Pamela Tapley
Pamela Tapley is an experienced educational leader serving as Head of School at Pace Brantley Preparatory School in Longwood, Florida, a role she assumed following a 34-year career in education. Her professional journey began as an elementary teacher and expanded into curriculum development at the middle and high school levels, followed by school leadership roles including high school principal and assistant superintendent in a public school system serving approximately 55,000 students. Over the course of her career, she has developed a deep commitment to instructional excellence, student growth, and building systems that support diverse learners.
After experiencing the profound personal loss of her husband in a tragic car accident at age 49, during an intensely demanding period of long workdays and continuous responsibility, Pamela reassessed her path and accepted the opportunity to lead a specialized school serving students with learning differences. Today, she oversees Pace Brantley Preparatory School, a 9-acre campus with seven buildings serving elementary through high school students with diverse learning needs, including dyslexia, ADHD, and auditory processing challenges. Under her leadership, the school emphasizes continuous improvement, targeted professional development for educators, and research-based instructional practices designed to meet the evolving needs of its students.
Pamela is deeply committed to empowering students through a strengths-based approach that emphasizes resilience, self-awareness, and skill-building. The school’s philosophy centers on the belief that students “may not know it yet, but they will get there,” supported by structured strategies that build executive functioning, social skills, and academic confidence. With a 100% graduation rate and approximately 85% of graduates pursuing post-secondary education, she takes pride in the transformative outcomes achieved. Pamela’s leadership continues to focus on refining instruction, expanding opportunities, and ensuring that every student is equipped with the tools they need to succeed in school and beyond.
• LDA Member
• Florida State University - BEEd
• National Louis University - M.Ed. in Educational Leadership
• School recognized as one of the top learning disability schools in the country
• Superwoman of 2025
• Pathway School to Beacon College
• Top High School in Longwood
• Global Leadership Award Winner
• Top LD School
What do you attribute your success to?
I really attribute my success to God. I am really a strong person of faith. When I was 15, I lost my brother, who was 16, in a hunting accident, and he was like my world. So I had to decide real early on what was life going to be like for me, becoming an only child, losing my best friend, my brother. I think it's my faith that I really wake up every day and just pray that I always have the words and the wisdom to do the right thing for children, and I try and listen and look at what's being directed to me. I just think doing that each day and living by that keeps you where you need to be, and you know you're in the right place. People will ask, well, how long are you going to stay there? And I'm like, well, you know, I'm not sure, I've got to see what path I'm going to be taking down next. He obviously led me to this school for a reason. I've had a chance to go to the UAE and do training over in United Arab Emirates for the princes, the Royal Family is very passionate about education, and I went and spent 2 weeks over there training their administrators and the Ministry of Education in children with disabilities, learning disabilities. I've just had a lot of just beautiful experiences by doing what I'm doing, and we'll just see where the next place is.
What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I think the biggest thing is to believe in yourself. Believe in who you are, and let the good shine through. And just persevere, because you're going to get knocked down a lot. I think not compromising your values and letting that passion of what you want to be shine through in the love and the kindness of it. And you'll be surprised where life takes you. If you don't have all the experiences and the pitfalls of life, how can you really be that inspiration and be able to walk the talk? So you've got to let yourself go through each of those steps so that when you do get out there and you are in a leadership role, that you're really capable of leading because you've experienced life. I see the lack of grit, and just, I'm going to persevere through this, and it's going to be painful, but I'll get to the other side. And I'm not going to just give up and walk away. You've got to be able to have grit and perseverance and do it for your job, because if not, I don't know if you'll ever find happiness, really, in it.
What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Faith is really important to me. I am a strong person of faith, and I wake up every day and pray that I always have the words and the wisdom to do the right thing for children. I try and listen and look at what's being directed to me. I'm really into positive energy. You've got to bring the positive, because if you're bringing the negatives, you're very much at bay, because I just don't think it's necessary. I really look for teachers that bring that positive energy into the classroom, and our kids really need it, and so do our parents a lot of the time. I always just look at the glass half full, anything being emptied. I think not compromising your values is really important, and letting that passion of what you want to be shine through in the love and the kindness of it. I had to leave my assistant superintendent position after 3 years because it was political game playing, and I felt unethical about things. At some point I just had to say, I can't do this anymore. It's just not who I am, and it's not in my belief system.