Okaloosa School Board member Diane Kelley selected as new principal to lead Destin High

She is not new to Destin, but Diane Kelley is new to Destin High School.

Kelley, who served as principal at Destin Middle School from 2008 to 2013 and as a board member of the Okaloosa County School Board representing District 5, got the nod Tuesday night from the Destin High School governing board as the new principal. 

“To welcome a principal of Dr. Kelley’s caliber and experience to our school is tremendous,” said Heidi LoCicero, president of the governing board. 

“Her exceptional leadership in Okaloosa County schools ... 36 years of being an educator, even here at Destin Middle, and six years with the School Board, just shows her dedication to local education and willingness to serve the community,” LoCicero said. 

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“Personally, I have found she is really geared toward inspiring students to be successful ... that’s where she will shine on campus,” LoCicero said. 

Destin High, now a 3-year-old charter school, started the principal search earlier this year when Principal Christine Cruickshank stepped down. Cruickshank remains on staff at the high school as dual enrollment coordinator. 

The high school received nearly a dozen applications for the position and then narrowed it down to six before deciding on Kelley. 

“We had a really good pool of candidates to pick from. But of all the applicants, hers continued to rise to the top,” LoCicero said. 

Donald "Willy" Williams, executive director of Destin High, echoed LoCicero.

"Her dedication, vision, and commitment to educational excellence align perfectly with our vision, mission and goals," Williams said in a news release.

LoCicero said she is also impressed with Kelley’s “ability to build relationships with students, staff, family and the Destin community. The people already know her and respect her.  

“She will help us take the high school into the next chapter,” LoCicero said. 

And Kelley is “looking forward” to the challenge. 

To take on the role of principal, Kelley will step down from her position with the School Board. Her spot on the board will be filled by appointment from the governor.

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“I wish there was a way I could do both,” Kelley said. 

“I’ve served my whole life working with kids and helping to develop their academics and working with teachers,” Kelley said. “That’s really where my passion is, so this allows me to get back to working in my passion at a granular level." 

Kelley was first elected to the Okaloosa County School Board in 2018 and then re-elected in 2022 to serve until 2026. 

Prior to running for School Board, Kelley was a 36-year-plus educator in Okaloosa County. Not only was she a classroom teacher, but she served as principal at Laurel Hill High School, Bruner Middle School in Fort Walton Beach and at Destin Middle. 

“Everything I have ever done, I had certain goals I wanted to accomplish,” Kelley said. 

“First and foremost is to know and then to be known,” she said. 

Kelley said many in the community have expressed they would like to see Destin High become a “charter school of excellence.” 

Her goal is to look into the criteria for that, and then take steps and develop a plan to get there. 

“I’m just all about the students and faculty and trying to build on the foundation they already have ... and develop a culture that is nurturing, a culture that everybody is attracted to and wants to be a part of,” she said. 

When asked whether going from the public school system to a charter school made a difference, Kelley said, the biggest thing will be resigning from the board.

"I have to get off the board, which was a heartbreaker for me because I loved serving on this particular board. And I spent so much of my life working in our schools," she said.

“But that’s the only difference. To me, it is still working with students and serving their interests, and helping to develop teachers to become the best they can be to serve our students and help the community,” Kelley said. 

“I loved my years in the Destin community with the middle school,” she said. 

LoCicero saw that connection as a positive for Destin High. 

“Her deep ties in the community will just help us continue to build upon what is already started,” LoCicero said. 

Kelley hopes to be on campus at Destin High in early July volunteering and then take the reins as principal on Aug. 2.