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Hernando Today

New Principal In Town

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Linnea Brown

Published: January 13, 2008

SPRING HILL - SPRING HILL - Hernando County's newest K-8 school principal is in town, and he's knocking the socks off of just about everybody.

Davie resident Dominick Ferello is the chosen new principal for Explorer K-8, the new 2,100-student school set to open this August off Northcliffe Boulevard in Spring Hill. He spent Wednesday, Thursday and Friday touring the district and participating in a whirlwind "crash course" of policies.

"He's a dynamo," said longtime school board member and vice-chair Jim Malcolm.

"I'm impressed," said Exceptional Student Education director Cathy Dofka.

"He's a dynamic, passionate leader who's going to do an outstanding job," added district superintendent Wayne Alexander, who chose him as principal in November.

And no one could be happier than Ferello, who is hitting the ground running with plans for the new school.

"You're going to hear 'Exciting Explorer K-8' a lot from me, because we're going to be doing a lot of exciting things," he said. "This school has such promise, and I see so many possibilities for it."

Currently assistant principal of Sandpiper Elementary School in Ft. Lauderdale, Ferello, 53, is slated to start work in Hernando's district office on Feb. 4. One of his first tasks will be hiring two assistant principals and filling 93 teaching positions at the new school.

He spent last week in Hernando getting ideas from the district's sister K-8 school, Challenger K-8 School of Science and Mathematics in Spring Hill, which Explorer is modeled after.

"The school is gigantic and absolutely beautiful," he said. "And I'm blown away with the gorgeous media center. If I can replicate that, it'll be a great thing."

Ferello said he intends to run the new school with a "hands on" philosophy, focusing on making sure his teachers place an emphasis on understanding each child and their individual needs.

"I also love the idea of mentoring — like they have at Challenger — where 8th graders help kindergarteners and first graders. I'd like to see that off the ground from the beginning," he said.

He said he intends to make the middle school grades as interdisciplinary and thematic as possible, with much curriculum crossover between classes.

"Students need to be able to see the connection between the (world) and science, reading and language arts," Ferello said. "We also need to make sure (teachers) are all on the same page. I'm a big believer in fidelity of teaming."

After a trip to the district-operated Springs Coast Environmental Education Center in Weeki Wachee, where local schoolchildren conduct hands-on outdoors activities, he said he intends to do what he can to make sure a field trip for 5th-graders is planned immediately.

"I was very impressed with the center, and I love the way coordinator Mark Weaver ties the curriculum to the (required) Sunshine State Standards," Ferello said. "With the science portion of the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test in 5th grade, it's a great way to tie it all together."

Since the new school will have two rooms for students with profound disabilities — or those requiring one-on-one assistance for basic care — he also spent an afternoon working with Dofka learning about ESE and disability issues.

Explorer will feature two rooms with state-of-the-art equipment for students considered medically fragile, such as machines to lift students out of their wheelchairs for changing purposes.

"I think inclusion is the way to go. We're hoping to do as much as we can with that," he said, on making sure students with disabilities are "mainstreamed" as much as possible.

Ferello's current A-rated school serves children in kindergarten through fifth grade and is a "cluster" for students with autism. The school was recognized by the Broward County School District for making dramatic learning gains within the lowest 25 percent subgroup of students.

An estimated 60 percent of special needs students from Deltona Elementary School will transfer to Explorer this fall, among others.

Between a hectic schedule of networking with fellow administrators, Ferello received lessons in the district's professional standards and labor relations, budget and curriculum.

He will return later in the month to spend two days shadowing Challenger principal Sue Stoops.

"I want to see what was successful and what she would have done differently, and (glean) anything I can to help me at the new school," he said. "The resources here are fabulous."

Prior to his current position in Broward, Ferello was principal of Fellsmere Elementary School in Sebastian, Fla., and assistant principal, teacher and reading specialist at several elementary and middle schools in New York, Broward and Indian River counties. Past honors include several years' worth of nominations for "assistant principal of the year" and "teacher of the year" in Broward County.

Ferello is married with two children, and is staying in a temporary apartment in Hernando until he buys a home. His daughter, 13, will enroll in public high school in Hernando in the fall, which his son, 16, will remain in South Florida with Ferello's father to finish his senior year of high school.

His wife, Vivian, is a teacher's aide.

And locally, he's loving the laid-back hospitality. He's even run into some people he went to high school with in New England, he said.

"I'm learning how many New Yorkers there are in Spring Hill," he joked.

"This is really fun for me," he added. "I am very happy here, and everyone I'm met has become a resource. I feel like I'm home."

The official approval of Ferello's contract has been placed on the agenda for Tuesday's school board meeting, set for 7 p.m. at the school board's headquarters, 919 N. Broad Street in Brooksville.

Reporter Linnea Brown can be reached at 352-544-5289 or lbrown@hernandotoday.com.

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