LAND O’ LAKES — JoAnne Glenn knew this day would come.
She has never been emotionally ready for it.
It was Aug. 10, 2023, and the principal was standing outside Angeline Academy of Innovation, waving to parents as they dropped off the first students of Pasco County’s newest school she helped open from the ground up. Even then, she got choked up.
Fast forward three years, and Glenn’s emotions poured out as she sent off the first graduating class of Archers at the school’s inaugural ceremony May 29 at the nearby Angeline Athletic complex. She was adequately prepared with tissues, but not being overcome with bittersweet joy.
“This year, at each milestone, I said this will be the last time with this group of kids, and I’m proud of them — so proud of them, but I wasn’t ready still,” she said.
A small graduating class, she added, gave students a unique opportunity to get comfortable with the administration and provide constructive feedback.
“We were making our best guess and not going to be perfect, but then we weren’t also paralyzed by perfection and formed the best school environment for all the students,” she said.
Led by the school’s first valedictorian, soon-to-be University of Florida student Colt Blancher, 37 students donned blue caps and gowns and received their diplomas in front of teachers, faculty and friends and family. Blancher, as well as two other graduates, delivered a short, but succinct speech, noting the Class of 2026 — spending three years in the halls of the advanced magnet STEM school — set the standard for years to come.
“We built this, we were the first, we created it,” Blancher said. “Be proud.”
Additionally, students unveiled the school’s alma mater, or song, written by and then performed for the first time during the ceremony. Graduate Malakai Jefferson performed it on guitar, as he did with the national anthem at the start of the ceremony.
“I will say that I cried reading their speeches because they embodied that (inaugural) experience,” Glenn said. “They really took to heart that pioneer, risk-taking, stepping outside of our comfort zone and trying something new spirit.
“And that they felt positively about it meant so much. To hear them recognize that we were trying, that they were excited about that opportunity to commit to that spirit meant a lot.”
Like her graduates, Glenn, since she was announced as principal in 2022, has also embraced laying the foundation for years to come.
“We recruited a faculty that believed in that vision, that we could do things differently, and that we are truly preparing the next generation of problem solvers,” Glenn added. “And not just the faculty believing it, but the kids believe that. They see that we are comparing them to create a legacy, not just in our building, but in the community. … When you see the progress, sometimes it’s incremental, and sometimes it’s very fast, but it’s always moving along. And it’s really neat to be on the ground for that, and to help our students and our community envision what’s possible.”
