ADMINISTRATION

Commandant of Summerlin Academy

Colonel (Hon) Michael R Butler is Summerlin Academy’s first commandant or principal. He was instrumental in the development of Summerlin Academy from inception to realization of the first cadet Corps in August 2006.

Col. Butler is a native from Polk County having grown up in the Banana Lake area of Lakeland. He received his Bachelors of Science degree from Florida Southern College in Lakeland, and in addition he earned a Masters in Educational Leadership from Nova Southeastern University. Colonel Butler is an US Army veteran having served with the US Army Special Forces at the John F Kennedy Center for Military Assistance located at Ft. Bragg, North Carolina, and served additionally with the 82nd Airborne Division Combat Aviation Battalion.

His experience encompasses adult education, a high school teacher at Haines City, All Saints Academy, and Bartow High School. Colonel Butler was also a dean at Bartow High School.

In 2003, Colonel Butler was named the Assistant Principal for Administration at Bartow High School a position he held until July 2006 when he was recommended by Dr. Gail McKinzie to the Polk County School Board to be Summerlin Academy’s first principal.

Colonel Butler is married and his daughter graduated from Bartow High School in 2006. His hobbies include reading good books, scuba diving, martial arts, and traveling to distant lands. He also enjoys learning new languages.