Florida College Academy Nabs
Principal’s Principal

The man who has been training Hillsborough County School District principals for the last nine years recently added the Florida College Academy to his impressive résumé. Lynn Wade ’68, who has been in the public school system for 36 years, is the new principal of the Academy.

Wade, who grew up in Ohio and moved to Temple Terrace when he was in high school, attended Florida College from 1964-1968. There he met his wife, Linda (Benson) ’66 who is now administrative assistant to Florida College president C.G. “Colly” Caldwell.

It was at FC that Wade caught the teaching bug.

“I think Bob Owen lit the candle,” said Wade, who originally wanted to be a dentist. “And then once you [start teaching], you see light bulbs come on in kids’ heads.” He also credits not being a good student himself for igniting his passion for helping children.

Wade has no shortage of experience. He was a teacher for seven years, a school administrator for 22 years—19 of those as a principal—and has worked in schools all over the Tampa area, including the inner city. Besides his recent principal training position, he has also been teaching classroom management at FC since the education department opened in 1999.

Wade was offered a choice between teaching full-time at the College and his current post as principal at FCA. “Truthfully,” Wade said, “after being a principal, you see what you've done wrong and see what you've done right. And training them for nine years, your philosophy's even stronger. And so it's one chance to go back and try and do more right than wrong.”

Wade has big goals for the Academy that include a summer academic camp on the FC campus in partnership with professors from the College.

“What I'm wanting to do,” Wade said, “is encourage the relationship that [FC and FCA] have, where children are constantly around people who are living godly lives, and also have exposure to see that a college which has the same values that brought you to this Academy exists right across the river.”

Wade also wants to personally cultivate a familiarity with every student, incorporating a special program for students who are struggling. He wants to increase financial stability and enrollment at the Academy, as well as the retention rate.

To do that in an area like Temple Terrace, which boasts several high quality elementary and middle schools, will be a challenge. “We've got to make this an institution,” Wade said, “where parents don't want to leave it, and where the distinguishing characteristics are so strong that people want to get into this school.”

“I want us to offer so much here,” he continued, “that it's worth the cost. It's worth the sacrifice.” Wade already sees so many strengths in the school—particularly in the high quality of the teachers and in the core values everyone already shares.

As public schools have conflicting views of children, and often corrupt views, he said, “we are already ahead of the game. We are miles ahead of the game.”