L.A. Ainger Middle School

Mr. Steve Smith, Principal

Steve Smith is the Principal of L.A. Ainger. Steve grew up in Englewood and attended Englewood Elementary,  L. A. Ainger and Lemon bay High School. Mr. Smith is a proud alumnus of Florida State University and received his master's in educational leadership from the University of South Florida. 

Mr. Smith taught for many years before becoming an Assistant Principal at Heron Creek Middle School. Mr. Smith also opened up Woodland Middle School in North Port as the Assistant Principal there. Mr. Smith was the Principal /Director of SKY Academy Venice and SKY Academy Englewood for seven years before returning to Lemon Bay High School as the Assistant Principal. Mr. Smith comes to L. A. Ainger with over eighteen years of Administration experience.

Mr. Smith is married to his loving wife Anne Smith who has also been a local educator for over 20 years. They have three children, Alyssa, Carly and Drew and most recently Granddaughter (Coral Rhea Pickett). All three of the Smith children attended local Englewood schools as well. 

Steve is very involved in the local community and enjoys health, wellness and athletics. Mr. Smith enjoys spending time with his family and making a difference in the community as many students and staffs lives as possible! "There is no better feeling than running into former students/ staff and hearing how much you have done for them!" " I truly feel blessed to have been given the opportunity to serve the people of the Englewood Community!"

Ms. Nicole Davel, Assistant Principal

Welcome to L.A. Ainger Middle School! Your Assistant Principal is Nicole Davel. She taught elementary and middle school since 2005. During her time in the classroom, Mrs. Davel was actively participating in leadership roles throughout the school. She has a passion for learning, building relationships, and helping others.   

Nicole Davel grew up in Englewood and attended Vineland, L.A. Ainger, and Lemon Bay. She received a volleyball scholarship to South Florida Community College. After finishing her Associate's Degree, she received her Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education K-6 from the University of North Florida. Additionally, Mrs. Davel graduated with her Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership from the University of West Florida. She is reading and ESOL-endorsed. 

Mrs. Davel is a mother to three wonderful children and has been married for several years. She loves to read on a daily basis and spend time with her family. 

Personal Mission Statement: Communication and positive relationships are important. We will learn, respect each other, and value differences. We are a team and together we will create Student Success. 

Ms. Stacy DeWolfe, Assistant Principal

Stacy DeWolfe is the new Assistant Principal at L.A. Ainger middle school.

Stacy shared her time growing up in upstate NY, Brooklyn and Charleston SC. She graduated from Charleston Southern University where she played volleyball for 4 years and helped win the Big South Championship. Stacy received her Masters in Leadership from University of West Florida and did her graduate math studies at Florida Gulf Coast University.

Ms. DeWolfe started teaching in 1996 at an alternative placement high school in downtown Charleston, made her way to a private school in St. Pete and eventually came to L.A. Ainger in 2000 teaching 8th grade math.

In 2004 Ms. DeWolfe started teaching math at Lemon Bay high school and coaching the girls volleyball team winning silver in the state of Florida in 2007.

Most recently Ms. DeWolfe has been the Dean of Students at Lemon Bay High School under Mr. Smith for the past 3 years and she is engaged to be married to Chef Hoffman who heads the culinary program at Lemon Bay High School.

Ms. DeWolfe brings with her over 20 years of experience both living and working in Charlotte County and hopes to continue to make a difference in the lives of our younger community members and support the Charlotte County families she knows so well.