Top In Science, Math And Engineering
American Heritage Schools Leads The Nation In STEM Education

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 is a nationally ranked college preparatory school with two 40-acre campuses in South Florida for grades Pre-K3 to 12. The 4,800 students represent more than 60 different countries, and more than 70 percent of the faculty holds a post-graduate degree. 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 American Heritage Schools’ Palm Beach campus in 2014, from Dartmouth College in 2018, and he is currently a medical degree candidate at 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 Florida in STEM according to Niche, a leader in digital searches for the best K-12 schools and colleges, the students at American Heritage 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 event champions in robotics competition.

The American Heritage Science Research Institute for select students in grades 6 to 12 enables students to conduct research on real-world problems, and in turn, they have earned international recognition for their findings.

Emilin Mathew researched digital phenotyping of the autism spectrum and earned first prize in the world at the 2021 International Intel Science & Engineering Fair.

“I’m really grateful for the support I got in pursuing my commitment to overcome healthcare inequities for people of color,” Mathew said. “Winning first place in the world was the most empowering experience that reaffirmed my aspiration to be a scientist-activist who helps underserved communities.”

She is just one of the many students at American Heritage empowered to make a big difference in the world.

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 American Heritage Schools’ Palm Beach campus. “This sets them apart from their peers when applying to college or graduate school.”

The mathematics departments at both campuses are equally strong. Starting in Lower School, advanced courses are offered, including the Stanford University math program for accelerated math students in grades 4 through 6. This early learning enables the students to perform extremely well at math competitions. They earned the ranking of No. 1 elementary school in Florida and No. 2 private elementary school in the United States 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 AHS ranked No. 1 and No. 2 private school at the Florida Association of Mu Alpha Theta statewide math competition. The Palm Beach campus earned five first-place awards in Geometry, Matrices and Vectors, Statistics, Statistics Bowl and Computer Competition.

Justin Sun is a senior at the Palm Beach campus who has competed on the AHS Math Team since he was a freshman. His strength is in statistics with an interest in data science.

“One day I want to be the CEO of my own corporation using data to solve major issues in the world, such as climate change and the tumultuous political environment,” explained Sun, who attributed his success in high school to his teachers. “American Heritage does a great job of making sure the students are comfortable in class and understand the material, and I feel that only comes with experience of the teachers, who make sure the students have the proper tools to achieve the goals they want.”

Sun will be attending Carnegie Mellon University in the fall.

In the field of robotics and engineering, the AHS Ninjineers Robotics Team at the Broward campus qualified for the World Robotics Championship in Houston over the summer. The team also won NASA’s Regional Engineering Inspiration Award, which celebrates outstanding success in advancing respect and appreciation for engineering within a team’s school or organization and community.

Senior Krishna Sorna was a top student in the American Heritage Pre-Engineering Program at the Palm Beach campus and will be attending Princeton in the fall.

“American Heritage has played a major role in my early acceptance to Princeton University by providing a great educational environment unlike any other high school,” Sorna said. “The Pre-Engineering Program allowed me to learn through several engineering classes, participate in internships with major engineering companies, and design and create products in the engineering and robotics lab to get real-world experience, which inspired me to choose a major in electrical and computer engineering and a career at an engineering firm.”

American Heritage Schools in Palm Beach is No. 2 in National Merit Scholars out of all schools in Florida. American Heritage Schools’ combined students from both campuses comprise 9 percent of all National Merit Scholars Semifinalists throughout the 2,227 public and private schools in Florida.

“We are very proud to have our students win prestigious honors for their various accomplishments in our STEM programs,” said Dr. Doug Laurie, president of American Heritage Schools. “These students are model ambassadors for American Heritage Schools. Each of them embodies our values of knowledge, integrity and compassion, and their hard work and dedication to their educational pursuits are admired.”

American Heritage 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 interest, and 1-on-1 tutoring. This comprehensive summer enrichment ensures 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.

