Marion County Superintendent Dr. Diane Gullet recently paid a surprise visit to two local schools to recognize the school district’s 2025 Principal and Assistant Principal of the Year.
Shortly after 9:30 a.m. on Friday, November 8, Dr. Gullett and an “entourage of well-wishers” stopped by East Marion Elementary School and informed Principal Sarah Dobbs that she has been named Principal of the Year in Marion County.
A 13-year veteran of Marion County Public Schools, Dobbs joined the district as a teacher at College Park Elementary, where she was named the county’s 2014 Rookie Teacher of the Year. She then rose through the ranks to become a student services manager at Legacy Elementary in 2015.
Two years later, Dobbs became the assistant principal at Oakcrest and Harbour View Elementary Schools. In 2022, she accepted her current principal position at East Marion Elementary School.
Dobbs currently holds “highly effective” status as a principal by Florida standards, and she is actively involved in the community. She graduated from the University of South Florida and holds a master’s degree in Educational Leadership from Nova Southeastern University.
In addition, Dobbs, completed her specialist degree from the American College of Education in Indiana last year, and she plans to graduate in 2025 with a doctorate in Educational Leadership from the same school.
Approximately an hour after Dr. Gullet met with Dobbs to share the exciting news, the superintendent traveled with her “entourage” to Lake Weir Middle School to inform Constance Carpenter that she has been named the school district’s Assistant Principal of the Year.
Carpenter’s career with MCPS began in 2004 as a teacher at Belleview Middle School. She then became a district-based program specialist for English language arts (2015), a content area specialist for literacy at Lake Weir and Howard Middle Schools (2017), student services manager at Osceola Middle School (2021), and assistant principal at Oakcrest Elementary School (2022).
In 2022, Carpenter was named to her current assistant principal position at Lake Weir Middle School.
Carpenter holds a bachelor’s degree in Educational Leadership from the University of North Florida and a master’s degree in Educational Leadership from the American College of Education.
According to MCPS, Carpenter aspires to use her experience in researched evidenced strategies to improve both the teaching profession and student achievements.
Dobbs and Carpenter have now advanced to state-level competitions from the Florida Department of Education, placing them in the running to become Florida’s 2025 Principal and Assistant Principal of the Year.