MIA Surprises Melissa Scott with Elaborate Award Ceremony

Marco Island Academy founder, Jane Watt, knew she wanted to do something big to celebrate Principal Melissa Scott when she was named the winner of a 2022 Florida Charter Schools Champions Award. Somehow the entire school was able to conspire to celebrate their popular principal with a spirited celebration in the school’s gymnasium Friday morning.

It wasn’t easy to pull off a surprise celebration that included the entire school - including graduating seniors who came back to honor their principal.

“I just love that she was surprised,” said Watt. “We had everything laid out of how we were going to execute the plan. Right as we were getting ready to leave the boardroom, my job was to get her down to the gym. Then she said, ‘I have to go to the bathroom.’ I said, ‘Melissa, I just need to talk to you for a second. I thought, ‘Oh, no. Then I said I’d go with her.’ She said, ’To the bathroom?’ It was one of those moments. I waited outside the bathroom door. She said, ‘What are you doing?’ I told her I had to show her something in the gym. It’s not easy to surprise her. It was an inside job. There were a lot of people working together to make that happen.”

“Kevin Ray (Dean of Students) and Mark Melvin (Board of Directors member) nominated her,” Watt continued. “Kevin is the one who got the notification that she won. It was so awesome - and so deserved. My favorite part was when we first walked in and the music was playing and the kids were cheering and she saw the balloons. She saw those pink arches and she said, ‘Wait, what?’”

"Every single child wanted to wait and see her,” Watt said. "It really was unbelievable. Her parents being there was really special, too. I loved when she saw her mom. Her parents are the reason she moved here in the first place. I always joke with her that she’s my oldest daughter."