American Heritage Schools’ Palm Beach campus is located at 6200 Linton Blvd., just east of Jog Road. For more information, call (561) 495-7272 or visit www.ahschool.com.

Fostering A Love Of Learning
Principal Dana Pallaria Is Proud Of The Unique Dual-Language Program At New Horizons Elementary School

Story by Deborah Welky  |  Photos by Denise Fleischman

New Horizons Elementary School opened in 1988 as the second elementary school serving the fast-growing community of Wellington. Today, the school on Greenbriar Blvd. is led by Principal Dana Pallaria.

Wellington takes pride in its top-rated schools, and that includes New Horizons, which features a unique dual-language Spanish program. The school has been ranked third in the United States as a Dual Language International Spanish Academy, and Pallaria aims to take it to No. 1.

“In the three years since I have been here, I have been successful in growing our dual-language program by adding two VPK dual-language classrooms,” Pallaria said. “This has allowed me to open up the opportunity to begin a bilingual and biliterate journey for our three- and four-year-old students. Ultimately, I’d like to take the program through eighth grade. Our students have an advantage over most because my goal is to provide a program that fosters a love of learning, a love of learning about other cultures, and the opportunity to learn two or sometimes three languages. English-speaking students will continue their education learning Spanish, and Spanish-speaking students will be able to maintain their native language and enhance their English into middle and high school.”

Pallaria herself didn’t have the same opportunity growing up. In fact, elementary school was a bit of a challenge for her as her family moved through several states.

“I went to kindergarten in Glendale, California; moved to New Jersey for first and second grade; and onto Long Island, New York, for third through sixth grade,” Pallaria recalled. “I finally landed back where I was born, in New Hartford, New York, for sixth grade through high school. I struggled with learning slightly due to moving, but I always had great teachers and the support of my parents. I thank them all.”

By fifth grade, Pallaria knew she wanted to be a teacher. “I wanted to make a difference in the lives of students and foster a love of learning,” she said.

Pallaria earned a degree in English with a minor in elementary education from Le Moyne College in Syracuse, New York, and began pursuing a master’s degree at the State University of New York at Oswego. In 1992, Pallaria started out teaching science at a private school in New York, then taught third grade at a public school in Syracuse.

In 1998, craving the warmth of the Sunshine State and wanting to be near her relocated family, Pallaria took a job teaching second grade at Jerry Thomas Elementary School in Jupiter. Eventually, she moved on to teaching fifth grade and becoming the ESE contact, helping students with special needs.

It was then that Pallaria realized that she wanted to make a bigger impact and earned her educational leadership degree at Florida Atlantic University and became the learning team facilitator at Berkshire Elementary School in West Palm Beach. After one year there, she went on to become the assistant principal at Grassy Waters Elementary School, remaining there for five years.

“I reached my goal of principalship in 2019 at New Horizons,” Pallaria said. “In that time, we have grown from 700 students to nearly 800. Some of New Horizons’ highlights, I believe, are the partnerships we hold with the Norton Museum of Art and the Ministry of Spain. As only one of three Dual Language International Spanish Academies in the Palm Beach County School District, we work very closely with the Ministry of Education in Spain to support our program. They recruit Spanish educators to come work in our school and share their experiences with our students, staff and the community. I believe being bilingual is very powerful and, when students learn about other cultures and learn the language at such an early age, it is so beneficial to their academic and personal success.”

As with education worldwide, the pandemic took its toll.

“Although I have had a challenging first three years, I feel the biggest success I have had has been building positive relationships and a trusting partnership with our community, staff and students. We are very close-knit,” Pallaria said. “The biggest challenge has been maintaining morale and ensuring my staff is safe with all the challenges they themselves and the students in their classrooms have faced. We principals have had to handle things that we were not schooled on how to handle. As for the students, they have gone through some life changes that students in the past haven’t gone through. I believe every student needs support from both their family and their school, but today’s students and families need more support now than ever before.”

Personally, Pallaria has always had the support she needed.

