Email Mrs. Sara Bravo

(904) 260-3911 

Sara Bravo earned her undergraduate degree from UNF and began teaching in 1999 at Landon Middle School and was fortunate to be on the faculty that opened Lavilla School of the Arts in 2000.  After eight years at LaVilla as a teacher and instructional coach, Mrs. Bravo earned her Masters' degree from Jacksonville University and moved back to Landon Middle as an Assistant Principal, working and learning under her mentor on the team that transitioned Landon Middle into Julia Landon College Prep Middle.  After four years as an Assistant Principal at Julia Landon and three years as the school's Principal, Mrs. Bravo was given the opportunity to lead Englewood High School where she spent five years, working with a talented team and moving the school from a 78% graduation rate to a 91% graduation rate while building the Johnson & Johnson Early College Academy and Dual Language Program.  

Mrs. Bravo was thrilled to join Mustang Nation as the principal in June of 2020 and has worked tirelessly alongside the incredible faculty and community to lift Mandarin back into it's rightful place as an "A" school with a 97% graduation rate.  

Mrs. Bravo and her husband have been married 21 years and have raised two successful high school graduates.  She begins her doctoral program in Educational Leadership back at UNF in the Fall of 2024.  In her "spare" time, Mrs. Bravo is a homebody who enjoys long walks, reading and spending time with her family and embarrassingly high number of pets.  She considers Mandarin High her third child and is incredibly proud to serve this community and to work with a talented and dedicated faculty, student body and community of Mustangs.   

Email Ms. Elizabeth Pecarek

Ms. Pecarek was born and raised in Clearwater, Florida. Her parents, an English teacher and an attorney, made sure she grew up loving to read and listening to learn. Ms. Pecarek has many fond memories of visiting her mother’s classroom and hearing her many stories about her life as a teacher.

At the early age of 16, Ms. Pecarek began her college experience at the University of Kansas, then returned to Seminole High School to earn her diploma. Following high school, Ms. Pecarek attended University of Florida and the University of North Florida. She earned her BA in English and MA in English at the University of North Florida.

Shortly after earning her degree, Ms. Pecarek chose the career of an educator. Like most teachers, she felt a strong calling to invest her time and energy in providing rich and meaningful learning experiences for young people. In 2005, Ms. Pecarek began her career at Westside High School, where she taught English and Reading. After a few years, she moved into an Instructional Coach role, which allowed her to grow as a leader among teachers. As a coach, she led her teachers to show double digit increases in the school’s writing scores and college readiness indicators. After completing a DCPS leadership program, Ms. Pecarek earned her Educational Leadership credentials and served Ed White High School as an assistant principal. Here, her primary responsibilities included curriculum management. Since 2014, Ms. Pecarek has called Mandarin High School home. She loves the Mandarin community and you can find her at most MHS sports and student life events!

In her leisure time, Ms. Pecarek watches sports of all kinds, loves to read, spoil her dog and cats (all names after football players) and travel. By far, Ms. Pecarek’s favorite place to travel is anywhere in Scandinavia. Her recent trips include exploring the sites and traditions of Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, and Iceland.  She recently traveled to London and enjoyed seeing many of her favorite paintings in person.

Ms. Pecarek is moving into her eleventh year as an Assistant Principal at Mandarin High and is passionately committed to the faculty and staff, its students and families, and cherishes the time she spends in service to them.

Email Mr. Robert Baldwin

Robert Baldwin arrived in Jacksonville, Florida in 1993 by way of the United States Navy. While enlisted, he served in the Persian Gulf War for eight months. After his service, Mr. Baldwin earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from Jacksonville University.  He began his teaching career at Northwestern Middle School in Mathematics, serving as grade level chair, content level chair, and math coach.  In addition, Mr. Baldwin served as the afterschool program lead as well as helped to develop the summer math curriculum for the District’s middle school math department.  He later earned his Master of Arts degree in Educational Leadership from American College of Education with a 4.0 G.P.A.  In addition to his classroom and curriculum experience, Mr. Baldwin served as math lead and Dean of Students at Darnell Cookman School of the Medical Arts.  

Mr. Baldwin is moving into his fourth year serving as an Assistant Principal at Mandarin High where he has led the math team to double digit increases in proficiency and gains. It is his goal and passion to serve as a visible liaison between students, parents, and teachers each and every day.  

Email Mr. Tim Durkin

Mr. Durkin was born in Battle Creek, Michigan and raised on the south side of Denver by a teacher and a cheese maker. Upon graduating from Littleton High School, Mr. Durkin attended the University of South Carolina in Columbia, graduating with a degree in Oceanography and specializing in the creation of maps. He arrived in the Jacksonville education scene through a succession of inspired conversations, insipidly cold Colorado winters, and a desire to light little fires in the scientific imagination of young Floridians.

Mr. Durkin began his teaching career at Highlands Middle School in 2000. He went on to teach advanced level biology at Bishop Kenny High School, where he coached the Men and Women Swimming and Diving teams to the Florida State Championship and consistent District championships through 2008. Eventually, his heart returned to the students that needed him most and he taught at Andrew Jackson High School, where he aided the team in taking the school from the worst performing high school in the state to a “B.” He has been a successful administrator at Edward H. White High School and Westside High School prior to coming to Mandarin in the Fall of 2021.   His son is a 2024 Mandarin graduate and is now a UCF Knight.  His twin daughters are Mandarin Juniors.  

In his spare time, Mr. Durkin and his wife of 21 years, Rebecca, love to travel the country with their family looking for the perfect lunch on a sunny afternoon, kayaking the St. John’s watershed, and listening to rock n roll.  It should be noted he had to convince Principal Bravo to use the above "jacket photo".  

Email Mrs. Hannah Lakatos

Mrs. Hannah Lakatos was born in St. Louis, Missouri and moved to the Englewood Beach area in Southwest Florida when she was one year old. By the age of eight, Mrs. Lakatos knew she wanted to become an educator and set her sights on a lifelong career of learning, teaching, and leading. After graduating from Lemon Bay High School, she moved to Jacksonville to attend the University of North Florida’s College of Education. After graduating from UNF in 2011 with a Bachelor’s in Social Science Education, Mrs. Lakatos began her teaching career at Paxon School for Advanced Studies. There, she taught social studies, led the Student Government Association, and facilitated school tours for ten years. After receiving Teacher of the Year for the 2020-2021 school year, Mrs. Lakatos took a year off after her youngest son was born and pursued her Master’s in Educational Leadership degree from the University of North Florida. After earning her degree, she returned to education as an Instructional Coach at Fletcher Middle School and then at Saint Augustine High School. In her role as Instructional Coach, Mrs. Lakatos worked with new teachers, at-risk students, and professional development, along with leading the math and science departments. Mrs. Lakatos has been a resident of Mandarin since 2013 with her husband and four children. She is excited and ready to serve the community, students, and teachers of Mandarin High School as an Assistant Principal this year!

In her free time, Mrs. Lakatos enjoys spending time with her family, visiting any and all beaches, reading, and making memories with the ones she loves. She loves all music, but nothing will top seeing Jimmy Buffett perform one of his last concerts in 2020 and seeing Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour concert in Atlanta in 2023.