Eighteen Charter School Champions of the Year Win State Awards

Florida Consortium of Public Charter Schools (FCPCS) Presents Twelfth Year of Statewide Awards Program 

(Photo caption of Charter School Champions follows the photos.)

PHOTO CAPTION OF CHARTER SCHOOL CHAMPIONS, (ALL HOLDING AWARD TROPHIES) – TOP ROW: Areon Atkinson, Brooks DeBartolo Collegiate High School; Candice Britton, Championship Academy of Distinction; Camille Caudill, Nature Coast Middle School; Sean Gordon, Collegiate High School; SECOND ROW: Larry Kimpel, Oakland Avenue Charter School; Jennifer Lively, Spring Creek Charter School; Sylvia Mencner, St. Johns Classical Academy; Donna Nieschwietz, Tallahassee Classical School; THIRD ROW: Sevasti Varitimidis, Athenian Academy Charter School; Vivian Bryant, Franklin Academy Pembroke Pines; Wendi Nolder, Odyssey Charter School; Stanley Kroh, Learning Gate Community School; FOURTH ROW: Heidi LoCicero, Destin High School; Pascale Royale, Imagine Weston; Dogan Tozoglu, River City Science Academy Schools; Elizabeth Villanueva, Mascotte Charter School; FIFTH ROW: Constance Ortiz, Odyssey Charter School

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.  (June 5, 2025) – Eighteen winners of the Charter School Champions of the Year Awards for 2025 were announced today by the Florida Consortium of Public Charter Schools (FCPCS).  The award period covers the 2024/2025 school year calendar. 

For the twelfth year, FCPCS received nominations in several categories, including charter school teachers, charter school leaders, charter school governing board members, charter school innovators and charter school pioneers. 

2025 Charter School Champions of the Year come from all parts of Florida and represent schools at grade levels ranging from kindergarten through high school.  Nine Champions of the Year are teachers, three are school leaders, three are governing board members, two are charter school pioneers and one is a charter school innovator. 

Listed alphabetically by category, winners of the 2025 Charter School Champions of the Year Awards are: 

--Charter School Champions of the Year – Teachers

Areon Atkinson, PE Coach and PE Department Head, Brooks DeBartolo Collegiate High School, Tampa

Candice Britton, Instructional Coach, Championship Academy of Distinction, Hollywood

Camille Caudill, Teacher, Nature Coast Middle School, Chiefland

Sean Gordon, Biology Instructor, Collegiate High School, Niceville

Larry Kimpel, PE Teacher, Oakland Avenue Charter School, Oakland

Jennifer Lively, 5th Grade Science Teacher, Spring Creek Charter School, Paisley

Sylvia Mencner, Kindergarten Teacher, St. Johns Classical Academy, Orange Park

Donna Nieschwietz, 4th Grade Teacher, Tallahassee Classical School, Tallahassee

Sevasti Varitimidis, Foreign Language Teacher, Athenian Academy Charter School, Clearwater 

--Charter School Champions of the Year – School Leaders

Vivian Bryant, Assistant Principal, Franklin Academy – Pembroke Pines, Pembroke Pines

Dr. Janjay Gehndyu, Principal, Visible Men Academy, Bradenton

Wendi Nolder, Principal, Odyssey Charter School, Palm Bay 

--Charter School Champions of the Year – Governing Board Members

Stanley Kroh, Board Member, Learning Gate Community School, Lutz

Heidi LoCicero, Board Member, Destin High School, Destin

Pascale Royale, Board Member, Imagine Weston, Weston 

--Charter School Champions of the Year – Pioneers

Dogan Tozoglu, Co-Founder and Executive Director, River City Science Academy Schools, Jacksonville

Elizabeth Villanueva, Former Board Member, Mascotte Charter School, Mascotte 

--Charter School Champions of the Year – Innovator

Constance Ortiz, Founder, Odyssey Charter School, Palm Bay 

“Congratulations to the 2025 Charter School Champions, and to their schools and communities,” said Robert Haag, FCPCS President.  “Each is an important contributor to Florida’s hugely successful charter school movement.  All of them help to deliver quality education to many of Florida’s charter school students.” 

About the Florida Consortium of Public Charter Schools

Celebrating its 25th Anniversary as part of the 2024-2025 school year, the Florida Consortium of Public Charter Schools (FCPCS) is the leading charter school membership association in the state.  Since its inception in 1999, FCPCS has been dedicated to creating a national model of high quality, accredited public charter schools that are student-centered and performance-driven. FCPCS provides a wide array of technical support, mentoring, training, networking, and purchasing services to its membership, as well as serving as an advocate for all Florida public charter schools.