“My mom has been the biggest influence in my career,” she said. “She has always supported me and encouraged me to pursue my dreams and goals as a future woman leader. My mom answered the phone at all hours of the day and night. If I was struggling with completing work or studying for a test, she was there to provide me with extra moral support and encouragement. She often said, ‘One more test, one more month. You got this.’”

Pallaria has played that forward by providing her staff with inspirational quotes and messages daily.

“There has never been a day in my life where my parents weren’t there the minute I needed them,” she said. “I firmly believe that, to be successful in your career and in life, you have to have a support system. My family has been there through the easiest and hardest times in my life. I would not be where I am today if it wasn’t for my mom and dad. They taught me to have grit, be kind, be patient, set high expectations and never give up. I can’t thank them enough for their unconditional love and continued support to help me achieve my goals, even as an adult. As a leader, I work to provide my staff with the same support, passion and dedication.”

Pallaria’s own children, Isabella and Peter, are both graduating from college this year, one as an engineer and one as a doctor of physical therapy. Both attended Palm Beach County public schools.

While Pallaria loves her job at New Horizons, she is always up for new challenges.

“I love to learn and be challenged, so I hope to have the opportunity to become a leader of a middle school or high school, and then, potentially, an instructional leader coaching future leaders,” she said.

Rising To Meet Every Challenge Principal Cara Hayden Helps Students And Faculty Thrive At Wellington High School 

Story by Deborah Welky  |  Photos by Denise Fleischman

Back when Wellington was a fledgling community, there was no local high school. Teenagers were bused far away to schools on the coast. That all changed in 1988 with the long-awaited opening of Wellington High School on Greenview Shores Blvd.

For nearly 35 years now, Wellington High School has been educating and graduating generations of Wolverines at a school known for its strong academics and unique special programs, burnishing the Village of Wellington’s reputation for great local schools.

Since 2018, Wellington High School has been led by Principal Cara Hayden, who took over for longtime Principal Mario Crocetti when he retired.

Hayden is someone who rises to meet every challenge, and she has been doing so since back in her own high school days, which were split between two different states — the first half in northern California, and the second half in Plantation, Florida. The one constant was her involvement in sports.

“My life was filled with athletics,” Hayden said. “I was doing varsity swimming and playing varsity water polo all four years. When I wasn’t doing sports, I was always working to take care of myself. I worked to save up enough money for college and to buy a car.”

Upon graduation, she was accepted into Florida State University, where she earned three degrees over the next nine years, including a bachelor’s degree in social work.

“I wanted to work with at-risk kids,” Hayden recalled. “I wanted to help them know that there’s something more out there than what is in their immediate social life.”

So, Hayden began her journey as a social worker.

“But then I saw that kids with disabilities weren’t getting equal access to high level courses and other services, so I got my bachelor’s and master’s degrees in disabilities and emotional disturbances.”

From 2000 to 2009, Hayden taught algebra and geometry to students who had trouble learning, then became a specialist on the subject. “I traveled from school to school, teaching students and showing teachers how to better teach them,” she explained.

An FSU certification in educational leadership in hand, Hayden made her biggest advance when the principal of one of the schools on her itinerary, Santaluces High School, created an assistant principal position especially for her.

“I was an assistant principal there for five years,” Hayden said. “I helped the school become an A-rated school and worked to make sure all students graduated. Then I got the call to become principal at Wellington High School.”

Hayden was excited by the opportunity to lead a school with such a stellar reputation.

“I always knew that I wanted to impact as many students as I could,” she said. “I wanted to eventually be able to run my own school and make sure all students received all the services they deserved.”

As if leading a high school with 2,700 students isn’t challenging enough, Hayden arrived at a challenging time.

“Coming to Wellington has been one of my greatest challenges. As soon as I arrived, the Stoneman Douglas incident occurred,” she recalled, referring to the deadly February 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland. “So, I had to take a school I’d only been in one month and change most policies to ensure the safety of our students and to do the best I could to make sure something like that didn’t happen at WHS.”

