Admin

Administration

Dr. Hector Maestre III, Principal


Photo of Dr. Maestre
 

Dr. Maestre is a proud product of Orange County Public Schools. He attended Pinar Elementary, Liberty Middle, and graduated from Colonial High-he can be found on the senior panoramic in the main office! It was because of the amazing teachers he had in OCPS that sparked his desire to enter the profession. 
 
After high school graduation, Dr. Maestre enrolled at Valencia Community College where he completed his A.A. in Education. He then transferred to the University of Central Florida to earn his B.S. in Social Science Education.  While working on his Bachelor's Degree, he completed his Junior Internship at Meadowbrook Middle and his Senior Internship at Oak Ridge High. 

Dr. Maestre always knew he wanted to go back to Colonial upon completion of his degree. He applied for and was offered a position to teach World History at his Alma Mater.  During his time at Colonial, he taught World History, AP European History, and Economics. He was also a club sponsor for Sophomore Class, Junior Class, and Student Government as well as an Assistant Coach for boys and girls Water Polo.
 
At the end of the 2011-2012 school year, he made the difficult decision to leave Colonial and transferred to Olympia High so in order to diversify his school experiences, as he knew he wanted to get into administration.  While there, he taught World History and AP Human Geography in addition to being the Senior Class sponsor.  At the end of that school year, he was appointed as an Assistant Principal at Evans High where he serves as the API for the next 3 school years.  While there, he gained lots of experiences working with teachers across all content areas, connecting with students, and becoming familiar with all of the areas of his role including IB, AP, guidance, and student support.  Although he was only there for a brief time, there were many valuable lessons and experience that he gained.
 
Dr. Maestre entered his first principal position at Carver Middle in the 2015-2016 school year.  His experience at Carver supported his growth as a leader and helped him to strategically think outside the box to find solutions to problems.  He gained understanding of the importance of the social aspect of school for students from the perspective of the principal.  He and his team created experiences for students to engage with academic content outside of the school day in a structured environment and began clubs to provide opportunities for students to showcase their talents and abilities.
 
In November 2016, Dr. Maestre was provided a unique opportunity to open a new middle school in the Lake Nona area. Opening Innovation Middle meant putting all of the pieces in place from the name, mascot, and colors to the academic programs, faculty and staff, and culture.  In two short years, he learned, grew, built relationships, and built a school culture and identity with an amazing group of individuals. It was after this that he received the phone call to let him know he was going home.
 
As Dr. Maestre embarks on the next chapter of his career, he could not be more excited to return home. He wholeheartedly believes that Colonial High is an amazing place for students to learn, teachers to grow, and a community to come together.  He is proud that Colonial's academic data from the past several school years continues to trend in a positive direction and is certain that with a continued focus on high levels of student achievement, Colonial will earn another 'B' this upcoming school year and continue to move up from there!  He understands that will take every member of the Grenadier team to doing their part in pushing our students to perform highly in all areas.

Ms. Elizabeth Fuller, Assistant Principal

Elizabeth Fuller
  

Ms. Maricarmen Aponte, Assistant Principal

  Mrs. Aponte was born and raised in the beautiful island of Puerto Rico. She attended the Interamerican University of Puerto Rico where she earned double majors in Business Administration and Human Resources Administration. Mrs. Aponte relocated to Orlando, Florida in 2003 looking for better opportunities and high-quality education for her children.  She earned a Master's Degree in Educational Leadership from Capella University- Minneapolis, MN. Mrs. Aponte began her education career in 2004 as a bilingual paraprofessional at the elementary level. In addition of being a math teacher, she has also spent the last five years providing professional development and coaching for teachers and school staff at Meadow Woods MS, Lake Nona MS, and Colonial HS. Mrs. Aponte is thrilled to be your Assistant Principal. She is excited more than ever to inspire, engage, and encourage teachers and students to be the best they can be in and out of the classroom! 

