Dr. Paloma Reiter has joined the team of skilled dermatology associates that make up the Glick Skin Institute with offices in Wellington and Margate.

“Dr. Reiter is a kind and compassionate physician who will bring to our dermatology practice extensive training in dermatologic oncology and the management of complex medical skin diseases,” said Dr. Brad Glick, founder of the Glick Skin Institute, which specializes in medical, surgical and cosmetic dermatology. “We are thrilled to have her on board!”

Reiter is a highly skilled dermatologist and dermatologic surgeon who is also an avid, lifelong equestrian eager to serve patients in the Wellington community.

A native Floridian from Plantation, Reiter graduated with a bachelor’s degree in biology from the Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College at Florida Atlantic University. She completed her medical degree at the renowned Nova Southeastern University College of Osteopathic Medicine.

Reiter then completed a family medicine internship at the Larkin Community Hospital Palm Springs Campus and her dermatology residency at St. John’s Episcopal Hospital in Far Rockaway, New York. In accomplishing one of her goals of helping patients detect skin cancers early, Reiter has also completed a pigmented lesion fellowship, where she developed a mastery in dermoscopy.

Reiter enjoys seeing patients of all ages. With her diverse training, she recognizes that the skin can be a window to internal diseases, how we perceive ourselves, and how others see us. Whether she is dealing with conditions such as acne, psoriasis, hair loss, skin cancer, autoimmune diseases or aging, Reiter is committed to optimizing her patient’s health and self-confidence.

With her multi-ethnic background, Reiter has unique insights into the treatment of different skin types, including those of color, and can communicate with her patients in both English and Spanish. Reiter has also received advanced surgical and cosmetic training, which allows her to provide patients with exceptional cosmetic outcomes. She exemplifies compassionate patient care and is an inductee of the Gold Humanism Honor Society.

Reiter is passionate about providing her patients with the best care by continuing to stay up to date with the latest research and treatment options. In addition, she believes in the importance of contributing to the field of dermatology and continues to educate residents in the art of dermoscopy. She has been published in several prestigious academic journals, including the British Journal of Dermatology and the Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology. Reiter is also an active member of the American Academy of Dermatology, the American Osteopathic College of Dermatology, the Women in Dermatology Society and the Skin of Color Society, among others.

Aside from being an avid, lifelong equestrian, Reiter’s other non-work pursuits include spending time with her family and dog, hiking, practicing vinyasa yoga, traveling and trying new restaurants.

Reiter joins Dr. Brad Glick at the Glick Skin Institute, which is part of a growing, leading edge, patient-focused dermatology group practice known as SPC Dermatology Partners. The practice performs a balance of dermatologic, surgical and cosmetic procedures and provides full-service dermatologic care in the areas of skin cancer, dermatologic surgery, Mohs surgery, hair and nail diseases, pediatric dermatology, fillers, Botox and laser surgery.

Glick is a board-certified dermatologist and dermatologic surgeon who specializes in medical, surgical and cosmetic dermatology, as well as in clinical research. He is the director of clinical research for GSI Clinical Research in Margate and has been in practice for more than 27 years.

Glick is a diplomate of the American Osteopathic Board of Dermatology, the National Board of Osteopathic Medical Examiners and is a fellow of the American Academy of Dermatology. He has authored numerous publications, journal articles and textbook chapters, and has served as a speaker, consultant and advisor to the pharmaceutical industry for more than 25 years.

A past president for the Florida Academy of Dermatology, Glick is a compassionate and dedicated physician who constantly strives to go above and beyond for his patients by providing the most comprehensive dermatologic care available.

The Glick Skin Institute is located at 1447 Medical Park Blvd., Suite 107, on the campus of Wellington Regional Medical Center. For additional information, call (561) 798-3494 or visit www.glickskin.com.

Wellington Real Estate

Beautiful Home In Village Walk

September 1, 2022 wellingtonINSIDER

Beautiful Home In Village Walk
This Private, Mediterranean-Style Home Is Located In One Of The Most Desirable Neighborhoods In Wellington

Photos Courtesy Sophie Ghedin/Keller Williams Realty

This beautiful home on desirable Xanthus Street in Wellington’s Village Walk neighborhood offers high-quality, custom, updated amenities throughout. A bright foyer beckons as you enter the living area with a modern design, custom window treatments and automatic shades. The updated chef’s kitchen is tastefully done with high-end fixtures, cabinetry and case goods with extra built-in closet space for kitchen storage. The interior entertainment area flows to a screened-in outdoor room for lounging and eating, backdropped by an oval pool and well-maintained gardens and lake.

Wellington Education

High Expectations For Students And Staff

September 1, 2022 wellingtonINSIDER

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.”

Feature Stories

THE SHOW MUST GO ON!