Then, just two years later, COVID-19 altered the landscape once again. Being suddenly thrust into remote learning presented its own challenges.

“I would say we’ve all learned a tremendous amount, and these tragedies have brought our staff and students much closer,” Hayden said. “We’ve learned to work as a team and to collaborate better than we would have if we hadn’t had to turn the school into a virtual school.”

Despite everything, Wellington High School continues to thrive. It is home to award-winning programs, both academic and extracurricular. It is home to four highly regarded choice academies: Equine/Pre-Veterinary, Fine Arts, Fire Science and Marketing.

“Each year, we see more students graduating from WHS with the tools and training that prepare them for college and the work force,” Hayden said. “We have record numbers earning AICE diplomas, college credits and industry certifications. Our athletic teams continue to achieve athletically and academically. Each of our performing arts groups — band, chorus, dance and theater — have earned Superior ratings at interscholastic competitions. Finally, we’ve expanded our leadership offerings beyond student government to include Latinos in Action, Link Crew and the Black Leadership & Achievement Student Team (BLAST).”

Personally, Hayden is thankful for the support she got from so many people along the way, such as Deputy Superintendent Edward Tierney; Keith Oswald, currently the school district’s chief of equity and wellness; and Dreyfoos School of the Arts Principal Blake Bennett. Each helped her at key points in her career.

“I’ve been pretty lucky in that I’ve worked with a lot of great people. Keith Oswald was a principal when I was teaching and gave me my first opportunity to step into a leadership role,” she said. “Edward Tierney was at Boynton Beach High School when I was teaching math there. He’s a very serious guy, and he came into my class to observe, wearing a very serious face. At end of class, he told me it was the best math class he had ever seen. Since then, he has always looked out for me. As a teacher, I did work incredibly hard and did everything I was supposed to do with the best intentions for all my students. Also Blake Bennett, who was an assistant principal back then, all three of them have really helped shape my career.”

Hayden is most proud of the amazing work done by the students at Wellington High School through challenging times.

“Even though students have had to adapt to a series of abrupt changes and unusual challenges over the past two years, at their core, kids still value the same things about being part of a school as always. They’ve always been supportive of their peers; now they have more social emotional learning skills to help their friends and classmates,” she said. “Students wish to be part of meaningful clubs and organizations; now, they know how to extend those efforts beyond meetings and classrooms by using social media and digital resources. Most importantly, they want to be seen, heard and valued.”

Hayden remains as excited about her position at WHS as the first day she arrived four years ago.

“I plan to hang out here as long as they’ll have me,” she said. “I want to continue to see our students be safe, have a meaningful learning environment and continue to grow academically and socially. I want to see human kindness. I want the students leaving Wellington High School to become citizens that we are all going to be proud of.”

Helping Students Change The World
Palm Beach Central High School’s Darren Edgecomb
Keeps His Eye On The Next Generation

Story by Deborah Welky  |  Photos by Denise Fleischman

Palm Beach Central High School became the second public high school serving Wellington when it opened in August 2003 on the north side of Forest Hill Blvd. at Lyons Road. For the past eight years, the principal has been Darren Edgecomb, a longtime Palm Beach County educator.

Having graduated from Belle Glade High School in the top five percent of his class and fresh from the University of Florida with a degree in business, Edgecomb took a job as assistant manager of the same grocery store that he had worked at as a teenager. Except this time, he was the one hiring teenagers — as cashiers, bagboys and stock crew. The year was 1987.

“I knew their parents and older siblings, and it was pretty cool talking to kids — who were doing the same things I used to do — about interviewing techniques and the management side of things,” Edgecomb recalled. “Then one day, Mr. Antoine Russell came into the shop. He was an educator, and he was about to become the principal of a new alternative school, School of Choice, opening up in Pahokee. He saw how I enjoyed teaching the teens, and he suggested I transition into teaching. He was my mentor.”

Although School of Choice was late in opening due to construction delays, Edgecomb was eager to begin his teaching career.

