New principal, new principles: Diane Kelley wants DMS to be ‘the most rigorous academic school in the district'

Going to the principal’s office at Destin Middle School is not so scary if Dr. Diane Kelley is on the other side of the desk. With former principal Tommy Britt all retired, Kelley is settling in with an eye on polishing the school’s performance plan.

“I do think the timing for me was just right,” Kelley said.

Kelley’s thirty years in the Okaloosa School District has finally landed her at the home of the Marlins following the district’s decision to do away with her former position as director of curriculum, assessment and education to improve the budget.

“Somehow I keep gravitating back to middle school,” she said.

Kelley’s résumé is an impressive collection of professional achievements and teaching all the way up to graduate level. This isn’t her first go as principal, having previously served as principal at Bruner Middle and Laurel Hill School.

The lateral move and right timing are bringing her back to a place that needs her the most according to an ACT study called the “The Forgotten Middle.”

As director of curriculum, Kelley took to heart the study revealing that the eighth-grade performance is the most critical predictor of high school success.

“The middle matters,” she said. “It’s critical to getting the students career and college ready.”

College and career readiness is something Superintendent Dr. Alexis Tibbetts recently stressed to The Log in an interview, when talking about the importance of the FCAT. She said this concept is at the core of the district’s academic goals in teaching the Sunshine State Standards.

“It’s hard to stay at the top unless we keep raising the bar,” Kelley agrees.

The Valparaiso resident said she expects the course work at DMS to gradually become more demanding.

“I want DMS to be known as the most rigorous academic school in the district,” she said. “It’s very hard in public education to prepare students for what they will be doing 20 years from now.”

Collaborative work with outside schools and distance learning will become a part of DMS’s curriculum.

More of her plans for the school include adding some “curb appeal” to spruce up the school’s image by improving the landscape and laying new carpet and tile in the school’s administrative offices. She said this should instill more pride for the Marlins.

“They’re little things, but to me they mean a lot,” she said. “I want people to see that they get a quality school.”

She said the ACT career and college readiness covers the academic side of DMS’s goals, but that the faculty is currently working on a new mantra for the school “that will best reflect what our performance plan is about.” DMS will begin focusing on also molding the “mind, body and character” of the students.

“We want them to be good solid thinkers in all areas,” she said.

Joining Kelley as new assistant principal is Dennis Samac from Lewis Middle School, who traded positions with former DMS assistant principal Rhonda Whetstone. Kelley said Samac brings a wealth of knowledge for scheduling and discipline.

“We’ll make a great team … we’ll give it our best.”