Cloverdale School Corp. welcomes Greg Linton as new superintendent

Greg Linton

CLOVERDALE -- Just four days into his new position as the Cloverdale superintendent, Greg Linton has already hit the ground running with the hope of keeping the corporation moving on a forward track.

This summer, former superintendent Carrie Milner announced her intent to retire from her role. While that came as a shock to many, Milner stayed on board until the corporation was able to find a suitable candidate to carry out Cloverdale's mission of preparing its students for life in the 21st century.

"I've known the former superintendents, Steve Wittenauer and (Carrie) Milner for several years and was good friends with them. I've worked closely with them in other administrative roles that I've had," Linton explained. "When I learned of Dr. Milner's retirement, I thought at that point in time in my career, it'd be a good time for me to apply and hopefully get the job."

Linton, a Clay County native and an Indiana State University graduate, comes to Cloverdale following nearly five years as the Spencer-Owen Community Schools (SOCS) Superintendent. His previous roles included being the assistant superintendent at SOCS, principal at North Clay Middle School and Spencer Elementary School, along with holding several administrative and classroom teacher positions.

With his wife Heather, a Greencastle High School graduate, along with his children Jaclyn, Nicole and Ethan behind him, the decision to make the move to Cloverdale was an easy one.

"I really enjoy the small town community setting and atmosphere of Cloverdale," Linton said. "I knew from talking with Wittenauer and Milner that Cloverdale was a good school corporation with good teachers, supportive parents and hardworking students. Everyone has been very welcoming, friendly and very supportive."

In the coming weeks, Linton plans to become acquainted with his new position and role at Cloverdale.

"The intent during the first couple of weeks has been to meet as many department heads, administrators and teachers as possible to get a better understanding of the direction that we want to take the school corporation," Linton said. "Obviously, I have found administrators and teachers who are very proud of the accomplishments that they've made during the past school year with the corporation receiving an 'A' and then each one of the buildings also receiving an 'A.' They've clearly been working hard and I want to make sure I bring the support as a superintendent to continue to make those kind of gains in the future."

Noting that he does not plan to make any major changes at this time, Linton is happy to be involved with both the Cloverdale School Corporation and his new community.

"I'm really looking forward to becoming acclimated to the school corporation, staff, students and the community as quickly as possible," Linton said. "I've already had several meetings with different department heads and building administrators to meet them and find out what their priorities were. I'm hoping to be able to use what I have learned over the past 26 years as a teacher and administrator to support them in their roles.

"I'd like to think though from my past experiences that there will be things that I will be able to utilize to help Cloverdale move forward with providing quality education for students."