Kevin LeVine, the principal at Harrison School for the Arts in Lakeland since 2020, has shifted to become the district’s senior director of fine arts. Gian Monacelli, currently principal at Lakeland Highlands Middle School, will take over as Harrison’s principal starting March 30.
Why the moves? It all started in February, when the Ashley Gibson Barnett Museum of Art at Florida Southern College appointed Daryl Ward as its executive director. Ward, who had been interim director since June, served as principal at Harrison from 2013 to 2020.
Ward’s move created an opening with the Polk Arts and Cultural Alliance, the nonprofit he had led since 2022. PACA announced March 6 that its board had chosen Beth Cummings as interim executive director.
Cummings had served as senior director of fine arts for Polk County Public Schools for 20 years. After her departure, the school district selected LeVine as her replacement. That move generated the vacancy at Harrison that Monacelli will fill.
LeVine, 46, graduated from Frostproof High School and earned a bachelor’s degree from Florida Southern College in Lakeland, as The Ledger previously reported. He started with Polk County Public Schools as band director at Mulberry High School and later became the inaugural band director at Tenoroc High School.
LeVine, who has a master’s degree from the American College of Education, joined Harrison in 2013 as dean of arts. He became an assistant principal three years later.
He served as assistant principal at Harrison before being picked to succeed Ward after his departure in 2020. LeVine has been with the school district for nearly 25 years.
Monacelli, 41, is a native of Venezuela and a violinist who studied music at Florida Southern College. Polk County Public Schools named him assistant principal of the year for 2024, when he was at Mulberry High School.
At the time, the district praised Monacelli for developing systems to provide extra support for migrant students, English language learners, and students with disabilities. Monacelli also worked with the Hispanic Bar Association on a summer internship program and helped Mulberry students explore college and technical school options, the district said in a news release at the time.
Monacelli is married to Ivelisse De La Fe, an immigration lawyer in Lakeland. They have two daughters.