Brandon Johnson named principal of North Port High School

Retired Tatum Ridge principal to take over at Lamarque Elementary on interim basis

Brandon Johnson. Photo courtesy Sarasota County Schools
Brandon Johnson. Photo courtesy Sarasota County Schools

Brandon Johnson, the principal of Lamarque Elementary School in North Port, has been appointed the new principal of North Port High School, Sarasota County Schools Superintendent Lori White has announced.

Johnson, 35, will succeed David Jones, who was the North Port High principal from 2012 until his Aug. 1 appointment as the Sarasota High School principal, a news release notes.

Johnson has been principal of Lamarque since 2014. During his first year there, the release points out, the school’s grade improved from a C to an A.

Johnson was expected to begin his transition from Lamarque to North Port High on Aug. 19. Retired Tatum Ridge Elementary School Principal Sandra Russell will serve as interim principal at Lamarque until a new principal is named there, the release says.

Johnson holds a master’s degree in educational leadership from the University of South Florida and a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Norfolk State University in Norfolk, Va., the release adds.

He began his employment with the Sarasota County School District in 2005 as a teacher for children with special needs at Emma E. Booker Elementary in Sarasota, the release continues. He also served there as a fourth-grade teacher and as a resource for teachers of special needs students, the release says.

He became an assistant principal intern at Emma E. Booker Elementary in 2010 and then subsequently served as an assistant principal intern at Bay Haven School of Basics Plus and as assistant principal at Brentwood Elementary School.

“As an elementary school administrator, he was responsible for developing and supporting Positive Behavior Support initiatives and school improvement plans,” the release adds. He also was a summer school administrator, data coach, test coordinator and volunteer coordinator, it says.

Further, Johnson has served as a mentor with two nonprofit organizations dedicated to children: Big Brothers/Big Sisters and Take Stock in Children. He also was a member of the NAACP Youth Advisory Counsel, the release notes.

“Brandon is the perfect fit for North Port High School,” Steve Cantees, executive director of high schools for the district, said in the release. “He is a passionate, tireless worker for all students. He knows the North Port community and will serve the students and families of North Port High with same dedication and purpose as he did those at Lamarque Elementary,” Cantees added in the release.