“I began subbing at Rosenwald Elementary School in South Bay, working with seven-year-olds and wondering what I had gotten myself into. But I loved it and, when School of Choice finally opened, I took a job there, teaching math to grades 6 through 12. Eight years later, I tried to spread my wings,” Edgecomb said. “I had been fortunate enough to have just been selected as Math Teacher of the Year for Secondary Education, and that made me feel as if could take more of a risk, move out of my comfort zone.”

Edgecomb was hired at Okeeheelee Middle School, then led by Chuck Shaw, who later went on to serve on the Palm Beach County School Board. “He gave me lots of leadership opportunities,” Edgecomb recalled. “He appointed me as a team leader — someone who rotates in as an assistant principal when an assistant principal is out — and I found I enjoyed working with adults at the same time I was working with kids. This was an opportunity to ‘sit in the chair,’ and the chair felt good.”

Edgecomb’s next stop was Royal Palm Beach High School. “I still enjoyed teaching, and I taught math there for another eight years — algebra to calculus. I loved every second of it. Then, the last year I was there, I had an opportunity to serve in a similar role as a team leader at the high school level. I got my master’s degree in educational leadership alongside my wife, Linda. I finished the admin program required by the County and then secured an assistant principal position at Seminole Ridge High School, just as it was opening up,” he said.

Edgecomb has a wealth of experience working in brand-new schools. School of Choice, Okeeheelee, RPBHS and SRHS were all opening their doors for the first time when Edgecomb arrived.

After working at Seminole Ridge for four years, he served as principal of Turning Point Academy, another alternative education school, for two years. Then it was back to Belle Glade as principal at Gove Elementary School.

“It was a blast,” Edgecomb said. “It was a dual language school, and it was also the school my own kids attended; where my wife was a former teacher. I knew all my co-workers.”

After spending three years at Gove, Edgecomb became principal at Palm Beach Central. His eight years there has brought him to a running total of 34 years with the School District of Palm Beach County.

“I’ve been blessed,” he said. “The late Antoine Russell ignited my passion, set the fuses and gave me the motivation in the community I grew up in. He talked about being a role model for young men. He made it intriguing. But my faith is definitely the biggest influence in my life. I’m an educator, and I see it almost as being in the missionary field. Educators bring hope and answers to kids who need them. I take it very seriously. We’re the greatest impact on their futures that these kids have.”

Next to his faith, Edgecomb cites his wife, Linda, as his biggest inspiration. She is the principal at Golden Grove Elementary School in The Acreage.

“I’ve been in education for 34 years and married for 34 years. We grew up together. She was my high school sweetheart. We talk every day. We’re still just as passionate about what we do, and we bounce ideas off each other,” Edgecomb said. “The greatest challenge I face is working with the kids, but that has always been the fun part, the motivating part. I also work to find the perfect mesh of how to motivate the adults. In all my experience, I’ve discovered that the way people are motivated is totally different. How can I make them each feel validated?”

At the high school level, the expectations are high, and the students are mini-adults. “It’s a delicate balance of pressure and support to get the best out of teachers for the sake of the kids, while also acknowledging that they’re the ones on the front lines, doing the heavy lifting,” he said.

The “culture” of a school is something Edgecomb studies and works to perfect. “For me, the biggest success is putting your brand on the school,” he said. “Culture translates into student success. When you have a great culture, people will run through a wall for you. That said, having been through so many places, the commonality I have found is that memories and relationships are what last. Testing, standards and classwork aside, I feel successful when I’ve achieved relationships with people. That is my greatest reward.”

Academically, Edgecomb is proud of the fact that Palm Beach Central has an A rating from the state and that graduation rates went up 2.6 percent to 97 percent despite the difficulties of the pandemic.

