New Assistant Principal at Arts and Minds School

Ileana L. Valdes is the new Assistant Principal at The Academy of Arts and Minds, having retired from Homestead Senior High School’s administrative team in June. She is a specialist in curriculum, supervision, student services and community service. Above, senior Stella Dominique Herard, yearbook photographer, writer and member of the Recycling Board, welcomes Mrs. Valdes.

Mrs. Valdes was nominated for Assistant Principal of the Year while at Coral Reef Senior High School. She served as Assistant Principal for Palmetto Adult Education and coordinated the law magnet program at Coral Reef before becoming its Assistant Principal. In addition to opening Coral Reef HS, she was instrumental in founding the Criminal Justice Curriculum at G. Holmes Braddock Senior High School when the school opened.

Before entering the educational arena, Mrs. Valdes was a member of the Miami-Dade Police Department as a probation officer, a police officer in a patrol unit, a detective and background investigator and a recruiter for the police department.