Strube hired as Tzouanakis principal
On a night when retiring principal Dan TeGrotenhuis was honored for his years of service, his replacement at Tzouanakis Intermediate School was introduced.
The Greencastle School Board voted unanimously Monday evening to hire Jon Strube as the new principal of Tzouanakis.
Strube comes to Greencastle Community Schools from Brownsburg Community Schools, where he spent the last five years -- three as a district administrator and two as a building administrator.
Prior to his work at Brownsburg, he spent eight years teaching grades three through five in Avon.
Strube is also a resident of Bainbridge, so he is already familiar with Putnam County.
"I've been a resident of Bainbridge for 4-1/2 years. The drive itself has been reduced to about a fourth of the distance," he said. "Being a part of the community more is something I look forward to -- attending more community events, district events and school events, of course."
Assistant Superintendent Dawn Puckett said the principal search yielded 18 applicants, of whom four were interviewed. Following the interviews, the selection committee of teachers, parents, school board members and administrators chose Strube unanimously.
"It is without any reluctance at all that I would recommend him as the principal at Tzouanakis," Puckett said.
Strube said he is approaching his new role as Tzouanakis principal as a balance of continuing what the school already does well with improving in areas of need.
"I know that TZ has a strong connection because it's the only building in the district that services grades three through five," Strube said. "I want to continue the practices that are going well at TZ. I'm going to have to find out by teacher interviews and meeting the staff and parents and students.
"I also look forward to the challenge of looking at what isn't necessarily working and finding ways together as a team, as a community, to strengthen student achievement," he continued. "I think that while there are great things going on we need to look at what we need to improve and work on those areas as well."
Strube joins new superintendent Lori Richmond, who was hired by the school board on Thursday, as new administrators for GCSC.