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Gilpatrick to bring mentoring focus to NPMS
ROACHDALE — With little time having passed since Bucky Kramer took over as principal from Scott Miller, North Putnam Middle School has a new assistant principal.
The North Putnam School Board approved hiring Keith Gilpatrick to fill the vacancy at its regular meeting last week.
“In conversations with Mr. Gilpatrick, as well as in conversations with many of his references, it is apparent that Keith is a community- and culture-driven individual,” Kramer stated in a recommendation to Superintendent Nicole Allee. “I have no reservations in making this recommendation, and look forward to working with Mr. Gilpatrick in the future to lead our school in a positive direction.”
Gilpatrick comes to North Putnam following Kramer’s promotion to principal, as Miller was recently tapped as superintendent at Clinton Prairie Schools.
Gilpatrick earned his undergraduate degree in secondary social studies education from Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis in 2009. He then taught social studies at Pike Township Schools in Indianapolis and was the assistant programs director of its alternative preparatory academy. He later earned his master’s degree in administrative leadership from Ball State University in 2018. He has served as the dean of students at Crispus Attucks High School for the last two years.
Gilpatrick’s eagerness to come to North Putnam stems from his time as a student at Franklin Township Schools on Indianapolis’ South Side. He remembered it as a small, tight-knit community and said he was missing this kind of environment.
“I have family in the Bainbridge area and the Greencastle area, so I knew a little bit of the surrounding area,” Gilpatrick told the Banner Graphic. “I just knew that family vibe was what North Putnam is all about.”
Gilpatrick, who has been involved with the Young Men of Purpose program the last 12 years, said he wants to bring a mentoring aspect to students.
“That would definitely be the No. 1 thing, that mentoring piece,” Gilpatrick said. “It’s showing our students not only how to be excellent students, but how to be excellent citizens, and know what it’s going to take to be successful on that next level.
“I always tell my students that success is a relative term,” he added. “It’s going to be different for you than it is for me. It’s your path; it’s what you feel is right. That’s what I want to instill in our students, that there are multiple ways to be successful and we want to help guide you on your path.”
Through mentoring, Gilpatrick wants to emphasize community service and outreach. However, the main goal for him coming in is “diving in” and getting to know and be a part of the community. In all of this, students’ well-being has to come first.
“It’s got to be students first; we gotta really have a heart for kids; we gotta really have a heart for family,” Gilpatrick said. “That’s one of my biggest values, just that family, being student-led, having a big heart for kids and just being there outside of education.”
Gilpatrick related that when he came for his interview, that family vibe was “out front and center” and that he could tell the staff cared about each other and were invested in the school community. This appealed to him so much that he “just really, really wanted to be” at North Putnam.
“Everyone I’ve met has been so welcoming, and that’s 100 percent why I want to be there,” he said. “I feel like there’s been a big disconnect between schools and communities in certain areas, and I can tell that’s definitely not the case at North Putnam.”