Sarasota County Schools have six new principal changes for the upcoming 2026-27 academic year from elementary to high school.
The six new principals, many of whom are coming from other Sarasota County Schools, are set to start working with students this August.
Brooke Teal is the new principal of Triad Alternative School and will make $110,632.26. Prior to assuming this role, she served as the assistant principal of the school. She has also worked as an assistant principal at Sarasota High School.
Teal’s experience doesn’t end there, as she has also served as a Program Specialist and Department of Juvenile Justice Liaison for the school district’s Office of Academic Intervention, a behavior specialist at Triad Alternative School and a history and civics teacher at Sarasota Middle School.
Charles Elsey is the new principal of Venice Middle School and will make $117,497.00. He is moving from his role as assistant principal of Booker Middle School.
Elsey has also served as an assistant principal at Woodland Middle School, a behavior specialist at Sarasota Middle School, a grades 7-8 English language arts (ELA) teacher at Sarasota Middle School and a grade 8 ELA teacher at Heron Creek Middle School.
Jamal Crook, the principal of Buchanan Middle School in Tampa, is the new principal of Booker High School and will make $130,066.99. He has been the principal of Buchanan Middle School since 2022, and has also served as an assistant principal for student affairs at Bloomingdale High School in Valrico, an assistant principal for student affairs at Ben Hill Middle School in Tampa and the principal of NLT Academy in Seffner.
Crook has also served as an adjunct professor for West Liberty University in West Virginia and an executive leadership coach for the Union Local School District in Ohio.
Sean Donovan is the new principal of Sarasota High School and will make $129,050.16. He is moving from his principal role at Oak Park School, where he has been since 2024. Ryan Chase, the current principal of Sarasota High School, has been selected to serve in a district-level leadership role.
Donovan has also served as the assistant principal of Exceptional Student Education at Sarasota High School and a mathematics teacher at Venice High School.
Dustin Coleman is the new principal of Oak Park School, taking over from Donovan, making $131,892.84. He has served as an assistant principal at Oak Park School since April 2024. Coleman also has experience in Sarasota County Schools leadership, formerly serving as the director of Exceptional Student Education.
Coleman has also worked in schools and school districts across the state and country, such as being director of Exceptional Student Education Services for Santa Rosa County District Schools in Milton, the dean of Instruction for Meeting Street Elementary School in South Carolina, an assistant principal at Ashley Elementary in Colorado, and the principal of Devereux Cleo Wallace in Colorado. He has also spent time as an adjunct professor at the University of Denver.
Michelle Anderson is the new principal of Riverview High School, coming from her role as the district’s director of Secondary Curriculum. She will make $148,548.13, the highest salary of the six new Sarasota County Schools principals for 2026-27. She has also served as the assistant principal of curriculum at Sarasota High School and has experience in leadership of secondary curriculum and instruction across Sarasota County Schools.
Erin Haughey, the nine-year principal of Riverview High School, will serve as the district’s director of Secondary Curriculum.
Michaela Galligan is an intern covering a variety of topics for the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. She can be reached at MGalligan@usatodayco.com. Support local journalism by subscribing.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Sarasota County Schools name 6 new principals for 2026-27
Reporting by Michaela Galligan, Sarasota Herald-Tribune / Sarasota Herald-Tribune
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By Michaela Galligan, Sarasota Herald-Tribune | USA TODAY Network
