The Okaloosa County School Board approved Julie Perry as the Chief Financial Officer, Amy Meyer as the Principal of Destin Elementary School, Michael Denton as the Assistant Principal of Wright Elementary School, Daniel Griffin as the Athletic Director of Niceville High School, and the transfer of Lucretia Waskow as Assistant Principal to Ruckel Middle School.
JULIE PERRY – CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER, FINANCE
The Superintendent has been very pleased with the exceptional work of the Interim Chief Financial Officer, Julie Perry, and as a result, recommended her for the position of Chief Financial Officer.
AMY MEYER – PRINCIPAL, DESTIN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Amy Meyer grew up in Niceville, Florida, and is a product of Okaloosa County Schools. She attended the University of West Florida, earning a bachelor's degree in Psychology and later a master's degree in Educational Leadership. She began her teaching career in 2001 teaching Vocational Education and Communication, Behavior, and Socialization (CBS) classes at Valparaiso Elementary School. She then transferred to Niceville High School where she taught Emotional or Behavioral Disorders (EBD) and Exceptional Student Education (ESE) classes and later joined the math department teaching Intensive Math and Algebra 1.
Meyer has been National Board Certified in ESE, Niceville High School Teacher of the Year, and served as a Model Math Classroom for Okaloosa County. She has been married to her husband, Grant, for 30 years. They are the proud parents of Harley Meyer and future daughter-in-law, Jenny, Hayden Meyer, and his wife Meghan, who blessed them with their first grandchild this past year, Kash Meyer. He is the highlight of their lives!
Amy has loved her time as Assistant Principal at Destin Elementary School. She has formed treasured relationships there which makes it all the sweeter to be named Principal at what she considers the best Elementary School ever!
MICHAEL DENTON – ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL, WRIGHT ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Michael Denton is an educator with 25 years of experience. He earned his Bachelor's Degree from the University of North Florida in 1995 and his masters in Educational Leadership from the University of West Florida in 2004. Michael taught for one year just outside of Jacksonville, Florida, before moving to Destin. From there, he began teaching math and science at Ruckel Middle School as well as coaching cross country and boys’ soccer. Denton then transferred to Niceville High School, teaching science before transitioning to teaching history, with most of those classes being at the Advanced Placement (AP) and Advanced International Certificate of Education (AICE) levels. In addition, he was the girls’ soccer coach for the 19 years he was at Niceville High School. This past year, Michael served the county as a Consulting Teacher, working with over 40 new teachers at ten different schools including Wright Elementary School.
He is married to Lisa, who previously taught at Niceville High School and now teaches for Florida Virtual School. Michael is also the proud father of one daughter, Natalie, who just finished her junior year at Niceville High School and has recently verbally committed to play soccer at Valdosta State University.
Denton is excited to begin work at Wright Elementary School with the faculty and staff that are so clearly passionate about their students. He looks forward to continuing as a lifelong learner at Wright Elementary School as he works to put the needs of the students and the support of teachers as the driving factors in his decision-making.
DANIEL GRIFFIN – ATHLETIC DIRECTOR, NICEVILLE HIGH SCHOOL
Daniel Griffin was not in attendance at the School Board meeting but states he is extremely grateful for the opportunity to serve as Niceville High School’s next Athletic Director and thanks Charles Marello, Superintendent Chambers, and the Okaloosa County School Board for the recommendation to fulfill such an important leadership role in the district. He also thanks his parents, Bob and Beverly Griffin, for their unconditional devotion and support to his success. Okaloosa County has always been home to Daniel. He was an Oakland Heights Elementary School Raider, a Wright Elementary School Dolphin, a Bruner Junior High School Spartan, and a 1992 graduate of Fort Walton Beach High School (FWBHS). During that time, he was a member of many team sports including the 1991 FWBHS Varsity Football Team who won the Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) 4A State Championship Title and 5th place ranking in the nation.
Upon graduation, Griffin continued his education at Troy University on a football scholarship and received his undergraduate and graduate degrees in Sport and Fitness Management. During his time in Troy, Alabama, he was an adjunct professor and the Director of Technology for the Trojan Athletic Department. He later earned his Specialist Degree in Educational Leadership in 2014.
As a twenty-year veteran in the district, Griffin has served students from kindergarten to high school at Choctawhatchee High School, FWBHS, Wright Elementary School, Destin Middle School, and Ruckel Middle School. As a strength and conditioning coach, he led three powerlifting teams to runner-up state titles and two teams to state titles. He looks forward to becoming a Niceville High School Eagle and supporting a new group of students as they pursue athletic and academic wellness.
LUCRETIA WASKOW – ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL, RUCKEL MIDDLE SCHOOL
LuCretia Waskow was not in attendance at the School Board meeting but states she is originally from Abilene, Texas, and earned her Bachelor of Science from McMurry University and her Master’s in Educational Leadership from Trident University. She taught in Pensacola, Texas, and Virginia as a military spouse. Finally, the family moved to Niceville in 2014 and retired the military life in 2016. She taught high school science in Okaloosa county for three years before becoming a high school administrator and then an elementary school administrator.
Waskow would like to thank her husband Mark and their two children, Tyler and Kelly, for their support as she continues to pursue her administrative goals. She would also like to thank Joe Jannazo for allowing her this opportunity at Ruckel Middle School. Being an exemplar administrator in the Okaloosa County School District continues to be her goal and she is grateful for the opportunity to serve in this capacity. She is happy to accept this position and add to her repertoire of experience as an administrator.
Source: https://www.okaloosaschools.com/articles/2022/new-admin/6.28.22
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