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Ellen Van Arsdale - Principal Ellen Van Arsdale has provided outstanding arts-in-education leadership as the principal of the Alexander W. Dreyfoos, Jr. School of the Arts for the last eight years. Graduating early from high school, she attended Duke University before transferring to University of Florida where she received a Bachelor’s degree in Education. She later received a Master’s degree in Educational Leadership from Florida Atlantic University. In her twenty-nine years in education, Mrs. Van Arsdale has taught all levels of students from the profoundly handicapped to the exceptionally gifted in rural, suburban, and urban settings. Yearning to improve the big picture from the beginning of her career, she made the transition from teacher to administrator after five years in the classroom. She served as an assistant principal in Broward County schools for several years, then as principal of Port Charlotte High School on the west coast and William T. Dwyer Community High School in Palm Beach Gardens. In each of these schools, she developed arts programs from the ground up, leading them to become nationally recognized. In 2004, Mrs. Van Arsdale was named the Outstanding Arts Administrator by the Florida Association of Theatre Educators. Ellen was also the recipient of the 2008 Palm Beach County Cultural Council Muse Award for Arts/Cultural Leadership. Mrs. Van Arsdale has served as the chairperson of the Palm Beach County High School Principals’ Association as well as numerous visiting committees for the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) which recommends accreditation for high schools throughout the state of Florida. She served on the Florida High School Athletic Association Regional Appeals Committee, hearing and ruling on a wide variety of student hardship cases. Mrs. Van Arsdale served on the Norton Museum Education Committee, and created and led the Dreyfoos Save the Arts Campaign. This school/community initiative has resulted in the raising of nearly 1.4 million dollars from 2003 to present. On behalf of Dreyfoos, she petitioned the School Board of Palm Beach County for needed funds and raised awareness of the importance of the arts in schools and in our community. Under her leadership, the Alexander W. Dreyfoos, Jr. School of the Arts has seen great development of its Advanced Placement program, from which the school has twice been recognized by the College Board as having the best AP Studio Art program in the world. Other recent recognitions include: being named a 2007 No Child Left Behind-Blue Ribbon School by the United States Department of Education; being listed as the #25 high school in the country by U.S. News and World Report (11/07) and the #19 high school in the nation by Newsweek (05/07); the 2005 Exemplary School Award from the International Network of Schools for the Advancement of Arts Education; and, being named a Five Star School by the Florida Department of Education for the last seven consecutive years. Mrs. Van Arsdale holds Florida Professional Certification in School Principal (All Levels), Mentally Handicapped K-12, and Specific Learning Disabilities K-12.

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