Chimene Johnson honored as one of Florida’s top school principals

ALBANY _ A former Lee County resident has been recognized by Florida Taxwatch as one of Florida’s top performing school principals.

The principal at Apalachicola Bay Charter School, Chimene Johnson was honored in late September at a banquet in Orlando and will be recognized at the October meeting of the Florida Board of Education for her accomplishments. She is the daughter of John Paul and Nan Jones of Lee County.

Johnson grew up in Lee County and is a 1981 graduate of Lee County High School. She attended Darton college and the University of Georgia and graduate with a bachelor of science degree in education from Valdosta State University. She obtained her masters degree in education from Georgia Southwestern State University. Johnson is married for Darren Johnson, who grew up in Albany. They have two daughters.

Johnson, who was one of six principals statewide to receive the Taxwatch Principal Leadership Award, has been principal of the ABC School since 2010.

That Johnson is involved in education is no surprise. Her mother was a special needs teacher. She has other relatives who are or were educators, including two of her grandparents.

She taught in the Lee County school system for 17 years before moving to the Florida panhandle area. The family left Lee County to enable Darren to open another branch of his family business — Sellers Tile — in Eastpoint, Fla.

Johnson handled various teaching positions after she began working in Florida. She was named principal of Apalachicola Bay Charter in 2010. Last year, for the third consecutive year and the fifth time since 2009, the school earned an A rating. It’s in demand among parents in the school district. With a maximum enrollment of 366 students, there are about 70 students on a waiting list to enroll.

In an article published in The Times of Apalachicola, Johnson discussed her views on public school education.

Teachers must, she said, be able to recognize that students have different learning styles and learn in different ways. She also believes that small group instruction is vital. Testing just for testing sake is bad, she said, but is helpful when the results are used formulate plans to improve the skills of a specific student.

She also says it’s important for principals and administrators to help teachers.

“I look at the talents of my educators and their best placement for instructional purposes, not necessarily where they feel like is their best placement,” Johnson said in The Times article written by David Adlerstein. “Teacher performance and evaluation is essential to provide feedback to the teacher on strengths and areas of deficiency that can be molded. Then you know you’re going to retain some quality educators. You will see growth and change, just as you do in a student.”

Johnson’s two daughters, Kati-Morgan and Parrish, are continuing the family legacy in education. Both have earned college degrees and are teachers at Franklin County High School in Florida.