School Gets Assistant Principal: N She’s Rhonda Whetstone, Veteran Educator

By Keri Holt, Destin Log, Fla.

Aug. 4–As the program director for management information systems at the Okaloosa County School District, Rhonda Whetstone never had much contact with Destin Middle School.

That spoke volumes.

In her two years of working at the district level, she never had to call Destin Middle School because it had missed a deadline. She never had to visit the school to review inaccurate data. With everything wonderfully taken care of the first time, there was simply no need for contact, she said.

“This school is a well-oiled machine,” Whetstone said this week in an interview. “It functions so well that it just doesn’t need a lot of help. That’s a sign of great administration and good organization. I’ve always been very impressed.”

It was enough to inspire Whetstone to apply for the school’s assistant principal position, which opened this summer after Tommy Britt was promoted to principal after eight years as assistant principal. Britt replaced Sherri Houp, who held the job for four years and now teaches Honors Algebra II and honors geometry at South Walton High School.

Whetstone was approved for the assistant principal position at the July 9 school board meeting.

Her first day on the job was July 10, “the fastest I could get here,” she said.

“I’m excited to be a part of this school and to work with Mr. Britt,” she said. “Destin Middle has already proven itself to be an excellent school, so I want to come in, get myself acclimated and help them continue what they’re already doing.”

Whetstone has a 30-year career in education — 20 as a teacher and 10 in administration, including seven years as principal of Girard Middle School in Dothan, Ala., and three years as assistant principal of Dothan High School.

Her brain needed to be challenged, Whetstone said; therefore, she and her husband, Tony, a retired educator of 26 years, moved from Dothan to the Emerald Coast about two years ago for Whetstone to accept the position at the district.

Before moving, she knew Okaloosa was one of the best school districts in Florida, she said, and Destin Middle School especially stood out with its excellent test scores and student achievement.

Upon accepting the district job, she eventually learned a great deal more about Okaloosa County schools. Whetstone coordinated the development of the Dashboard student data system and trained administrators and teachers on the new system. She also assisted administrators and guidance counselors to build master schedules for their schools.

She now brings her experience and expertise to Destin Middle School. In her first three weeks, she’s concentrated on training teachers on data analysis to continue the school’s record of high academic achievement and high FCAT scores.

“I love kids, and I’m so excited to come back to a school.

“This is my comfort zone,” she said. “I want to provide the best learning environment I can, and I want to be here for the students, the teachers and the community.

“I’m big on organization and I have just as high of expectation for the students as I do for myself. I love this school, and they have embraced me with open arms.”

Whetstone received a bachelor’s degree in music education and a master’s degree in administration/supervision from Troy State University.

She and her husband are in the process of moving to the Destin area from Crestview.

They have one son, Gunter, 22, who lives in New York.

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Copyright (c) 2007, Destin Log, Fla.

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