Guests See Life inside a School as Principal for a Day
Fort Wayne Community Schools welcomes 50 community members into our schools to serve as guest principals for the annual Principal for a Day event. Guests representing local businesses, service organizations and community groups will visit their assigned schools the morning of Wednesday, Oct. 10.
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 meal.
“This event is one of the highlights of the school year,” Superintendent Wendy Robinson said. “People often don’t realize how much schools have changed since they graduated. In particular, most haven’t had the opportunity to see what a modern-day principal does all day. The days of sitting in an office managing a building are gone. Now, principals are in classrooms daily serving as an instructional leader and as a person students know as more than just the enforcer of rules. We are proud to show off the success our schools have had by welcoming guests from the community.”
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:
School | Guest Principal |
Elementary Schools | |
Abbett | Todd Stephenson, CEO, United Way of Allen County |
Adams | Tom Harris, Director of Human Resources, Fort Wayne Community Schools |
Arlington | Don Wood, Founder & CEO, 80/20 Inc. |
Bloomingdale | Kathie Green, Congressman Marlin Stutzman's Office & Fort Wayne Area PTA Council President |
Brentwood | Johnathon Fillenworth, Manager, Lowe's |
Bunche | Samm Johnson, Extension Educator, Purdue Extension, Allen County |
Croninger | Mark Ryan, Creative Services Manager, WFWA |
Fairfield | Sen. Carlin Yoder |
Forest Park | Robin Ness, Raytheon |
Franke Park | Grady Roush, Captain, Fort Wayne Fire Department Station 11 |
Glenwood Park |
John Peirce, Vice-President, FWCS Board of School Trustees |
Haley | Tom Cress, Sales Specialist, Fort Wayne Accura |
Harris | Douglas Bishop, President, Wyndemere Neighborhood Association |
Harrison Hill | Beth Ann Gibson, Capital Projects Coordinator, FWCS |
Holland | Michaelle Stirratt, President, Holland PTA |
Indian Village | Jim Burg, Interim-Dean of the College of Education and Public Policy, IPFW |
Irwin | Mike Nutter, President & General Manager, Fort Wayne TinCaps |
Lincoln | Pastor Karen Koelsch, Covenant United Methodist Church |
Lindley | Fernando Zapari, Editor, El Mexicano Newspaper |
Maplewood | Katy Silliman, Director, Vision 2020 |
Nebraska | Lisa Olinger, Board member, FWCS Board of School Trustees |
Northcrest | Michelle Fraser, Senior IT Business Analyst, Vera Bradley |
Price | Rosie O'Grady, Co-chair, Northwest Area Partnership |
Scott | Rae Gonterman, Senior Vice President, Parkview Health Cancer Services Line |
Shambaugh | Carl Drummond, Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences, IPFW |
South Wayne | Geoff Paddock, Executive Director, Headwaters Park |
St. Joseph Central | Scott Pfeiffer, 3 Rivers Federal Credit Union |
Study | Ngozi Rogers, Creative Services Director, Indiana's NewsCenter |
Towles | Richie Cummins, Miami District Executive, Boy Scouts of America |
Washington | Jim Whitaker, Lion's Den Ministry |
Washington Center | Gordon Murphy, Owner, Fort Wayne Door, Inc. |
Waynedale | Sharon Eisbart, Owner, Sharon Eisbart Corporate Art |
Weisser Park | Dan Ross, Director of Community Development, Arts United |
Whitney Young
|
Jordan Lebamoff, Board member, FWCS Board of School Trustees
|
Middle Schools | |
Blackhawk | Dr. Tom Blake, Dentist |
Jefferson | Whitney Caudill, Associate Dean for Administration & Finance, Manchester University School of Pharmacy |
Kekionga | Eric Black, Retired, Fort Wayne Police Department |
Lakeside | Chip Clark, Youth for Christ |
Lane | Edward Dahm, Mike's Car Wash |
Memorial Park | Connie Collins, Assistant Professor of Education, University of Saint Francis |
Miami | Dr. Quinton Dixie, Ethnic & Cultural Studies Program Director, IPFW |
Northwood | Lamar Holliday, Reporter, WANE |
Portage | Jennifer Callison, Vice President/Realtor, Mike Thomas Associates/F.C. Tucker |
Shawnee
|
Becky Hill, Board member, FWCS Board of School Trustees
|
High Schools | |
Anthis Career Center | Mark Kaszowski, Facility Area Manager, General Motors Company |
New Tech Academy | Mike Conley, local musician |
North Side | Susan Trent, Attorney, Rothberg Logan & Warsco |
Snider | Dr. Heather Schilling, Chair, Department of Education, Manchester University |
South Side | Patrick Dooley, Vice President of Airport Development, Fort Wayne-Allen County Economic Development Alliance |
Ward Wayne |
Mike McAlexander, Chief Deputy, Allen County Prosecutor's Office Joe Jordan, Executive Director, Boys & Girls Clubs of Fort Wayne |