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Weaver Settles In As Head Of Westchase Elementary

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By COURTNEY CAIRNS PASTOR

The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 17, 2008

WESTCHASE - In 2005, Scott Weaver was the school district's choice to replace Principal Joyce Wieland at Mabry Elementary.

This month, the district picked him to succeed her again.

Weaver started last week as Westchase Elementary's principal. Wieland, who had left Mabry for Westchase, was named the district's general director of exceptional student education in August. She split her time between her old job and new to get the school through its first few weeks.

Weaver also will juggle two jobs while the Hillsborough County School District selects his replacement. The superintendent plans to name someone at the Oct. 7 school board meeting.

Weaver's move to Westchase puts him back in familiar territory. He served as assistant principal at nearby Bryant when it opened on Nine Eagles Drive in 2002.

"When I was out at Bryant, I loved the community and interacting with the parents," Weaver said. "They're very involved and well-educated, and I enjoyed my time there."

Westchase has a track record of great teaching, Weaver said, and he will continue that. Staff development is one of his strengths, he said. He wants to keep an open door with teachers and parents and preserve Westchase's "warm environment."

He visited the elementary after the district appointed him. Parents held a reception for him, and he stopped in each classroom and met children and staff. Grandparents were at Westchase for a special event, so Weaver met extended family members as well.

Weaver, a New Jersey native, joined the Air Force after high school and spent time at MacDill Air Force Base. He returned to Florida after his service and received a bachelor's degree from the University of South Florida and a master's in educational leadership from Saint Leo College.

He joined the Hillsborough school district in 1997 as a teacher at Tampa Bay Boulevard Elementary.

A Northdale resident, Weaver will have a shorter commute to Westchase than he did to his South Tampa school. He and his wife, Georgeann, have three children. The oldest is an eighth-grader. The two youngest are in elementary school and will likely remain at Mabry because that is where they started their school year.

Reporter Courtney Cairns Pastor can be reached at (813) 865-1503 or cpastor@tampatrib.com.

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