July 31, 2022 wellingtonINSIDER

THE SHOW MUST GO ON! Wellington Schools Return To The Stage After A Two-Year Pause

For two years, the local fine arts and theater programs at schools across Wellington were on a pandemic pause. However, that all changed this spring when the local theater productions roared back to life to excited audiences at schools near you.

At the high school level, Palm Beach Central High School’s Bronco Players performed the classic musical Annie to sold-out crowds of theatergoers. Not to be outdone, Wellington High School’s theater department capped the school year with a fantastic performance of the ABBA musical Mamma Mia!

Disney shows were popular at local elementary schools, with Wellington Elementary School presenting Aladdin Kids and Binks Forest Elementary School performing Lion King Jr.

Smiling students at all grade levels were excited to get back to the stage and perform for their peers and parents.

Palm Beach Central High School

The Palm Beach Central High School Bronco Players took to the stage, lighting it up as bright as the sun with the musical Annie.

The student-run show about the famous Depression-era orphan opened to a rousing audience of several hundred, as a cast and crew of 53 put on the musical over four performances held March 10-12.

“It has been a long road and journey to get back to this moment,” Artistic Director Gail Marshall said, adding that Annie was the perfect show for this year. “It has a great theme and lesson of being able to look beyond the troubles of today because tomorrow, being only a day away, can bring us so many possibilities.”

The show included surprise cameos from alumni and faculty, including Principal Darren Edgecomb. Twelve of the students were graduating seniors, including Marshall’s daughter, Amelia Marshall, who played Miss Hannigan.

Binks Forest Elementary School

Students from Binks Forest Elementary School performed The Lion King Jr. on March 4 to an appreciative crowd. The performance featured wonderful singing and amazing, intricate costumes.

The audience was singing along to the songs from the popular Disney classic featuring Simba and all his friends. Directors Niki Gilberti-Wheeler, Kathy Zangen, Claudine Ashley and Robin Peck did a fantastic job and thanked the Morrison family, Karen Epstein and Jennifer Roland for their support

Wellington High School

The Wellington High School theater department staged a fantastic performance of the popular musical Mamma Mia! from May 19 through May 21.

The musical featured the music of ABBA brought to life through the story of a young woman planning her wedding. A total of 30 cast members were in the high school production, including main stars Leora Zimmerman and Allie Alder. The cast and crew worked tirelessly to make the show happen.

Wellington Elementary School

The Wellington Elementary School Fine Arts Academy made its return when the musical theater group performed Aladdin Kids to a sold-out audience on May 19. Directed by Dave Morrison, the group was made up of mostly students who had little to no stage experience, but they did a fabulous job bringing the story of “street rat” Aladdin and his Princess Jasmine to life.

The faculty, staff and students got to enjoy the show at two morning performances. The students worked hard at after-school rehearsals, which included choreography, chorus practice, student actors and actresses rehearsing lines and songs, and much more.

Feature Stories

Two Decades Of Proven Success

July 31, 2022 wellingtonINSIDER

Two Decades Of Proven Success Western Academy Charter School Will Begin The Academic Year In A New, Larger Facility

Story by Deborah Welky | Photos by Denise Fleischman

The upcoming school year is going to be an exciting one at the Western Academy Charter School. After many years of success using rented space in a shopping plaza, Western Academy is in the process of moving into its new home — a 62,400-square-foot building located at 12031 Southern Blvd. in Royal Palm Beach.

“We’re very excited about going into our new building and being able to offer more opportunities for both our existing students and for new students that we’re now able to serve from the surrounding community,” said Executive Director Linda Terranova, who founded the school nearly 20 years ago. “We’ll be able to help more children.”

Western Academy Charter School opened with 157 students in 2003 and expanded five times at its previous location. This fall, the new building will open with 575 students — and they’ll all be under one roof.

“We’ll have more control over the security and grounds,” Terranova said. “We won’t have to use a public park as our playground. We’ll have our own fenced-in basketball courts, a soccer field, an indoor gym room and a large multi-purpose room. We used to have two small cafeterias — now we can have 350 people in this multi-purpose room and use it for the cafeteria, for dances, graduations, after care and special events like Halloween night. We’ll have more classrooms, pull-out support rooms and special education offices, too.”

With students in kindergarten through eighth grade, Western Academy offers traditional education programs that adhere to state standards and curriculum, but it was initially created to serve a specific need.

“My oldest son has Asperger syndrome and was falling through the cracks in the Palm Beach County School District system,” Terranova recalled. “Back then, children like him were secluded out in portables. I wanted him to be mainstreamed into the regular education system. I wrote the charter, and we expanded from that. There was such a high need for something that was not a district school, and we were the only charter school out here for years.”

Terranova explained that Western Academy is set up as a nonprofit organization, unlike many other charter schools.

