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McPherson is District 8 Middle School Principal of the Year
Becky McPherson’s one year as Greencastle Middle School Principal turned out to be a good one, according to her peers.
The Indiana Association of School Principals (IASP) recently announced that McPherson was selected as the IASP District 8 Middle School Principal of the Year.
District 8 is located in west central Indiana and is made up of Clay, Greene, Hendricks, Owen, Parke, Putnam, Sullivan, Vermillion and Vigo counties.
McPherson was named GMS principal in June 2022, serving in that capacity throughout the year, but also taking on duties of Greencastle Community Schools assistant superintendent this spring, a role she officially took on July 1.
“I was really shocked at first because I’ve never been nominated or awarded for anything,” McPherson said. “It was quite an honor with this being my first year at the middle school. I really worked on building relationships with the teachers and listening to their needs to get better. So I think that’s a reflection on the hard work that I put in.”
The relationship building did not go unnoticed by Supt. Jeff Gibboney.
“Becky is an outstanding communicator and has worked hard to engage parents and families,” Gibboney said. “She created a school newsletter to share information with families and to build connections with families and the community.”
Both administrators believed the efforts paid off this past year at GMS.
“I think we took a lot of great steps in the right direction in regard to our relationships with the students,” McPherson said. “I thought they wanted to be there, which is a hard thing. We tried to promote the fun things.”
Gibboney elaborated, “She is an exceptional school leader and has worked hard to bring excitement to our focus on academics at GMS. She and her staff organized several Rock Your School events this past year in which the students were surprised with exciting learning opportunities based on different themes.”
For example, the sixth-grade team integrated activities and decorated classrooms based on a pizza parlor. In another example, an English teacher had a mock vampire/pioneer setup in her classroom.
“The middle school years are challenging, and while we must focus on academic improvement Becky has worked hard to allow our middle school students to have fun while learning important concepts and state standards,” Gibboney continued. “This is also an example of Becky empowering her staff to take chances and think outside the box to engage students.”
While building that positive culture, McPherson also helped develop an agreedupon set of expectations.
“GMS developed the Tiger Cub Creed, which is a list of expectations and values students and staff are expected to uphold in the classroom and Greencastle Community,” Gibboney said.
Not only does McPherson believe the results are already there, but that they will continue as Celina Clements takes over the helm at GMS.
“I think we sparked a fire for learning, and I believe that will continue with Mrs. Clements,” McPherson said. “I think we made a lot of gains at the middle school and that will continue.”
McPherson will be formally honored by the IASP on Sunday, Nov. 19 during the 2023 Principals of the Year Recognition Celebration, a part of IASP’s annual Fall Professional Conference. The award will be presented at a dinner at the Indianapolis JW Marriott Hotel at 6 p.m. with IASP State Presiden Crystal Thorpe presiding along with Todd Bess, executive director.
Principals of the year are elected by their peers. One of the 12 district winners will be chosen as the 2023 State Middle School Principal of the Year. The state winner will be announced at the award celebration.
The IASP is a not-for-profit, professional association serving more than 3,300 building level administrators in the state of Indiana.