Florida TaxWatch Announces Evans High School Immediate Past Principal Rolando Bailey as a 2022-23 Principal Leadership Awards Winner
Orlando, Fla. – Today, Mon., March 27, Florida TaxWatch (FTW) will proudly announce that Rolando Bailey – Evans High School Immediate Past Principal, now Orange County Public Schools’ Area Superintendent for the Southeast Learning Community – is among the nine winners of the Florida TaxWatch 2022-23 Principal Leadership Awards (PLA). Through the program, Principal Bailey has also identified one deserving student to receive a full two-year Florida Prepaid College Scholarship.
The award and scholarship will be presented to Principal Bailey and the student at a ceremony on the Evans High School campus at 9 a.m. today. Media are invited to attend and asked to contact Aly Coleman Raschid via email at aly@on3pr.com or by phone at 850.391.5040 to RSVP.
Florida TaxWatch President and CEO Dominic M. Calabro said, “The winners of Florida TaxWatch’s annual Principal Leadership Awards have earned this recognition because of their passion, creativity, and dedication to making their schools a better place to both teach and learn. We have the privilege of rewarding these principals for their remarkable leadership and the positive impact they are having on so many, from educators to students to their communities at large. They have gone above and beyond to make a meaningful difference and, most importantly, ensure future generations don’t just succeed – they thrive.”
J.M. Rubin Foundation Vice President and Treasurer Kim Harris said, “The excellence of our Florida students begins with the relentless efforts of principals and educators who are dedicated to providing exceptional learning. The J.M. Rubin Foundation is proud to extend our support of Florida TaxWatch in the recognition of these outstanding principals whose leadership and educational models cultivate an environment for student success and growth.”
Florida Prepaid College Foundation Director Cindy O’Connell said, “Every day, the work of these dedicated principals dictate which opportunities for success will be available to our children and how their educational experience will mold them into a future leader and productive member of our society. The Florida Prepaid College Foundation is proud to support the Principal Leadership Awards with the Foundation’s Academic A+ Challenge Match Scholarship Program. We look forward to helping these nine students realize their potential, and we thank Florida TaxWatch for its commitment to highlighting the good works of these public servants and unyielding dedication to education in Florida.”
Orange County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Maria Vazquez said, “The public doesn’t get to hear often enough about the heroic work our principals do to improve achievement while also supporting students experiencing difficult circumstances. By using data to find these excellent principals, the Florida TaxWatch Principal Leadership Award honors transformational leaders like Rolando Bailey, the former principal of Evans High School. I’m particularly touched that the award comes with a life-changing, two-year Florida Prepaid College Scholarship for an Evans High School student. OCPS supports the Florida TaxWatch mission of spreading best practices. In his role as Area Superintendent for the Southeast Learning Community, Rolando can help several dozen principals learn from his successes.”
NOTE: Tomorrow, Tues., March 28 at 9 a.m., there will be a second PLA ceremony on the Palm Bay Elementary School campus to recognize Principal Michael Mahl and award another student with the same scholarship. Media are invited to attend this ceremony as well and asked to contact Aly Coleman Raschid via email at aly@on3pr.com or by phone at 850.391.5040 to RSVP.
About the Principal Leadership Awards Program
Established by Florida TaxWatch (FTW) in 2013, the Principal Leadership Awards (PLA) program serves to acknowledge and reward educational leaders who are creating meaningful change in their students’ lives, while also promoting their uniquely effective practices among their peers. This program, which is the only one of its kind nationwide, recognizes nine of Florida’s most successful principals from high-risk K-12 public schools across the state (three principals each from elementary, middle, and high schools, including traditional and charter public schools). Principals are selected based on weighted Department of Education data, not through nominations.
Additionally, FTW is partnering with the Florida Prepaid College Foundation and private corporate sponsors to provide one student from each winner’s school with a two-year Florida College Plan Scholarship. The winning students – who find out about the scholarship during a surprise announcement the day of the award presentation – are selected by their principal and must meet several criteria that would traditionally make attending college, let alone paying for it, a significant challenge. Through these scholarships, this transformational program is able to change deserving students’ lives and help close the achievement gap.
The PLA program is supported by generous sponsors, including: The J.M. Rubin Foundation, The Florida Lottery, Florida Prepaid College Foundation, Charter Communications, FBMC, Florida Coalition for Children, FICPA, FP&L, Gunster, Helios, Kyra Solutions, Maximus, TECO Energy, Walmart, Dominic and Debbie Calabro, Steve and Linda Evans, and Tony and Allison Carvajal.
For more information, including a full list of the 2022-23 PLA winners, click here.
About Florida TaxWatch
As an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit government watchdog and taxpayer research institute for more than forty years and the trusted eyes and ears of Florida taxpayers, Florida TaxWatch (FTW) works to improve the productivity and accountability of Florida government. Its research recommends productivity enhancements and explains the statewide impact of fiscal and economic policies and practices on citizens and businesses. FTW is supported by its membership via voluntary, tax-deductible donations and private grants. Donations provide a solid, lasting foundation that has enabled FTW to bring about a more effective, responsive government that is more accountable to, and productive for, the citizens it serves since 1979. For more information, please visit www.floridataxwatch.org.
About the J.M. Rubin Foundation
The J.M. Rubin Foundation is a Florida not-for-profit charitable corporation established in 1973 by J. M. (Jake) Rubin, who was a general contractor working on highway and road projects throughout the southeast. He loved Palm Beach so much that he came back in 1946 to establish the Rubin Construction Company and to make this his home. The Foundation was fully funded upon his death in 1993. The J.M. Rubin Foundation's current focus is to provide scholarships to residents of Palm Beach County at any recognized educational institution. For more information, please visit www.jmrf.org/foundation-background.
About the Florida Prepaid College Foundation
The Florida Prepaid College Foundation administers several innovative scholarship programs designed to help students achieve their dream of earning a college education. The Stanley Tate Project STARS (Scholarship Tuition For At- Risk Students) Scholarship Program is the Foundation’s hallmark program. Since the Stanley Tate Project STARS scholarship program began, 29,000 scholarships have been awarded to low-income students at risk of dropping out of school, and who otherwise might not have had the opportunity to attend college. In addition to the Stanley Tate Project STARS program, the Foundation sponsors scholarship programs in recognition of Hispanic Heritage Month and Black History Month. When combined with the number of scholarships purchased for the Stanley Tate Project STARS program and scholarships purchased by other charitable organizations, the Foundation has awarded almost 37,700 college scholarships, and more than 20,800 students have attended college using their scholarship benefits. The Foundation is the 501(c)3 direct support organization for the Florida Prepaid College Board. For more information, please visit www.floridaprepaidcollegefoundation.com.
About the Florida Lottery
The Florida Lottery is responsible for contributing more than $43 billion to enhance education and sending more than 950,000 students to college through the Bright Futures Scholarship Program. The Florida Lottery reinvests 99 percent of its revenue back into Florida's economy through prize payouts, commissions to more than 13,000 Lottery retailers and transfers to education. Since 1988, Florida Lottery games have paid more than $85.8 billion in prizes and made more than 3,500 people millionaires. For more information, please visit www.flalottery.com.