“Because we are a self-run nonprofit — not a for-profit charter — we don’t have to pay a management company, and the money can go into the programs,” she explained. “We also have some flexibility for what our students need. We don’t have to wait to get permission from the school board, where it can take a long time to get the support down to the kids. We can implement programs for the students we have that year. If they have problems with math or have reading issues, we can tailor-make our curriculum to correct that because we’re an independent school.”

Terranova, who has a master’s degree in educational leadership, served as the school’s principal for the first 16 years but recently handed the baton to Tsiri Miller, who took over as principal for the 2021-22 school year.

“In my new role as executive director, my focus was to find us a new location, get bonds to pay for the new facility, oversee the renovations and get us moved into the new building,” Terranova said.

With support from the Village of Royal Palm Beach, Western Academy was able to arrange for bond money through the Arizona Industrial Development Authority to take over and update the vacant building at the northwest corner of Southern and Crestwood boulevards. It was most recently the home of the Palms West Charter School.

Western Academy has been an A-rated school since 2006 and has also been designated a “School of Excellence” for being in the top 20 percent of all Florida schools. Its math program ranks in the top 5 percent across the state. Based on tests given to all students in grades 3 through 8 statewide, Western Academy has beat all the district schools in Royal Palm Beach and emerged as the No. 1 charter school in all of Palm Beach County.

Miller became the principal after serving Western Academy as one of its assistant principals, dean of students, ESE coordinator and a teacher. She said the school’s biggest challenge recently has been providing high-quality education during the pandemic while keeping students and staff safe and healthy.

“Even during the pandemic, our students thrived and succeeded,” Miller said. “We were one of only a few schools in the county who opted-in for an A school grade in 2021 and remain the No. 1 charter school in Palm Beach County. I’m really proud of our students, staff and parents for working together and supporting each other during those difficult times. I am excited to be moving into our new building where we will be able to serve more students in our community.”

Terranova is delighted to see how the school has grown over the past two decades.

“The climate of our school is special because it’s like a family,” Terranova said. “We’ve been around for so long. Some families have multiple children going through our school. We care about the safety, security and academics of our children. It’s a family atmosphere in an all-inclusion school with regular programs, advanced/honors programs at the middle school level and programs for those who are academically challenged.”

Western Academy has closed its enrollment period for the coming school year with all spaces filled, a waiting list and a lottery already conducted. Call (561) 792-4123 to ask to be put on the waiting list in case a space opens up. In the meantime, enrollment opens for the 2023-24 school year on Sept. 1.

For more information about Western Academy Charter School, visit www.westernacademycharter.com.

Feature Stories

The Future Of Sports Instruction

July 31, 2022 wellingtonINSIDER

The Future Of Sports Instruction
Star Athletes Aim To Breathe New Life Into An Old Wellington Park

By Mike May

While Wellington is firmly established as the premier destination for equestrian sports, it’s likely that Wellington will also soon become home to one of the finest training and instructional destinations for sports such as football, basketball, baseball, softball, soccer, volleyball and cheerleading.

The business entity pushing this new idea is Wellington Athletics LLC. It’s being spearheaded by three local athletes who went on to the big leagues: Jon Bostic, Devon Travis and Pat O’Donnell.

Bostic, a current NFL linebacker, has played in the NFL since 2013 for Chicago, New England, Detroit, Indianapolis, Pittsburgh and Washington. Travis is a former Major League Baseball player with the Detroit Tigers and the Toronto Blue Jays who is currently coaching for the Atlanta Braves organization. O’Donnell, meanwhile, is currently the punter for the NFL’s Green Bay Packers.

All three of these sports stars are also graduates of Wellington’s Palm Beach Central High School, and all three are committed to giving area residents, especially young athletes, the chance to get first-class coaching right here in Wellington, rather than travel far away to receive this high-level instruction.

Bostic, Travis and O’Donnell readily admit that they were fortunate, as they benefited from great coaches and mentors in their amateur athletic careers. Now, they want to extend that same option to other up-and-coming athletes in central Palm Beach County. Wellington Athletics is looking to fill a void.

“The mission is to close that gap by providing young athletes with a holistic approach to achieving their goals — on the field, in the classroom and at home,” explained Bostic in his proposal letter to the Village of Wellington.

The mission of Wellington Athletics is to transform the currently underutilized Wellington Community Park, located at 3401 South Shore Blvd., into a 91,784-square-foot multi-purpose sports training and coaching complex, as well as a youth sports academy. In order to build this complex and turn their sports training and coaching dreams into a reality, they need some assistance from the village.

Wellington Community Park was originally built as the home of the Wellington Boys & Girls Club in the 1980s and has not had major updates since that time. The club left in 2013 for a brand-new facility across town. Since then, the only structure at the park, the old club building, has been used for storage, and the fields are in poor shape.

