- The School District of Palm Beach County
- South Region Office
South Region
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Regional Superintendent
Peter B. Licata, Ph.D.
South Regional Superintendent
Palm Beach County School DistrictDr. Peter B. Licata is currently serving as the Regional Superintendent of the South Region, where he oversees 60 schools.
He has served as Assistant Superintendent of Choice and Innovation, Director of Curriculum, Charter Schools, Alternative Education, Accountability, Choice Programs, International Baccalaureate Programs, and Career and Technical Education. Prior to his District leadership roles, he served as the Principal of Olympic Heights High School and Boca Raton Community Middle School in Palm Beach County, Florida.
Dr. Licata received his BA in Business Administration and Political Science at the University of Miami (Miami, FL) and his MS in Educational Leadership from Barry University (Miami, FL) He earned his Ph.D. in Global Leadership from Lynn University (Boca Raton, FL) with a focus on Preparing Students for the 21st Century Workforce. Dr. Licata is also an adjunct professor at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, Florida, where he teaches courses preparing future school administrators. He and his wife are both native South Floridians as are their four children and one grandchild.
Instructional Superintendents
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Rachel Capitano
Rachel Capitano
South Region Instructional Superintendent, Elementary
School District of Palm Beach CountyMrs. Rachel Capitano began her career in the School District of Palm Beach County in 2002 as a language arts teacher. She has served as a curriculum program planner and assistant principal in the District prior to becoming principal at Sandpiper Shores Elementary and later Del Prado Elementary. In addition, Mrs. Capitano has served as the principal of Don Estridge High Tech Middle School.
While serving as principal, Mrs. Capitano was named the 2019-2020 Florida Council of Instructional Technology Innovative Principal of the Year, the 2019-2020 Palm Beach County P.T.S.A. Principal of the Year, and 2020-2021 Palm Beach County Principal of the Year.
Mrs. Capitano currently serves as an Instructional Superintendent in the South Region. She is dedicated to understanding the culture and learning needs of individual students while committing to the continuous improvement of the 15 schools she supports and supervises. Mrs. Capitano firmly believes that service to humanity is the best work of life.
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Dr. Howard Hepburn
Howard Hepburn
South Region Instructional Superintendent, Middle
School District of Palm Beach CountyDr. Hepburn is a product of the School District of Palm Beach County. Dr. Hepburn has been an educator for the past 19 years and during that time has served as a classroom teacher, coach, dean, assistant principal, principal, and serves on numerous district committees to support student achievement.
Dr. Hepburn served as an instructional leader at large urban schools in Orange County Public Schools in Orlando, Florida. His focus was on closing achievement gaps, increasing student access to accelerated courses, and implementing strategies to support continuous student achievement as a principal of Title I and diverse urban schools. Dr. Hepburn returned to Palm Beach County in 2016. He served as the Instructional Superintendent for the Glades Region, supporting secondary principals and leadership teams and now supports the South Region schools in the same capacity.
Dr. Hepburn received a B.S. in Science Education at the University of Central Florida, M.Ed in Educational Leadership from the University of Central Florida, and an Ed.D from Florida Southern College.
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Dr. Craig Sommer
Dr. Craig Sommer
South Region Instructional Superintendent, High
School District of Palm Beach CountyDr. Craig A. Sommer is currently serving as the Instructional Superintendent of the South Region High Schools, with a combined enrollment of more than 20,000 students. He has served our school district the last 17 years in multiple roles, including as a teacher, resource teacher and Assistant Principal. Dr. Sommer also served as the Principal of Pine Jog Elementary School in suburban West Palm Beach and West Boca Raton Community High School in Boca Raton. Mr. Sommer received his BS in Business Administration (majoring in Finance), his Masters in Educational Leadership at Florida Atlantic University, and his EdD in Educational Leadership at Lynn University in Boca Raton.
Dr. Sommer is the product of the Palm Beach County School system, having graduated from Spanish River High School in Boca Raton. He is also the child of a retired classroom teacher, and the parent of a tenth grade student currently enrolled at a local high school. He sincerely believes that all children have the right to a world class education to reach their AMAZING potential!
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Jamie Wyatt
Jamie Wyatt
South Region Instructional Superintendent, Elementary
School District of Palm Beach CountyJamie Wyatt, a dedicated educator for 26 years, is passionate about serving the students and families of the Palm Beach County School District. Throughout her career, she has been committed to establishing a high-performance culture that guarantees “All” children will receive a high quality, rigorous education.
Ms. Wyatt began her teaching career in Volusia County. She then served as a Principal in the Indianapolis Public Schools for six years and led two different Title I schools to making AYP. Ms. Wyatt continued her career in the Palm Beach County School District. Her work as Principal of Melaleuca Elementary resulted in improving from a “B” to an “A” and making AYP. She significantly decreased suspension rates as Principal of Village Academy, the only K-12 model in the District. Ms. Wyatt also served as the Principal of Calusa Elementary for 6 years and maintained a high “A.” Her work at Calusa led her school to being recognized as a model school for Rigor through the Marzano Rigor Pilot as well as being recognized by the State as a Gold Status PBS Model School.
For the past three years Ms. Wyatt has served as an Instructional Superintendent in the South Region and supervises 16 elementary schools. In this role she has partnered with school leadership resulting in increasing five schools from "B" to "A" and one school from a "C" to an "A". Closing the student achievement gap has been at the forefront of Ms. Wyatt’s career.
Ms. Wyatt holds Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education from Florida Atlantic University and a Master’s of Science in Educational Leadership from Nova Southeastern University.
She enjoys spending time with her husband and two boys and playing tennis, running, and snow skiing in the winter.
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Educational Data Warehouse (EDW)
Lacey Sawyer M.Ed
EDW Performance Accountability Specialist
(561) 434-8913Exceptional Student Education (ESE)
Brandon Dietrick, South Region ESE Coordinator
(561) 731-2893Jonah Nguyen, South Region ESE Administrative Assistant
Contact Information
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Address:
1790 NW Spanish River Blvd.
Boca Raton, FL 33431Phone: (561) 982-0919
Fax: (561) 982-0959Hours: 7:30-4:30
Email: southregionoffice@palmbeachschools.org
Directions:
I-95 to Yamato Road. West to Military Trail. South to next light (Spanish River Blvd.). Go east on Spanish River Blvd. Regional Office is on the north side on the campus of Don Estridge High Tech Middle School.
