach, but I can’t teach ‘heart,’ so that’s what I look for.”

At the start of the school year, Levy also takes the time to make sure that each student is placed with the correct teacher.

“I have their background on cards, and I look at every single kid individually,” Levy said. “It takes me about 60 hours to place every kid with the perfect teacher, but my goal is to educate the whole child — to make sure each child has a great year. Even then, I never let academics go — if a child needs individualized instruction in one area, that’s what they will get.”

Levy once had set her sights set on becoming a high school principal or even a superintendent but, upon reflection, decided to stay put.

“I’ll make more of a difference here,” she said. “I love what I’ve built at Binks Forest — the culture and environment. Because I’m so grateful to all the people who mentored me, I participate in a ‘My Mentor and Me’ program, as do many of the teachers here. It’s a good program for any student who needs a little extra love and attention. I mentor six children because I know what it’s like. Nothing has been handed to me.”

Putting The Needs Of Students First
Polo Park Middle School Principal Michael Aronson Aims To Provide A Top-Notch Educational Environment

Story by Deborah Welky | Photos by Denise Fleischman

When Polo Park Middle School opened along southern Wellington’s fast-growing Lake Worth Road corridor in August 2000, it became the community’s second middle school.

Now 22 years later, Polo Park is led by Principal Michael Aronson, who has been serving in that position for four years, since taking over in August 2018.

Aronson grew up attending Broward County public schools, where he got an extra dose of attention in his early teen years.

“My mother taught at my middle school, so any time I remotely got into anything I wasn’t supposed to, she knew about it immediately and it was corrected quickly,” Aronson recalled. “So, my path was pretty straight and narrow.”

Yet in high school, a guidance counselor told him to give up the college prep classes he had been taking and get onto a vocational track. Fortunately, his college advisor disagreed.

“She was a big influence in my life,” Aronson said. “Her name was Patti Skelton, and she told me to do what I thought was best for me. She saw a different person in me than my guidance counselor saw. She thought I was destined for good things and that college should be in my future.”

Aronson took her advice, attaining both bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Georgia Southern University before becoming a physical education and health sciences teacher at a high school in Georgia.

“I considered becoming a college soccer coach but, once I got into education, within a couple of years, I knew that’s what I wanted to do,” Aronson said. “Seeing the difference I could make in kids’ lives, education was where I wanted to remain.”

Aronson later returned to Florida to teach physical education at Palm Beach Lakes and Wellington high schools. It was at Wellington High School that Aronson decided to pivot into administration, cheered on by then-Principal Cheryl Alligood, who went on to serve as chief academic officer for the School District of Palm Beach County.

“She would push me to get everything I needed to get done to become an administrator,” Aronson recalled. “She saw a lot of great leadership qualities in me. I had my degree when I moved to Florida, but there was a lot of red tape I needed to push through in order to get things done.”

That will to push through stood Aronson in good stead during the pandemic. “The biggest challenge for me as a principal has been getting through the last three years and getting the kids caught up to where they need to be,” he said. “They needed to get reacclimated to being back in the building. They needed to remember how to behave in a classroom. And they needed to get the information that they didn’t necessarily get while they were home, especially in math. We have an engineering program here at Polo Park Middle School, so STEM is big for our school. We needed to get them ready for that high level math by remediating their math skills.”

Yet Aronson can take pride in the fact that his teachers continue to steer kids in the right direction despite the setbacks of the pandemic.

“We want to continue providing our students the quality education they’ve been accustomed to getting,” he said. “The teachers are just happy to not have to do hybrid teaching, to have the kids back in front of them again where they can give them the attention they need to make sure they’re successful.”

At Polo Park, the successes are many. More than 600 students make the honor roll every six weeks. The baseball team recently won the county championship. The girls volleyball team won all their divisions. And the robotics team won the state championship, then placed 36th in the world championships.

“Kids are always kids,” Aronson said. “They need structure and leadership, but in the last couple of years, social skills are something we’ve had to reteach. They’ve been home for two years with no friends around or even family. Some kids have changed their personalities permanently because of that. Sometimes the change is good, sometimes it’s bad — it depends on the kid.”