Mr. Jason Jiménez, Assistant Principal

Jason Jimenez
  Mr. Jason Jiménez is a product of Orange County Public Schools and a graduate of Cypress Creek High School.  Mr. Jiménez studied at Southern Mississippi where he earned a joint degree in Criminal Justice and Political Science.  He later earned a Masters in Educational Leadership from the American College of Education.  Before joining the Grenadier family, Mr. Jiménez taught US History and served as an Administrative Dean at Freedom High School.  Prior to answering his calling in education, Mr. Jiménez played professional football for nine years.  He is a 2004 NFC North Champion with the Green Bay Packers and a 2006 Grey Cup Champion of the Canadian Football League.  A champion of perseverance and determination, he is a firm believer that demography does not determine a person’s destiny.  


Mr. Michael Mezger, Assistant Principal

Michael Mezger
  Mr. Michael Mezger was raised in Amarillo, Texas and moved to Tampa, Florida after middle school where he attended Jesuit High School.  Following high school, he furthered his education at the University of Central Florida where he earned a Bachelor's Degree in Liberal Studies with areas of focus in Commerce and Communication and a Minor in Sociology.  He earned a Master's Degree in Educational Leadership from the American College of Education.  Mr. Mezger has been a math and science teacher, as well as math, science, and Marzano instructional coach at the school and district level.  Most recently, he was a program specialist before receiving the honor of joining Colonial High School as an assistant principal for the 2017-2018 school year. Mr. Mezger believes in the philosophy that students don't care how much you know until they know how much you care. 


Mrs. Kimberly Parsons, Assistant Principal

  Mrs. Parsons was born in Dover Delaware and moved to Warrensburg Missouri when she was 10 years old.  She attended the University of Central Missouri where she earned her Bachelor's Degree in Political Science.  In 2009, Mrs. Parsons moved to Florida to be closer to her family.  She has earned a Master's Degree in Social Science Education and a Master's Degree in Educational Leadership, both from the University of Central Florida.  Throughout Mrs. Parsons' career in education she has worked as a 7th grade Social Studies Teacher, Curriculum Resources Teacher at the middle school level, Testing Coordinator at the high school level and currently she is an Assistant Principal at Colonial High School.  Mrs. Parsons believes in leading through the motto of always doing what is best for students.

 

Ms. Mary Vetter, Assistant Principal

 Ms. Vetter was born and raised in Baumholder, Germany.  Traveling, reading and enjoying new experiences fostered her love for learning.  As a student at the University of Florida, Ms. Vetter earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Sociology and then began teaching English Language Arts at Liberty Middle School in 2001.  After teaching for 15 years at both the middle and high school levels, Ms. Vetter was given the opportunity to be the Testing Coordinator and Instructional Support Coach at Edgewater High School.  In 2015, she earned her Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership at Stetson University. As an Assistant Principal, Ms. Vetter has served the communities of West Orange High School and Jones High School.  She is excited to return to the east side of town to work with the amazing community of Colonial HS. During her free time, Ms. Vetter enjoys cooking for friends, walking her dog, Jax, around Lake Eola, and spending time with family.  As a life-long learner, Ms. Vetter believes that there is something to learn from each person you meet, and she looks forward to meeting each Grenadier!

Mr. Jonathan Zenzel, Assistant Principal

Johnathan Zenzel
 		 Mr. Jon Zenzel was born and raised in Hawley, Pennsylvania, a small town where family and community were strong.  Following high school, he attended Oswego State University where he competed in two sports, basketball and track and field, along with earning a Bachelor’s Degree in Secondary Education with a focus in Earth Science. He earned his first Master’s Degree in Adolescence Education, Grades 7-12, from Mercy College.  He later earned his second Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership from the American College of Education.  Mr. Zenzel has been a middle school science teacher, athletic director, YMCA after-school coordinator, learning resource specialist, and a dean.  Before coming to Colonial High School, Mr. Zenzel was an Administrative Dean at Winter Park High School.   Family is very important to him. He is married to his wife Ashley and has two children, his daughter Campbell and son, Knox. He is excited and looking forward to working with the students, parents, and community.  Mr. Zenzel believes that the only person who is educated is the one who has learned how to learn and change
 

 


 
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