Dr. Deborah J. Lepley became an Assistant Principal at Gulf High School today. She will be in charge of the International Baccalaureate program at Gulf.
Mr. Imerson introduced Dr. Lepley at a faculty meeting after school today.
The Pasco County School Board decided earlier this year to add the International Baccalaureate program to Gulf High School beginning with pre-IB ninth grade students next year. It has been in operation for several years at Land o’Lakes High School.
The IB diploma program offers high-achieving, high-performing students an opportunity to pursue a rigorous program of studies during their high school years. Students who earn an IB diploma are often awarded advanced standing at universities around the world, and many colleges and universities grant early college credit for IB course work.
Dr. Lepley had previously been at Ridgewood High School for eighteen years. She began there as a visual arts teacher, teaching AP, Portfolio, and Art History, but became an Assistant Principal in 2000. She was also an Adjunct Professor at Florida State University.
Dr. Lepley was born in Coshocton, Ohio, and grew up in Mount Vernon, Ohio. She attended River Valley High School in Caledonia, Ohio. She holds a Bachelor of Art Education degree and an M. A. degree in Visual Arts Education, both from The Ohio State University, and a Ph. D. from Pennsylvania State University. As a Fulbright recipient, she taught visual arts at St. Cuthbert’s High School in Newcastle upon Tyne, in England. She also served in the U. S. Army, in the 101st Airborne Division. While stationed in Germany, she was an Adjunct Professor of Art at the University of Maryland European Division.
