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Puckett grateful after 29 years with GCSC
Dawn Puckett has always been, at heart, a teacher.
That's important to remember as community members praise the Greencastle Community Schools superintendent on the occasion of her retirement.
Sure, Puckett spent more than a decade on the administrative side of things. And, sure, her career might be best remembered for the poise she showed in the last three-plus years as superintendent, taking over a mid-year vacancy and a school district with a fractured culture.
But Puckett's heart remained in the classroom, with the students she treasured.
"When I became an educator it was because I had dreamed of being a teacher from a very, very young age," Puckett told the Banner Graphic on Friday, citing a grandmother who taught in a one-room schoolhouse.
"I never dreamed I'd be a superintendent," she added. "My career was always based on my passion for teaching. And somehow I ended up a superintendent, but the passion for student learning has always been the strongest motivation."
That motivation was not only for students, but for the students of Greencastle in particular, having spent 29 of her 36 years in education with GCSC.
A 1976 South Putnam graduate, Puckett was hired by junior high Principal Roy Boling fresh out of the University of Indianapolis in 1980 to work split time between the junior high and elementary levels.
After one year with GCSC, though, she was a victim of a reduction in force. She spent the next seven years at Owen Valley High School before Boling came calling again, asking her on the day before the start of school to come teach English at Greencastle Middle School.
"I was grateful because I felt like I was coming home," Puckett said.
She remained in the classroom at GMS until 2004, when she became a technology integrator. A few years later, she took over some of the assistant superintendent duties from Kirk Freeman before assuming the role full time in 2008.
Serving as assistant under Bob Green and then Lori Richmond, Puckett took over as interim superintendent when Richmond resigned midway through the 2012-13 school year.
In March 2013, the school board officially removed the interim tag.
Puckett took on the role she never dreamed of during dark days for GCSC, marred by low morale and distrust of the administration. In her, staff members, students and community members saw someone they knew and trusted.
Puckett believes it is telling that the school has gone from a place that was "bleeding staff" a few short years ago, to one that had more than 50 applicants for a recent middle school principal vacancy.
"I am fundamentally proud of what we've done these last three-and-a-half years," she said, citing what she calls "cultural and financial stability."
"It's telling that in the last three years, we've been able to give raises to our staff," Puckett said.
Furthermore, the finances have allowed for moving central office back to its own location, now across Percy Julian Drive from Greencastle Middle School, not only making a centralized location, but freeing up classroom space in multiple buildings.
"We are also posed to build a new transportation building and do extensive renovations to McAnally Center," she said.
The schools have also been able to continue with long-range plans for technology in the classroom, realizing a 1-to-1 plan in grades 3-12 and setting the groundwork for the two primary schools to follow.
For all the progress in her time at the helm, Puckett doesn't like to take the credit for herself.
"This is home and it's family to me," Puckett said. "So when I was named to step into this role three-and-a-half years ago, I did not see this as solely my responsibility because we have a tremendous team and that includes our school board."
She said the teamwork comes from a common passion for the students.
"We are all motivated by what's best for the kids," Puckett said. "and that's how our teachers, our administrators and our school board make all their decisions."
Those individuals that make up the education team are what matter.
"The single most important ingredient in what we do is the person," Puckett said. She added that in not making a "concrete product," the job is much more about good people forging positive relationships. She praised the "high-quality people" working with her at GCSC.
Moving one from those people, Puckett hopes to spend some time with her own people, namely her husband of 36 years Kieth, sons Tony and Cory, and their wives and children.
She has three grandchildren, with numbers four and five on the way.
"My family brings me the greatest joy in life," Puckett said. "i want to maximize my life experiencing that joy as 'Nana,' traveling with my husband and golfing."
Kieth retired as South Putnam principal a year ago.
So Puckett is leaving behind one family to focus solely on another.
"I have loved Greencastle Community Schools as a place of employment since the first day in 1980," Puckett said. "I have loved Greencastle Community Schools as a place of support and family. I will always appreciate the chance I had to learn and grow here.
"I know that Greencastle Community Schools gave me more than I gave back and for that I will always be grateful."