New school administrators named for 2010-11 school year

By Carrie A. Mizell

With school starting in just under three weeks, the Gilchrist County School District recently announced new administrators hired for the 2010-11 school year.
Both Bell and Trenton elementary schools will have new assistant principals for the new school year, Michelle Smith will be assistant principal at Trenton Elementary, while Linda Gartin was hired as assistant principal at Bell Elementary. Jay Jolicoeur was also recently hired as dean of students at Trenton High School, replacing Scott Allen. At the district office, Lisa Rowland will serve as the school district’s new director of special programs.

Michelle Smith will be assistant principal at Trenton Elementary School, Linda Gartin is the new assistant principal at Bell Elementary School, Jay Jolicoeur is the new dean of students at Trenton High School and Lisa Rowland will serve as director of special programs for the school district.

A Gilchrist County native, Michelle Smith graduated from Bell High School in 1982 and returned to teach in Gilchrist County Schools shortly after graduating from the University of Florida in 1986. Though she began teaching in Dixie County, it wasn’t long before Smith accepted a position as a sixth grade teacher at Trenton Middle School, where she worked for six years. In 1995, Smith transferred to Bell Elementary School to work as the school’s guidance counselor, before being appointed assistant principal at BES in 2007. After a short tenure as principal of BES in 2009, Smith accepted a position at Trenton Elementary School last year to serve as school guidance counselor. This year, Smith is looking forward to working as assistant principal at Trenton Elementary under principal Riley Deen.
“Michelle Smith is an asset to Trenton Elementary School and our community,” Deen said. “Her ability to build relationships with not only our staff, but also our students will enable our students to achieve greater goals in school and in the outside world.”
Bell Elementary School’s new assistant principal Linda Gartin is looking forward to being a part of the Gilchrist County School District team. A resident of Ft. White, Gartin previously worked as a behavior and educational support teacher at Ft. White Elementary School. The wife and mother of five earned her bachelor’s degree in elementary education from the University of North Florida prior to completing her master’s degree in educational leadership from Nova Southeastern University.
Jay Jolicoeur has done it all, therefore his new position, as dean of students at Trenton High School isn’t too much of a stretch. Jolicoeur grew up in Okeechobee, where he graduated from Okeechobee High School in 1987. He graduated from the University of Central Florida in 1991 with a BS in chemistry education, prior to completing his master’s degree in educational leadership from Florida Atlantic University in 1996.
Jolicoeur returned to Okeechobee to teach chemistry and later became a principal. After a few years, he moved to Orlando to serve as the chaplain for UCF athletics. Jay then moved to Gainesville and started a business building houses. Later, Jolicoeur taught chemistry and AP chemistry at Santa Fe High School, where he received Teacher of the Year and was voted by the students, “Most Outstanding Teacher.” Jay and his wife of 19 years, Dede, along with their five children, moved to Bell about a year ago and are very excited to be a part of the Gilchrist County community.
Lisa Rowland is following in the footsteps of Mary Bennett, who retired after serving as special program director for the Gilchrist County School District for over 20 years. Rowland, who had worked as district ESE staffing and program specialist since 2003, will begin work as director of special programs for the 2010-11 school year.
Rowland feels she has been fortunate to have been mentored by not only Mary Bennett, but also longtime ESE staffing specialist, Jo Whilson, who also retired this year.
A former guidance counselor at Trenton Elementary School, and a longtime speech and language pathologist for the school district, Rowland has worked with the school district for the last 22 years. She has worked closely with parents, school teachers, district and state teams, and agency partners to build relationships that enhance the education for gifted students and students with disabilities.