BOCA RATON, FL (Boca Post) (Copyright © 2026) — The School District of Palm Beach County has named a new principal for Del Prado Elementary School in West Boca Raton as part of a broader round of leadership changes set to take effect this summer.
Danielle Garcia has been appointed principal of Del Prado Elementary, according to a district announcement. She currently serves as principal of Orchard View Elementary School in Delray Beach, a position she has held since 2021.
Garcia brings more than a decade of leadership experience in West Boca to the role. Before leading Orchard View, she spent 15 years as principal of Coral Sunset Elementary School, located off Glades Road in West Boca Raton. Her return places her back in a familiar part of the district, overseeing a campus that serves a similar student population.
Del Prado Elementary sits west of Lyons Road and serves families in one of the fastest-growing parts of Palm Beach County. Like other schools in the western corridor, it continues to adjust to enrollment tied to ongoing residential development.
The district also confirmed that Stephanie Cook will leave her current role as principal of Hammock Pointe Elementary School in West Boca Raton after being named principal of Banyan Creek Elementary School in Delray Beach.
Cook has led Hammock Pointe since 2015, following the retirement of longtime principal Carol Crilley. Before that, she served as an assistant principal at Cypress Trails Elementary School in Royal Palm Beach. Her departure creates a vacancy at Hammock Pointe; the district has not yet announced who will take over that position.
While Banyan Creek Elementary is located in Delray Beach, the leadership change has a direct impact on West Boca through Cook’s departure from Hammock Pointe, a campus serving neighborhoods in West Boca.
In a separate announcement, the district named Darline Winewski as principal of a new elementary school under development in Westlake. Winewski currently serves as principal of Acreage Pines Elementary School.
The new Westlake campus is scheduled to open in August 2027, part of the district’s long-term planning to accommodate population growth in central and northern Palm Beach County.
The School District of Palm Beach County routinely reassigns administrators across campuses to align leadership experience with school needs and prepare for future openings. These decisions are typically finalized ahead of the summer transition period, allowing incoming principals time to prepare for staffing, operations, and back-to-school planning.
For families in West Boca, the most immediate change is at Del Prado Elementary, where Garcia is expected to begin preparing for the upcoming school year in the coming months. At Hammock Pointe, attention now shifts to the pending selection of Cook’s replacement.
Parents can expect communication from school leadership ahead of the fall semester, including introductions, campus updates, and logistical details tied to the transition.
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