- May 22, 2026
Belle Terre Elementary School health teacher Scott Howell stepped up during Flagler Schools’ employee retirement celebration with a few words of advice for younger teachers.
Howell, who is retiring after 23 years in the school district, said, “We all have a very unique story in our life. Don’t be afraid to share it with people, because you never know who you are going to [inspire] with your story.”
Howell has a unique story. He turns 67 in June, and he’s looking forward to starting the third chapter of his adult life. Chapter 1: He was an outboard boat mechanic for 25 years, working for the family boat business in Okeechobee.
When he was In high school in the 1970s, he had taken a career aptitude test. It concluded that he should be a teacher or a preacher, he said. Decades later, he decided it was time to follow one of those paths. So, he went to night school to get his bachelor’s degree. He worked until 5 p.m. repairing boats, then drove an hour to school in West Palm Beach.
Chapter 2: After earning his teaching degree, he joined the Flagler County School District. He taught physical education for four years at Buddy Taylor Middle School and then started the health education program at Belle Terre Elementary. He’s been teaching health to every grade level at the school for 19 years.
Howell said he is not the same person he was 23 years ago, and he owes that to his fellow teachers. But he knew it was time to retire when “a second grader said to me, ‘you were my dad’s eighth grade teacher,’” Howell said, bringing laughter to the room at the Government Services Building on May 19 as the district celebrated the administrators, teachers and staff who are retiring at the end of the school year.
At the School Board meeting following the celebration, Joshua Walker, the district’s new Human Resources chief, presented a spotlight honoring the retirees. Over 40 district employees are retiring representing over 250 years of service to Flagler County students, Walker said.
Among those in attendance for the spotlight were district HR Chief Bob Ouellette; Chief of Operations Dave Freeman; Flagler Auditorium Director Amelia Fulmer, who has been in education for 38 years; Rima Apanavicius, who taught at Belle Terre Elementary for 22 years and has been teaching for 35 years; Flagler Technical College's Beverly Ford, who has been with the district for 35 years; and Nancy Allesee, who has taught at Old Kings Elementary School for 39 years.
Chapter 3: Howell is an elder at Lifecoast Church, which holds its services at Matanzas High School’s auditorium. Now that his teaching career is coming to a close, Howell said he is planning to do more ministry work.
“That aptitude test said, ‘You’re either going to be a teacher or a preacher.’ Now I’m going to do both,” he said.
