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Sumter P.R.E.P. Academy

Moving The Academic Needle, While Striving For A Positive R.A.A.A.P.

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  2. Meet the Administration

Meet the Administration

Meet The Administration

  • Principal Presley has served the field of education for 28 years.  Twenty-five of the twenty-eight years has been in his hometown of Wildwood, Florida where he served as a classroom teacher, head coach of basketball, Assistant Principal, and Principal. After serving his hometown for 11 years as an administrator, Principal Presley requested a transfer to the alternative school for personal and professional reasons.  This transfer resulted in the founding of a new school, Sumter PREP Academy, which he is currently the Proud Principal.

    Principal Presley became the Principal of Sumter Alternatives School in 2013.  After three years of implementing systems to shift the negative perception of the alternative school, the school was closed and a new school was founded!  Principal Presley and his TEAM FOUNDED a new approach to alternative education called Sumter PREP Academy.  The Positive Response Educational Program was birthed in 2016.  As Principal of Sumter PREP Academy, he is leading the mandate of creating a culture that helps students to strive for a positive R.A.A.A.P, shift from students to scholars, and move their behavioral and academic needles. As the instructional leader of Sumter PREP Academy, Principal Presley’s leadership has produced a Positive Response Education Program that focuses on building a positive school culture while moving the academic needle.  The PREP has received international, national, state, and local recognition.  Recently, the PREP was recognized by the Governor for demonstrating student growth and teaching excellence.  

    Principal Presley believes that a highly effective school culture includes a culture of vision and leadership, recognition and celebration, intervention and support, attendance and learning, and empowerment and employment. He has a passion to shift the trajectory of a student’s life by helping them to find their value.  This passion to help others can be attributed to the lessons learned from his mom, the late Delores Presley.  She was a single mom who raised seven children, as a waitress.  Moreover, she was a praying mother who dealt with poverty by making sacrifices for the future of her children. 

    James C. Presley is married to Yolanda F. Presley; together they have two children, Shakinah and Malachi Presley.  He is the second of seven children born to the late Delores Presley.  He was raised in a single parent home in Wildwood, Florida.  He graduated from Wildwood High School in 1986 and matriculated at Flagler College to complete his B.A. Degree in Business Administration in 1991.  He earned his Masters Degree in Education with a concentration in Educational Leadership from Troy University in 2005.  He is a member of the National Alternative Education Association, Florida Alternative Educators Association, Black Educators Rock, Inc., Targeted Selection Interview committees of Seminole, Lake and Sumter Counties, 1st Vice-President-NAACP Sumter County Branch. He was inducted in the Flagler College Athletic Hall of Fame (2008) and the Wildwood Middle High School Inaugural Athletic Hall of Fame (2019).

  • I was born on the beautiful island of Puerto Rico. My parents came from hard-working families and provided me with all the tools that I needed to succeed. I lived on the island for 32 years of my life. In that period, I completed my K-12 education in two different Catholic schools. In 1999, I began my bachelor's degree in the sciences of chemistry. While in my post-secondary education, I mentored first-year student for three years and completed research studies. In college, I realized how much I loved to learn and share my knowledge with others. I found the educational field fascinating. I graduated magna cum laude in June 2004.

    I started working right away in the pharmaceutical industry as a chemist. I worked for famous Pharma companies such as Pfizer and Baxter. Unfortunately, when Bill 936 ended, most of the pharmaceutical companies lost their tax exemption and were closing their subsidiaries in PR. During that uncertain period, I decided to go back to school to become a better asset for the industry. I enrolled for a master's in business administration with a major in Quality Management. I graduated in 2011 summa cum laude. However, at that time the economic uncertainty increased. Then, I decided to work for an environmental company as a product specialist in their medical devices division. Nonetheless, the economic situation of the island did not improve. Therefore, I remembered how much I loved teaching while at the University of Puerto Rico Mayagüez Campus. I was very privileged to become the Biotechnology Curriculum Developer at Humacao Community College in 2011. Since it was a new program for me, I enrolled in the University of Puerto Rico at the Cayey campus to complete a certificate in Biotechnology. I was fortunate to teach undergraduate classes in Biotechnology, Biology, and Chemistry.

    While on the island, I got married and have five beautiful children. Most of them have finished or are about to finish their bachelor’s degree. I’m very blessed, and they are my motivation to keep pushing myself to excel.  In August 2014, I moved to the state of Florida to teach Biology and Chemistry at Belleview High School. At BHS, I got immersed in the AICE program where I taught Pre-AICE Chemistry, AICE Chemistry, Thinking Skills and Problem Solving, and Pre-AICE combined sciences which relate to Biology, Physics, and Chemistry. I sponsored the National Honor Society and the ChemClub where we competed in the ChemThon at the University of Florida. As a lifelong learner, I enrolled in 2019 to become a Healthcare Administrator. I graduated in June 2021 from Eastern Gateway Community College in Ohio summa cum laude.

    In 2021, I was hired to teach Algebra 2 at SSHS. In Sumter County, I felt a sense of township. I became the sponsor of the Student Council. We planned many activities, such as Homecoming Ceremony, Homecoming Dance, Pep-Rally games, student elections, and dress-up weeks to increase the school spirit and teacher appreciation. Last year, I started my Level 1 program to become a school administrator. Upon successful completion, I’m very excited to be part of the community at the Sumter PREP Academy. I’m always at your service and very excited to start the school year 2023-2024, and remember at SPA we are teaching academics while building character.

Mission and Vision

Our Mission:

The mission of Sumter P.R.E.P. Academy is to establish a culture that fosters a safe learning environment for all levels of learners, provide instructional leadership for classroom instruction, and ultimately build a Positive Response Education Program, also known as the PREP.

Our Vision:

"Striving for a Positive R.A.A.A.P. while moving the Academic Needle"

Sumter P.R.E.P. Academy Teachers