Familiar Fayette County face named new principal of Rise Stem Academy for Girls
Cynthia Bruno has been named the next principal of Rise STEM Academy for Girls, where parents have been upset over building conditions and Fayette Superintendent Demetrus Liggins’ decision not to add sixth grade at the school as planned.
Bruno replaces Jennifer Jacobs who resigned in late March despite parental support. Jacobs said she was leaving with “a heavy heart.”
The magnet school opened in 2020 in Lexington and initially launched with grades kindergarten through second with long term plans to expand through eighth grade.
However, Liggins recently announced the initial vision for a K-5 school had not come to fruition and existing grades should be made stronger before expanding. He said he did not want it to continue to be “a program that is not fulfilling the full vision that it can.”
With close to two decades of experience in education, Bruno has spent the last three years as the principal of Dixie Magnet Elementary School, district officials said in a news release.
During Bruno’s tenure at Dixie, she has “propelled the campus to become one of the fastest-growing academically in the state and among the highest-achieving schools” in Fayette County Public Schools, district officials said. Dixie performed at the highest level possible in Kentucky’s school accountability system in 2022-23, according to the Kentucky School Report Card.
Bruno’s leadership also earned Dixie recognition as a “Model Project-Based Learning School” and a “Promising Practices Professional Learning Community School.”
Before moving to Dixie, Bruno served as the assistant principal at Maxwell Spanish Immersion Elementary.
She becomes principal at Rise STEM Academy starting July 1.
Bruno is a Kentucky native who spent 10 years as a classroom teacher and instructional leader in Nashville, Tennessee, before joining Fayette County Public Schools in 2015 as assistant principal at James Lane Allen Elementary.
“Cynthia has proven that she is a transformative leader by fostering innovative and inclusive educational practices. She is a passionate educator and is excited to contribute to the success and growth of Rise,” said Liggins. “Her leadership, proven track record of academic achievement, and genuine enthusiasm for increased student outcomes will benefit the advancement of an exceptional girls STEM program that provides unique and world-class learning opportunities for all scholars.”
Bruno holds a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from the University of Kentucky, a master’s degree in educational leadership from Tennessee State University, and a National Board Certification in Early/Middle Childhood Literacy, district officials said.
Controversy at Rise
Liggins has apologized for making a last minute decision not to add a 6th grade, acknowledging that the district had already spent money to begin renovating an annex at the old Central Office on East Main Street. Parents said they had to quickly make another plan for their sixth grade girls for the 2024-25 school year.
Parents previously successfully lobbied for a newly constructed school for K-5 Rise students on Versailles Road.
Until it is built, they are asking for inequities to be resolved at the current 2420 Spurr Road location, such as the lack of gymnasium, limited library and potential environmental health hazards. Liggins recently assured parents that improvements would be made.
Now that a new principal is named, the school will develop an advisory group involving staff, families and students, Liggins has said.
