Braden River High celebrates its 20th anniversary in Bradenton

Damon Ackerman said patience is the most important thing he has learned over his 20 years as a Braden River High School resource officer.

“You're dealing with kids in a positive way, hopefully,” said Ackerman, who is one of the five remaining staff members from when the school opened in 2005. “If there's some negative light, you try to get them through that and then tell them it's not the end of the world.

"You tell them to continue to work hard and to make it to the next level.” 

The four other employees who started at Braden River High School when it first opened its doors are teacher Jeff Hilt, teacher Dan McLean, secretary Dee Frattalone and Athletics Director Matt Nesser. During that time, there have been five different principals. 

The 2025-2026 school year is Wendell Butler’s second year as principal at Braden River High School. However, he worked with the original principal of Braden River, Jim Pauley, when Butler was an assistant principal at Southeast High School. 

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“I think about how much intention he (Pauley) put into making sure that Braden River was the place you wanted to send your child,” Butler said. “He was a gentleman who believed in doing excellent work and he believed in doing things right the first time. I believe that spirit and the history of that spirit in our school is important to celebrate, elevate, reflect on and continue to promote. Excellence happens here at Braden River.” 

Butler said having five staff members remaining from the first year says a lot of about the work environment. He said the school's employees support each other every day and he looks forward to seeing and growing that dynamic in the future. 

McLean works as a social studies teacher and oversees student government. 

“What's interesting is the administration has changed and the teachers' faces have changed, but for the most part, the school itself doesn't look much different than it did 20 years ago,” McLean said. “We've got a new locker room building that was built, and there's portables here that weren't here when we first opened. Walking around the campus, maybe the paint in a certain hallway is different, but it still looks like the same school.” 

Jeff Hilt, a mathematics teacher, was eager for a new adventure when he began at Braden River. 

“Anytime you can start a new school from scratch, you get in on that,” Hilt said. “You kind of set the tone for the school, which is always a good thing.” 

Hilt said every year during graduation speeches, a student mentions the rule of not walking on the campus grass. 

“That policy has been put into their brain," Hilt said. "There's a respect for that. That's one of the things that when we started the school, we were able to put into their heads. There are rules that you have to follow, and it's been maintained that whole time.”

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Although the campus itself hasn’t changed much, Mclean said the culture at Braden River has been built in the last 20 years. He recalls students wearing Lakewood Ranch High School and Southeast High School shirts on football Fridays in the early days of the school. Now, pirate themed merch is worn daily. 

Through working with student government, Mclean remembered the first time the school had a dance in the gym rather than the cafeteria in 2007. He said the students and staff always have prided themselves on the decorations and preparation that goes into dances. He remembered the spark from having dances in a bigger, more optimal space. The gym provided more opportunity for artistic and creative expression as well as better lighting and a louder sound system. 

“The kids, I think they were ecstatic,” McLean said. “They were pumped.” 

Hilt said a challenge has been the students' increased use of outside resources over the years. He said that his students “live and die with their phones” and get frustrated if they can’t use them. He also said students are now more socially awkward, which makes group projects difficult to implement. Hilt said kids are kids and they are all about the same, but now they are better at finding ways to avoid doing their work themselves.

“Hilt’s teaching presence and being a pillar of constant availability for the kids has made an impact,” Butler said. “McLean is definitely in the fabric of the culture running and overseeing student government for as long as he's overseen it.” 

“It's hard to believe it's been 20 years already, but we get up, we come to school, we do our jobs, we participate,” Hilt said. “The years tend to go by and they go by faster as I get older. I'm just glad that Dan and I became friends from it and I'm glad that we've always been a part of it. I hope it continues for a long time.”