Sarasota Schools, Newtown Alive Honor Dorothye Smith With Plaque

SARASOTA COUNTY, FL — Sarasota County Schools and Newtown Alive unveiled a plaque honoring Dorothye Smith at Southside Elementary School Saturday, the school district said.

Smith was the first African American principal of a Sarasota County school post-desegregation. The bronze plaque cast in her likeness is on display at the front of the elementary school, which is located at 1901 Webber Street, and honors her legacy, the district said.

“Mrs. Dorothye Smith was known for being a strong and compassionate educator who had an immense heart for uplifting her students, staff and colleagues,” according to a news release from the district.

She graduated from Bethune-Cookman University and launched her education career teaching African American fourth graders at Emma E. Booker Elementary School’s original campus in Overton. This was the first enclave of the Newtown community, the district said.

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Smith taught at Booker for 15 years, moving to Venice Elementary School in the late 1960s at the time the schools were integrated. She also taught at Phillippi Shores Elementary School before being hired as the first African American principal hired by Sarasota County’s integrated school system, the district said.

After serving as principal at Southside, she also worked as a reading specialist for the district and an administrator at Venice Elementary School.