“I’m really thrilled about that, and the credit goes to our amazing teachers and staff members. The greatest thing about Palm Beach Central is that we’re a microcosm of society,” he said. “It’s one of the more diverse schools I’ve worked at — a tapestry of many cultures. Our almost 2,900 students are 20 percent Black; 41 percent Hispanic; 31 percent White; 14 percent of our students have disabilities; 6 percent are English Language Learners. And, even though we’re in Wellington, 56 percent receive free or reduced-price lunches. Despite that, we have a 97 percent graduation rate. Our diversity is our strength. We learn from being around other cultures. We try to connect with, include and accept everyone while still having high expectations for every student.”

He’s also proud of the school’s extra-curriculars, such as the football team that was undefeated this season going two games into the playoffs.

“In addition, there’s student government, the arts, a plethora of activities,” Edgecomb said. “There’s always something going on at the school, day and night. Our students are philanthropic. They give back to society. Right now, they’re planning a dance marathon to raise money for the Children’s Miracle Network. Pre-pandemic, they raised more than $100,000. The students are wonderful; the teachers are skilled; and the parents are super supportive.

Edgecomb has watched students evolve over the course of his 34-year career.

“Since 1988, when I started, I’ve seen many changes,” he said. “The most pronounced and obvious is the technology. It has changed how we teach and how they receive information. To capture today’s kids’ attention, you need more tools in your tool belt. And they don’t see the teacher as the person with all the answers like I did growing up. The kids want to know the ‘why’ behind everything. Everything has to be proven.”

In this way, the teacher is now more of a guide and facilitator who leads kids to the answers. “Before, teachers just told them how to do it and whether they were right or wrong,” he explained.

Professionally, Edgecomb would like to see Palm Beach Central “continuing to ride the wave of the momentum of student achievement” well into the future.

Personally, he feels blessed as a successful family man.

“My faith and family are the most important things to me,” he said. “I am blessed to have a wife with a similar career, and two daughters working in our schools. Danielle is teaching pre-kindergarten and Kamille is providing mental health support at the elementary level.”

Whether at home or at work, Edgecomb seeks to provide a living example of the value of a good education. “I tell my students, ‘Go change the world with the knowledge and opportunities you’ve had here at Palm Beach Central,’” he said.

Panther Run Elementary School Principal Edilia De La Vega Keeps Her Focus On The Hundreds Of Students In Her Care

Story by Deborah Welky | Photos by Denise Fleischman

Panther Run Elementary School has been serving students in the Wellington area for more than 30 years. The school opened in 1991 on Lake Worth Road as the primary school serving the southern areas of the quickly growing community.

Since 2017, the principal has been Edilia De La Vega. She uses her own struggles during her elementary years as motivation for the work she does to help the hundreds of Wellington students in her care.

“My parents migrated to Miami from Cuba and worked blue collar jobs here in the United States,” De La Vega recalled. “They enrolled me, their only child, in a private school run by immigrants, so I was taught in Spanish. When they moved into a more Anglo area, I entered third grade in a public school. I spoke no English and looked like I came from the Mariel Boatlift. I struggled until the fifth grade, when a teacher named Ms. Green mentored me so much that I was able to catch up. Education was very important in my family, and I graduated high school in the top 10 percent of my class.”

De La Vega remembers always wanting to be a teacher. She would spend hours teaching classes with her Barbie dolls sitting in for students.

Eventually, De La Vega earned her bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Barry University, later earning a master’s degree in ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) and her specialist degree in leadership from Nova Southeastern University. She began teaching first grade in Hialeah when she was 21 years old.

After just a year teaching there, Principal Jimmy Lee Brown suggested she look toward a leadership track. “He felt like I had a more global picture for education,” De La Vega said. “I was always trying to build goals for the school.”

Although she earned the credentials, that idea stayed on the back burner for a while. Mother to young children, she moved with her husband Ed, now assistant village manager at the Village of Wellington, to Palm Beach County 16 years ago. She started working at the Ideal School, then moved on to Equestrian Trails Elementary School.

“I’m the type of person who gives 150 percent,” De La Vega said. “I wanted to become an assistant principal, but I knew it would take a lot of time away from my family. I wanted to be able to commit to the job fully.”

