New IPS principals announced for schools shifting academic programs

Caroline Beck, Indianapolis Star
·3 min read
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The Indianapolis Public Schools district announced new principals for its 12 elementary and middle schools that will undergo programmatic changes under the Rebuilding Stronger plan.

Eight schools will see new principals while four schools will keep their principals for the 2023-2024 school year.

The affected schools will take on new identities over the next two school years. Some will shift to becoming new Center for Inquiry schools, others Montessori, STEM or dual language immersion schools.

The searches for leaders for the new middle schools at the former Thomas Carr Howe and Broad Ripple High Schools are still ongoing. Both schools will reopen in the 2024-2025 school year as new international baccalaureate middle schools.

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“We know each school community is unique, as is each leader, and it is important that we map the needs of each program and school community to the strengths and experiences of each leader,” said IPS Superintendent Dr. Aleesia Johnson in a statement. “For schools experiencing programmatic change, some principals will remain at their current schools while others will shift where they are best suited for the needs of the program and community.”

The new school leaders will use the 2023-2024 school year to plan and prepare the schools' academic shifts, the district said.

  • Carl Wilde School 79: New principal Brandon Warren

  • Robert Lee Frost School 106: Principal Dwayne Lucas will remain

  • Eleanor Skillen School 34: Principal Krista Douglass will remain

  • Northwest Middle School: Nichole Morrow-Weaver will transition from assistant principal to principal

  • Arlington Middle School: Iesha Billups will transition from interim principal to principal

  • Henry W. Longfellow School 28: New principal Keisha Odom

  • James A. Garfield School 31: New principal Amanda Faulkner

  • Anna Brochhausen School 88: Principal Carmen Sharp will remain

  • James Russell Lowell School 51: New principal Christine Rembert

  • Frederick Douglas School 19: New principal Daria Parham

  • George W. Julian School 57: New principal for 2024-2025 school year, Camille Haley

  • William Penn School 49: New principal for 2024-2025 school year, Phil Shults

The district is also planning additional administrative support to help the principals create their transition plans for the 2024-2025 school year. New "administrators-at-large" will assist the principals by performing day-to-day administrative duties so principals can work on the overall vision for the schools.

The new school leaders will create family and community engagement opportunities to share what changes are coming and how the transition process will work within each school's community, the district said.

The district has also hired Stacey Bottley, the current principal at Longfellow Middle School, for the newly created position of middle school executive director of schools. Bottley will oversee the district's stand-alone middle school options as they are expanded in the coming years.

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A major component of the IPS Rebuilding Stronger plan entails expanding the middle school experience and providing better access to school programs such as art, band, technology and sports to all IPS students.

IPS voters recently approved the district's $140 million capital referendum that will help facilitate some of the programmatic changes and upgrade all elementary and middle schools from "poor" condition to "good" within the next eight years.

Contact IndyStar reporter Caroline Beck at 317-618-5807 or CBeck@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter: @CarolineB_Indy.

Caroline’s work is supported by Report for America and Glick Philanthropies. As part of its work in Marion County, Glick Philanthropies partners with organizations focused on closing access and achievement gaps in education.

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This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: New IPS principals announced for schools shifting academic programs