Indiana State University Newsroom

The Indiana Principal Leadership Institute has announced the names of 11 mentors who will serve for the institute's third class, which starts Tuesday.

The mentors will include:

• Angie Lewis-Hawkins, principal of Bridgeport Elementary in the Metropolitan School District of Wayne Township

• Michael Krutz, principal of Merrillville High School

• David Maugel, principal at NorthWood High School, a part of WaNee Community Schools

• Robert Moorhead, superintendent of the South Ripley Community School Corporation

• Rhonda Peterson, director of curriculum and instruction for the Community School Corporation of Southern Hancock County

• David Robertson, chief academic officer for Warsaw Community Schools

• Rex Ryker, assistant superintendent in the Crawfordsville Community School Corporation

• Mike Sargent, assistant superintendent in the Kokomo School Corporation

• Todd Slagle, director of support for the Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation

• Heather Whitaker, principal at Mount Comfort Elementary School in the Mount Vernon Community School Corporation

• BeAnn Younker, principal at Battle Ground Middle School in the Tippecanoe School Corporation Housed at Indiana State University's Bayh College of Education, the institute is a two-year experience designed to address the professional needs of Indiana public school principals with an emphasis on student success. It was created with bipartisan support by the Indiana General Assembly in 2013.

During their time with the institute, the principals develop and implement personal and school improvement plans, facilitate action research projects designed to improve their school, and build a network with other principals to gain support during and beyond the institute experience.

The mentors play a key role in guiding the principals through their action research projects, and facilitate small group learning activities with the participating principals at regular regional focus groups and IPLI seminars.

"Our first cohort has demonstrated how critical mentoring and support is to the overall principal experience," said Linda Marrs-Morford, executive director of the institute. "As we are learning in this process, mentoring does more than personally benefit each principal, it ultimately is enabling them to make their schools better places for the whole child to learn and grow."

The mentors were selected through a collaborative effort between Indiana State University and the Indiana Association of School Principals.

In addition to the new mentors, 13 Hoosier educators are continuing to mentor the 56 principals who are participating in IPLI's second cohort.

The institute's first cohort of principals graduated in April. Their accomplishments included boosting the individual grades of their school, implementing data-driven processes to enhance student performance, improving classroom instruction, and strengthening school culture, Marrs-Morford said. More than 72,000 students in 58 counties have been touched by their work.

More information about the Indiana Principal Leadership Institute is at www.indianapli.org.

Media contact: Betsy Simon, media relations assistant director, Office of Communications and Marketing, Indiana State University, 812-237-7972 or betsy.simon@indstate.edu