Fort Wayne Community Schools - home page
Fort Wayne Community Schools welcomes 55 community members into our schools to serve as guest principals for the annual Principal for a Day event. Guests representing local businesses, elected officials, service organizations and community groups, will visit their assigned schools the morning of Thursday, Oct. 16, unless other arrangements were made.
The guest principals will visit the schools from the beginning of the school day until noon, experiencing what a principal goes through in a day. From welcoming students into a building to dealing with concerned parents to working directly with teachers to improve academic achievement, principals do it all. The guests will see the amount of time principals spend as instructional leaders, a key component to ensuring each student is educated to high standards.
Following the shadowing experience, the principals and their guests are invited to lunch at Anthis Career Center,1200 S. Barr St., where Culinary Arts students will prepare and serve a delicious French-inspired meal.
“This event is one of the highlights of the school year,” Superintendent Wendy Robinson said. “Education has changed immensely just in the last decade and looks nothing like it did when our guests were in school. We are excited to show our guests the rigorous academic environment in which our students learn each and every day and what our staff members are doing to ensure students are prepared for life after high school.”
The guest principals come from a variety of occupations, leadership positions and organizations in our community. The following is a list of the schools participating and their guest principals:
Abbett – Kenneth Jones, CEO, St. Joseph Hospital
Adams – Sen. David Long
Anthis – Larry Wardlaw, Senior Vice President of Account Services, Asher Agency
Arlington – Mark GiaQuinta, President, FWCS Board of School Trustees
Blackhawk – Tiffany Gooden, Attorney/Partner, Hall & Gooden LLP
Bloomingdale – Vernard Hollins, Always 100
Brentwood – Glenna Jehl, FWCS Board of School Trustees
Bunche – Rep. Martin Carbaugh
Croninger – Phil Stinson, The Stinson Team
Fairfield – Rep. Bob Morris
Forest Park – Jane Avery, Executive Director, Community Harvest Food Bank of Northeast Indiana, and Steve Corona, Secretary, FWCS Board of School Trustees
Franke Park – Kourtney Teegardin, Grant Coordinator, Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership
Glenwood Park – Nick Hoffman, Supervisor, Indiana State Police
Haley – Thad Gerardot, Lincoln Financial Group
Harris – Kevin Hunter, Owner, Windows, Doors & More
Harrison Hill – Becky Hill, FWCS Board of School Trustees
Holland – Daryn Schwartz, Fort Wayne Parks & Recreation
Indian Village – Sgt. Major Rick Weber, Indiana Army National Guard
Irwin – Randy Romero, Music Therapist
Jefferson – Chris Angellatta, Chief Operating Officer, YMCA of Greater Fort Wayne
Kekionga – Garry Hamilton, Chief, Fort Wayne Police Department
Lakeside – Calvin Shannon, President/CEO, Calico Precision Molding, LLC
Lane – Carrie Harris, Co-Owner, Tangles Salon and Spa
Lincoln – John Runge, Ruoff Home Mortgage
Lindley – Palermo Galindo, President, Greater Fort Wayne Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
Maplewood – Lucretia Cardenas, Editor, Greater Fort Wayne Business Weekly
Memorial Park – Timothy Spradling, Vice President of Sales & Customer Success, New Image Printing
Miami – Mayor Tom Henry, City of Fort Wayne
Nebraska – Tom Bazow, President, Excursions Trailways
New Tech Academy – Virginia Alvino, Reporter, WBOI
North Side – David Gladieux, Chief Deputy, Allen County Sheriff’s Department, and Jeanice Croy, President, Tuthill Transfer Systems
Northcrest – Donna Whinery, Board member, American Red Cross
Northrop – Keith Big Kess Baker, Big Kess Morning Show
Northwood – Todd Opacinch, Director of Operations, Oz Strength & Conditioning
Portage – Amber Mackey, Manager, Wal-Mart
Price – Tiffany Yoquelet, Project Administrator, 3 Rivers Federal Credit Union
Scott – Rev. Javier Mondragon, Founder & President, Bridge of Grace CMC
Shambaugh – Michelle Stoops, Public Relations Director, DeBrand Chocolate
Shawnee – Steven Carr, Associate Professor & Graduate Program Director of Communication, IPFW
Snider – Jack Morris, Attorney, Benson, Pantello, Morris, James & Logan
South Side – Tracy Williams, FWCS Chief Academic Officer
South Wayne – Sen. Dennis Kruse
St. Joseph Central – Russ Crumback, General Manager & Vice President, Crumback-Symons Chevrolet
Study – Jordan Lebamoff, FWCS Board of School Trustees
Towles – Jill Ostrem, Senior Vice President of Health and Well-Being, Parkview Hospital
Ward – Rev. Bill McGill, Senior Pastor, Imani Baptist Temple
Washington – Barb Wachtman, President, Rotary Club of Fort Wayne
Washington Center – Justin Berger, CEO, Fort Wayne Habitat for Humanity
Wayne – Cathy Maxwell, Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, Ivy Tech
Waynedale – Charles Foster, Manager, Coca-Cola Bottling Co.
Weisser Park - Susan Mendenhall, President, Arts United
Whitney Young – Rich Hack, Operations Manager, and Michelle Esterline, Accounting Manager, Parker Hannifin