Buffalo Creek Middle School
Jessica Kane is principal at Palm View K-8 and was honored as Assistant Principal of the Year for Manatee County in 2023 in recognition of her exceptional leadership, commitment to students and impact on school culture and performance. She previously served as assistant principal at Martha B. King Middle School, and had served as dean of students, student support specialist, ESE Department Chair and ESE Teacher.
Freedom Elementary School
Greg Sander has 29 years of experience as a Manatee County educator and is a graduate of Manatee County schools. He earned a bachelor’s in elementary education from Furman University and a master’s in educational leadership from the University of South Florida. He has taught second grade at Prine Elementary School, served as a technology specialist at Haile Middle School and taught grades two through five at Moody Elementary School. He was assistant principal at Orange Ridge-Bullock Elementary School and Wakeland Elementary School of International Studies and was principal at Sea Breeze Elementary School from 2015-21 and principal at Prine Elementary School from 2021-26.
Manatee Elementary School
Terra J. Ward serves as assistant director of professional learning and human resources for the School District of Manatee County. She previously served as assistant principal at Bashaw Elementary School and Ballard Elementary School. She holds a doctorate in curriculum and teaching from National University, a master of science in educational leadership from Florida A&M University and a bachelor of arts in elementary education from Flagler College.
Palm View K-8
Lisandra Tayloe, the Assistant Principal of the Year for the school district, earned her doctorate in educational leadership from Florida Southern College and a master of education in educational administration from East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania. She has served in school leadership since 2020 and joined the School District of Manatee County in 2022 as assistant principal at Louise R. Johnson K-8 School of International Studies. For the past two years, she has served as assistant principal at Lincoln Memorial Middle School.
Prine Elementary School
Xhuljeta Gjini has served as principal of Freedom Elementary School for the last two years. In Orange County, Florida, she served as principal at Chickasaw Elementary from 2019-24, was an assistant principal at MetroWest Elementary from 2017-19 and an instructional literacy coach at Riverside Elementary from 2016-17. She also served as an instructional literacy coach at Forest City Elementary in Seminole County from 2013-16. Gjini earned her doctorate in 2011 from The Ohio State University.
Cindy Lane is a staff writer for the Tampa Bay Beacons. She can be reached at clane@tbnweekly.com.