Charles (Chuck) Vilardi has been an administrator in Lee County for 23 years and he is beginning his 29th year with the Lee County School District, and was voted “Principal of the Year” by the Lee County School Counselors Association in 2009. He was formerly the Principal at The Sanibel School for four years. He led the Sanibel School to be a Florida School of Excellence. He also has served as a Principal Lead for four years. Previously he served at Skyline Elementary for nine years and led Skyline to become a Model School. Prior to that he served as Principal at Pine Island Elementary for four years and worked as the Assistant Principal at North Fort Myers Academy of the Arts K-8 School (formerly Suncoast K-8). In 2018 Mr. Vilardi was nominated by the Lee County School district and accepted into the Dr. Brian Dassler Leadership Academy. Mr. Vilardi was named “Teacher of the Year” in 1993 and was also named a “Teacher of Distinction” and “Outstanding Young Man of America” in 1998. He is married to his beautiful wife Leslie who is a teacher at Caloosa Elementary School. He is the proud father of two children, Carly and Nicholas. Carly attended the University of Central Florida and Nicholas attends Florida Gulf Coast University. In his spare time he likes to go boating and travel. He is thrilled to be a part of Diplomat Elementary School and looks forward to many exciting years ahead!
Mrs. Edwards spent her childhood growing up in Minnesota and helping her mom run a children’s entertainment company. It was this experience that motivated her to pursue a career in education. She moved to Florida to attend Florida Gulf Coast University and eventually earned a master’s in Educational Leadership. She taught for 14 years at Diplomat before going into administration. She was the Teacher on Assignment for two years before being offered the Assistant Principal position at Diplomat Elementary.
Mrs. Edwards is honored to be a member of a Quality School that focuses on the whole child, not only through academics but also socially and emotionally. She believes Diplomat’s mission, to develop dedicated and responsible learners, and respectful and compassionate individuals, is important to our future community and our competitive world. In her spare time, Mrs. Edwards enjoys traveling, reading, and spending time with family.