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A 'dream' homecoming: Keys high school alumni return to lead their alma maters

Rebecca Palomino, a Key West High School graduate, has worked in Monroe County Schools for 19 years. She will be principal of her alma mater for the 2023-2024 school year.
Monroe County School District
Rebecca Palomino, a Key West High School graduate, has worked in Monroe County Schools for 19 years. She will be principal of her alma mater for the 2023-2024 school year.

Christine Paul moved to the Florida Keys with her family as a 16-year-old, enrolling at the high school in the Middle Keys city of Marathon. That's where she earned her diploma.

This summer, Paul will start work as principal of her alma mater, Marathon Middle High School.

It will mean that all three Keys public high schools will be led by former students — a special homecoming for the island chain and its educational institutions.

"It's really like a homecoming," Paul told WLRN, reflecting on the memories that came flooding back when she learned the Monroe County School District had chosen her as principal.

"I thought about coming here 32 years ago from Long Island to Marathon High School," Paul said. "They welcomed me with open arms as a transfer student. The teachers were so caring."

READ MORE: Monroe County schools ban students from having phones out in class

Laura Lietaert, the principal at Coral Shores High School in the Upper Keys, is also a graduate of the school.
Monroe County School District
Laura Lietaert, the principal at Coral Shores High School in the Upper Keys, is also a graduate of the school.

Earlier this month, Keys schools superintendent Theresa Axford announced another new high school principal: Rebecca Palomino will lead Key West High School — where she earned her high school diploma years back. In Key West, Palomino is a true "Conch," someone born and raised on the island.

Palomino is a 19-year veteran of Keys schools who started her teaching career in 2004 at Key West High School.

“I am truly overwhelmed with emotion and honored to return to my alma mater as principal,” Palomino said in a statement. “It has been my dream and aspiration to follow in the footsteps of legendary Conch principals."

With these two promotions, there are now alumni-turned-principals at all three Keys public high schools. Laura Lietaert at Coral Shores High Schoolin Isalmorada also runs the same school where she walked the halls as a student. She's worked in Keys public schools for more than 25 years.

Committed despite pressures on public education

Paul, who lives in Marathon, has worked in Keys public schools for 26 years, starting as an art teacher in Monroe County after graduating from Florida International University in 1997. She later worked as a media specialist and for years she was the district's library media specialist.

Christine Paul, of Marathon, will serve as principal of Marathon Middle/High School for the 2023-2024 school year. She earned her high school diploma at the school after moving to the Keys as a 16-year-old from Long Island, New York.
Monroe County School District
Christine Paul, of Marathon, will serve as principal of Marathon Middle/High School for the 2023-2024 school year. She earned her high school diploma at the school after moving to the Keys as a 16-year-old from Long Island, New York.

"I know the community," she said. "I went to high school with people. I taught their kids. I'm teaching their kids' kids."

Even with all the outside pressure on public education — fiery political fights over banning books, increasing concerns about school safety and scrutiny of teachers' lesson plans, Paul remains committed to the job. She isn't going anywhere.

What inspires her?

"It's the kids," Paul said. "There's just no better feeling than to see kids walk across that stage, reach that milestone, that high school diploma, and know that you had a part in it."

In 2016, she moved into administration as assistant principal at Marathon Middle High School. For the past few years she's been principal at Stanley Switlik Elementary in Marathon.

Paul has two sons. Her oldest graduated last year from Marathon High School and is currently studying at the College of the Florida Keys. Her younger son will be one of the 700 students in grades 6-12 at her school this fall. He's about to finish his freshman year.

"He's not too excited about it," Paul said, of her son's reaction to her new job. "He did ask to transfer to Coral Shores... No, I’m just kidding."

Monroe Schools Superintendent Theresa Axford said it's a point of pride for her to have Keys graduates as principals at all the high schools.

"I know their commitment to success for each of their alma maters will be great," Axford told WLRN. "They have worked to become truly exemplary leaders."

Gwen Filosa covers the Florida Keys for WLRN. She has been reporting from the island chain for over a decade, from Cuban landings and the workforce housing crisis, to the oddities and charms of the Keys.
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