Familiar face returns to Cape school district
A familiar face will return to the Cape district in August, when Dontez Collins takes over as Beacon Middle School assistant principal.
Collins taught math at Cape High from from 2020-21 before moving to Milford High, where he taught math for one year and then took a position as data assessment specialist. He began his teaching career at Sussex Tech, where he taught math for 12 years and was the 2020 Teacher of the Year.
“I’ve always kept a good relationship with [Assistant Superintendent] Jenny Nauman and [Supervisor of Human Resources] Ned Gladfelter,” Collins said. “I grew up in the Cape Henlopen School District, so I’ve always had a connection to the area, community and district.”
That connection remained after Collins left the district in 2021, he said, as Cape officials continued to keep in touch while he participated in an intensive principal preparation program through the University of Delaware.
Collins completed four core courses in the 18-month program, which also included two internships, seminars and a focused action research project on how a student voice team can impact the culture of a school.
“When I finished, I wasn’t looking for an assistant principal job, but Jenny Nauman reached out and said they had an opening I should apply for. It went well,” he said with a smile.
As a data assessment specialist, Collins said he missed being in the classroom. As assistant principal, he will have more interaction with students.
“It gives me the opportunity to be back with kids again,” he said. “My biggest highlight of 13 years in education is being around kids every day.”
At Beacon, Collins will oversee and work to improve discipline and state testing operations.
Collins received his master’s degree in career and technical education from Wilmington University and his bachelor’s degree in mathematics education from Delaware State University.
He attended Cape district schools until ninth grade, when he enrolled at Sussex Tech, from where he graduated in 2006.
“That’s probably why I started my career there,” he said. “It was quite a different experience to go back four years later, and also beneficial as a teacher where I went to school because it was more proximate to their experience and I could relate.”
Collins helped launch Above Xpectations travel track team in southern Delaware and also operates a traveling barber business. He lives in Milton near many family members, and has a 10-month-old son who lives in Maryland.
