Umatilla's Frazier Named Florida Principal Of The Year

    Improving student performance, creating new programs, and increasing student certification program performance were all listed as reasons why the Florida State Board of Education last week announced Umatilla High School’s Brent Frazier as the 2023 Florida Principal of the Year. The announcement was made during a meeting in Tallahassee of the state board of education, with Florida Education Commissioner Manny Diaz, Jr. announcing the award.
   Frazier was among three finalists of the statewide award, and was joined at the presentation by Lake County Schools Superintendent Diane Kornegay.
   “I’ve never won anything before,” Frazier said on Thursday upon returning to his office in Umatilla. “They had a bunch of people in the meeting, and when they announced my name, I thought they would announce each finalist.” But he had already been selected for the award, with Kornegay able to keep the secret until the proper moment.
   “It was a cool experience.”
   That is about all Frazier will say about himself and the award, however, instead deferring to the school’s staff and students who have worked to create the successes being seen at Umatilla High School under Frazier, who is in his second year at the school after moving over from Umatilla Middle School.
   Under Frazier’s leadership, Umatilla High School improved 168 points – from 375 to 543 – earning the school a “B” grade from the state for the 2021-22 school year. “It was by far the largest increase in Lake County and, surely, one of the largest in the state – and this was Mr. Frazier’s first year as a high school principal!” Lake County Schools Superintendent Diane Kornegay wrote in a letter of recommendation to the Florida Department of Education.
   During that same year, Frazier increased access to advanced coursework across student subgroups by expanding the Cambridge AICE program to offer college-level courses to all students. The number of AICE exams given at Umatilla High School in 2021-2022 increased more than 600%, jumping to 359 from 48 the previous year. The school-wide pass rate was 58%.
   Also in 2021-2022, he oversaw an increase in acceleration opportunities in Career and Technical Education (CTE) by increasing the number of industry certification tests given and passed. Industry certifications earned by Umatilla High School students increased 27%, jumping to 143 in 2021-2022 from 108 the previous year.
   He followed up his great successes by launching an engineering pathway for the 2022-2023 school year that will allow Umatilla High School students to gain experience in aerospace engineering, civil engineering, and mechanical engineering, and earn industry certification with commercial drones through their agriculture classes.
   “You have got to get people who share the vision,” Frazier said of building his team at UHS. He said it is the school’s staff and students who have bought into the idea of making Umatilla High School a destination campus that has fueled its growth.
   “Help students find their passion and purpose, to never give up. The power of once you start to change a mindset… that you can do whatever you want to do as an adult, that’s powerful.”
   Frazier wants to let the community know that Umatilla High School is looking to reach even greater heights going forward. In fact, he hopes that the Principal of the Year award will allow for the process to be sped up.
   “Why is it good to win something like this? It allows the things we’re trying to envision more possible. We can say ‘I need you to trust us on this’, and we can back it up. It’s about opportunity.”
   Frazier’s award was cheered in the community this week, with the Umatilla Chamber of Commerce noting the occasion and what it means to the Umatilla area.
   “Mr. Frazier, in his short time at Umatilla High School, has made incredible strides and has brought significant attention to our city,” said chamber executive director Jodi Seabrook on Monday. “His achievement solidifies how Umatilla is becoming a place where new business owners and others relocating here for work can feel even more confident raising families with access to great schools.”
   Great is a level Frazier is certainly shooting for, and he says he gauges success on academic performance, extracurricular participation, and graduated students who are ready to serve the world as functional adults.
   “How do we put our graduates in a place to be successful? Are they prepared to be successful? Can they look someone in the eye and shake their hand? It can be the little things that develop the person.”
   A high-performing, holistic student that is prepared to soar after graduation, into whatever they deem their next step to be, is Frazier's goal, and one that he intends to further develop at Umatilla High School.
   "We're continuing to work in that direction," he says, while outlining plans for more career-focused programs, mentorships, and even resumé writing programs.
   “It’s exciting, and we’re just getting started.”