When her children were older, De La Vega knew it was time. She achieved her dream and became assistant principal at Panther Run in 2011. She stayed in that post until 2017, when she was promoted to principal.

Panther Run is an A-rated school known for academic excellence. It has achieved the Five Star Award for the past 22 years, is a Green School of Excellence and has earned the Golden School Award. Fine arts are important at Panther Run, and the art program has also won many awards. The Calypso Cats steel drum band is a community favorite, as is the Symphonic Band.

Called ROAR, Panther Run’s positive support program teaches Respect, Ownership, Attitude and Responsibility. “We’re very big about teaching character traits,” De La Vega said. “We have students of the month, buddy ambassadors and we’re very big on building a strong school community. One size does not fit all. If a child is in crisis or in need, they can’t function in a classroom. We get them the help they need to do the academics. It helped us win the Resilience Award.”

She cites the current pandemic as the biggest challenge she has had to face as an educator. “It’s a huge balancing act between taking care of the community by keeping the campus and the children safe, and also meeting the social and emotional needs of our children and staff — all while making sure the school is functioning academically,” De La Vega said. “It was a little bit nerve-wracking at the beginning when we were all just figuring it out.”

De La Vega found success by “being organized, planning everything out and creating a template for all that we need to get done.” It’s a 24/7 job as she works to balance academics with the physical and mental health of both students and staff.

“Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) has taken the forefront more than ever before,” she said. “You need balance. The school will not continue to flourish without it.”

She puts a special focus on keeping the needs of her teachers front and center. “For some of our teachers, this pandemic may be the most stressful point in their careers,” De La Vega said. “There’s already a teacher shortage, and we don’t want to lose them.”

She also credits the parents for their help and support. “Our parents know the rules and regulations,” she said. “They know the policies. It builds a sense of community and ties in with our schoolwide positive support program.”

De La Vega credits Wellington’s Keely Spinelli Grant program with providing the funds needed to help lower-achieving students make gains. She feels it’s this spirit of community that propels Panther Run toward excellence.

“We have gifted, high-achieving classes; an accelerated mathematics program; our own ESOL programs for students from other countries,” she said. “We meet the needs of all the children and, ever since they started the rating system, we have been an A-rated school.”

In addition to academic awards, the school has placed first in all four Heroes for Education 5K runs, consistently attracting the most participants within the entire school district. Again, parental involvement helped.

“I may be an over-communicator, but I like to provide as much information as possible to my families,” De La Vega said. “I’m really imbedded in the Wellington community, and I’m a very transparent leader. I meet with my staff weekly to make sure our school is running efficiently, and I never make decisions in isolation.”

One of the biggest changes over the years is the technology.

“The access to technology is both good and bad,” she said. “In the classroom, it’s great. We’ve bought Smart Boards and so many great programs for our kids. On the other hand, their attention spans have shortened. We need them to be focused and engaged in our classrooms. To that end, we have several teachers certified in Google Classroom. We teach in a way that is more engaging and more competitive, that keeps them abreast of what the teachers need them to learn. We use interactive games and PowerPoint. Some kids even send me theirs to look at.”

Panther Run serves 794 students, and De La Vega makes it a point to learn each of their names. “The kids know the school’s big, so when I welcome them in the morning, they light up,” she said. “They like the connection, and they know they can talk to me. I love elementary school kids.”

De La Vega’s goal for Panther Run is “to continue to grow academically and maybe be the top school in the county. I think our children and our staff work really hard at it.”

For herself, she’d like to continue to grow in her career. “I like to think globally of how we can make things better. I’m not afraid of change,” she said. “And I love working in the Wellington area; I love the connection to my community.”

De La Vega is the mother of two children, now in their 20s, who went through the public school system in Palm Beach County. Just as she is proud of them, she is also proud of her students at Panther Run today.

“We’re building the future,” she said. “I have future doctors, future presidents in my school. People might get bogged down with what’s going on in society, but education is the most important career — building strong, capable, young humans who are socially and emotionally ready to take on the world. I may not have given birth to them, but these are my children.”