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Sarasota News Leader February 22, 2013 Page 84 NEW PRINCIPAL NAMED FOR PINE VIEW SCHOOL Sarasota County Schools Superintendent Lori White has named a Virginia educator as the next principal of Pine View School in Osprey. Stephen Covert, 41, who currently serves as executive director of human resources for the Spotsylvania County Schools in Virginia, is scheduled to begin July 1 as principal of Pine View, pending School Board approval, a district news release says. He will succeed Steve Largo, who has been principal of Pine View since 1988. The school serves intellectually gifted students in grades two through 12. ���I am being entrusted with a unique gift,��� said Covert in the release. ���Pine View is one of the most widely recognized and acclaimed schools for gifted students in the nation. I also know I have some big shoes to fill as Steve Largo retires, but I couldn���t be more excited to build on the school���s reputation and success.��� The principal search began with a site analysis at the school in November, the release notes. Pine View students, parents, staff and community members were invited to attend two meetings to offer their ideas about the qualities they would like to see in their next principal. A panel of interviewers, including Steve Cantees, executive director of high schools for Sarasota County Schools; Sonia Figaredo-Alberts, executive director of the Pupil Support Services Office; other district and school administrators; Pine View teachers; a parent and a student met with six finalists for the position, the release adds. Cantees and Figaredo-Alberts considered the input from those sessions and narrowed the field. After another round of interviews with the remaining candidates, including meetings with White, the release says, Covert emerged as the top contender. Stephen Covert/Contributed photo ���Dr. Covert is an excellent choice as the next principal of Pine View,��� said Cantees in the release. ���It was no easy task to find someone who will fit that school community as well as Steve Largo has for 25 years, but with help from parents, students, staff and administrators, I believe we���ve accomplished it.��� Covert began his career in 1993 as a Spanish teacher at Spotsylvania High School. For the Spotsylvania district, he also served as assistant principal and as principal of high schools and middle schools and as director of human resources and assistant superintendent before being named executive director of human resources in July 2012, the news release points out. Covert has served as an adjunct faculty member at the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, VA, and a collateral faculty member at the Central Virginia Leadership Academy at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, VA, the release adds. He also was a member of the Gifted Advisory Board for the Spotsylvania district. Covert and his wife, Amy, have two sons: Benjamin, 9, and Barrett, 4, the release notes.