The Wellington Athletics plan would knock down the current building and replace it with a state-of-art sports training facility. Meanwhile, the fields would get a major upgrade.

How is this new idea going to be financed? Enter the Village of Wellington. After putting out a request for proposals seeking a new use for the old park last year, the village has been working with Wellington Athletics to figure out how to make the finances work for the benefit of both Wellington residents and Wellington Athletics through a public-private partnership.

Wellington Village Manager Jim Barnes said that this public-private partnership is getting closer to reality, but it’s going to take some time for it to be finalized.

“When you are dealing with funds from the Village of Wellington, it just takes time to get matters approved,” Barnes said.

For a project of this magnitude, there is one big number to consider: $36 million. That is what it will cost to build the headquarters for Wellington Athletics, upgrade the fields and get the program underway. And that doesn’t include the initial $1.5 million required to dismantle the former Boys & Girls Club building.

Once the current structure is demolished, it’s going to take $36 million to build the new home of Wellington Athletics. This site will contain indoor baseball/softball batting cages, at least six indoor basketball courts, an indoor cheerleading training area, a fitness center/gym, and rooms to house a chiropractor and physical therapist, among others.

Outside, there will be state-of-the art lighted baseball and softball fields with dugouts and a large multi-purpose field, which will be big enough for a full-sized football, soccer or lacrosse field.

To get access to the coaches, instructors and sports specialists at Wellington Athletics, families will have to pay an annual membership fee. The fitness center/gym facility will have a separate pricing structure, which might be ideal for parents who can drop off their child for coaching and then visit the fitness center for a workout.

“The gym will be a huge revenue source for us,” Bostic predicted.

There will be many benefits for Wellington residents. They include access to at least one basketball court for use by local teams from 6 to 10 p.m. on Mondays through Thursdays, access to the outdoor baseball and softball fields every Saturday from 1 p.m. to sundown, and access to the outdoor multi-purpose field at all times, unless Wellington Athletics needs to use it for clients. And since Palm Beach Central High School does not have lighted fields for its baseball and softball teams, those squads will be able to use the lighted fields for home games.

According to Barnes, the Village of Wellington will use money from a bond to finance $33 million, while Wellington Athletics will contribute the remaining $3 million to the overall project. The timetable for making payments to the Village of Wellington to reimburse the village for its $33 million investment has yet to be determined, but the proforma business model for Wellington Athletics indicates that this concept will not be profitable until its third year of its operation.

However the final numbers work out, the $33 million will be returned to the Village of Wellington based on the terms of a 30-year lease. The agreement will also give Wellington Athletics the option to accept two additional 25-year leases after the initial 30-year lease has expired.

According to Assistant Village Manager Ed De La Vega, the Village of Wellington will always remain in control of the land. “We never relinquish ownership of the property,” he said.

If, for some reason, the business model for Wellington Athletics fails, then the Village of Wellington would take control of the project.

Based on comments from Barnes, the Wellington Village Council has at least three more meetings to fully discuss and approve all actions needed to officially start the process.

“The best-case scenario is that the old Boys & Girls Club building gets removed starting in the first half of 2023 and that construction of the new building will be finished about 14 months later,” Barnes said.

To ensure that the Village of Wellington is making a financially sound decision, it has consulted with an outside source with experience in dealing with sports groups like Wellington Athletics. That expert is Don Schumacher of DSA Sports. Schumacher, who has extensive experience in working with sports facilities, will assist in a comprehensive market analysis.

“We are in the process of evaluating all of the hard work Wellington Athletics has put into this project,” Schumacher told the council in June. “I don’t have any information in front of me that says this is a bad idea.”

While Bostic, Travis and O’Donnell are the face of Wellington Athletics, they will not be running the day-to-day affairs of the operation. That is expected to be delegated to Clearwater-based Sports Facilities Companies, which has years of experience in running operations similar to Wellington Athletics. Sports Facilities Companies’ Jim Arnold is very optimistic that Wellington Athletics will be a success.

“I’m very bullish that a complex like this will be successful,” Arnold told the council in June. “This [facility] is a one-of-a-kind along the east coast of Florida.”

The economic impact of the presence of Wellington Athletics being operational could be as much as $6.4 million in its first year. It could be as high as $10 million by the fifth year.

“This is the new wave of sports,” Bostic said. “This is something which has taken countless hours to piece together. This is a lot more than athletics.”

Time will tell if Bostic, Travis and O’Donnell are right. But the Village of Wellington appears willing to make that initial first investment.

Feature Stories

A Focus On Community Service

July 31, 2022 wellingtonINSIDER

A Focus On Community Service
New Wellington Rotary Club President Tiffany Rodriguez Aims To Get More People Involved In The Well-Known Service Organization