Aronson’s goals for the future are to continue to grow as a principal and leader.

“I can’t rest on my laurels,” he said. “I must continue to grow every year to make sure the school staff and kids get the best part of me. I want Polo Park to continue to be an A-rated school with top-notch academic, athletic and robotics programs. I also want to see the continued success of all the other activities that are overlooked. We have a lot of great things that go on here.”

A Good Education Is The Key To Success Principal Dr. Eugina Smith Feaman Of Emerald Cove Middle School Comes From A Family Of Educators

Story by Deborah Welky  |  Photos by Denise Fleischman

Emerald Cove Middle School opened in 2007 as Wellington’s third middle school. Located at the intersection of State Road 7 and Stribling Way, it serves Wellington’s eastern neighborhoods, such as the large Olympia community it borders.

Since 2014, Dr. Eugina Smith Feaman has served as principal at Emerald Cove, arriving there after three years in the top position at Wellington Elementary School.

Feaman is a self-described “product of Palm Beach County schools.” When she graduated from the International Baccalaureate program at Suncoast High School, she already knew she was aiming for a career in education.

“Both my parents were educators in middle school, and I always had very influential teachers,” Feaman recalled.

One in particular, her John F. Kennedy Middle School math teacher Helen Brown, was particularly inspiring.

“She was firm but fair as a teacher,” Feaman said. “In fact, her teaching style is one I started adopting when I became a teacher. She was clear and caring. Her students always knew that she cared about their success.”

Yet it was Feaman’s parents, Virginia and Ulysses Smith, who first encouraged Feaman to follow their footsteps into the field of education. It was the same for her sisters, who are also educators.

“They wanted us to help others,” Feaman said. “They wanted for us to be people who gave back to our community and to be role models, as they were. They were staunch believers in the importance of education and doing well in school, and they instilled that in us. They always talked about education being that key to success. They were our biggest supporters.”

Feaman attended Hampton University in Hampton, Virginia, majoring in elementary education and English. Upon graduation, she returned to Palm Beach County and began working as a teacher at Bear Lakes Middle School, where they were looking for someone for their new intensive reading program. But Feaman continued her studies, later earning specialist and doctoral degrees in educational leadership from Argosy University in Sarasota.

As Feaman continued in her career, she was soon named an assistant principal at Bear Lakes, then promoted to principal at Cholee Lake Elementary School in Greenacres.

In 2011, Feaman became the principal at Wellington Elementary School, and in June 2014, when former Principal Dr. Nancy Lucas retired, Feaman took over as principal at Emerald Cove. “I had grown to love Wellington very much, and I have been here ever since,” she said.

Like many educators, the COVID-19 pandemic has presented her biggest challenge to date. “We had to go into a virtual setting, which was brand new, make sure students had what they needed in that time frame, and keep them safe,” Feaman said. “Now that we are back into the building, we have to make up for the gaps — academically, socially and emotionally.”

Emotional gaps are a real concern when it comes to middle schoolers, as they are typically highly social.

“Remote learning really has affected them socially and emotionally,” Feaman said. “Students had more screen time, which is both a positive and a negative thing, and not being able to interact with their peers affected their social skills. Also, in many cases, many were at home by themselves and able to do things without having structure. Kids are kids. They look for guidance from adults; they look for structure from adults. They do have other influences — phones and computers, as well as influences from within the community — and they are exposed to more things than in years past, but they are still children who are looking for love, nurturing and guidance from the adults in their lives.”

Since Feaman took the reins at Emerald Cove, the school has added its Pre-Information Technology academy, a technology-based choice program at the school, as well as becoming an Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) school.

“Those are two high points, added to support our students academically,” Feaman said. “We also have very successful visual and performing arts classes. For the first time in the school’s history, our band has received a Superior rating, which was determined by a panel of judges comprised of other band directors.”

Moving forward, Feaman plans to continue her work helping her middle school students thrive.

“I hope to help as many children be academically successful as possible,” Feaman said. “I would like to grow some of our culturally aware programs to make sure we have a welcoming and inclusive environment, and I’d like to guide and support my teachers and staff members so they can do the best for their students.”