When a friend of Kelly McWilliams, assistant principal at Decatur Central High School, told her "You can't be a mother hen to all those kids. you can't change what is," Kelly replied, "Watch me." It's this confidence and enthusiasm that leads her and others who work with her in believing that change is possible.

As testimony to her belief in change, school reform is on tap at Decatur Central. To help the school move from a traditional, comprehensive high school into small learning communities within a large building, Kelly has done extensive research on school reform models and has helped create a unique model based on the needs of Decatur Central students. The new model, which is divided into five learning communities: Choice, ICE, New Tech School of IDEAS, Q&I, and EDGE, debuted at the beginning of the 2007 school year. Kelly is the administrator of EDGE, which has a focus on communication through innovative technology.

Another innovative program that Kelly has worked on is Security Dads, an attempt to provide a male role model to sudents who do not have a father figure at home. The group of volunteer community dads, grandpas, uncles, older brothers, and neighbors is on hand at lunch, extra-curricular events, and in the halls to provide students support.

Prior to accepting the assistant principal position at Decatur Central in 2007, Kelly was a principal for four years. She has her master's degree in educational leadership from Indiana University and is currently in a doctoral cohort.

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Working with challenging populations is the calling of Glenda Sue Reis, principal of S. Wllen Jones School in New Albany. Despite the high mobility, diversity, and poverty of her students, she believes that she must provide and nurture a climate that feels like home to her students and their families and her staff members.

When the mayor of New Albany and the school superintendent had a vision of creating an oasis at the school which is located in the middle of an urban area, Susie left her previous job and joined the team at S. Ellen Jones. Plans called for vacant houses to be removed, a park developed, and the school remodeled. However, when the superintendent died suddenly and the mayor left office, the dream could have died. Susie took it on as her personal goal and, in 2001, the park-school vision was a reality.

A 17-year member of IASP, Susie has served as a membership chair and District 12 vice president, secretary, and treasurer. She currently is a member of Phi Delta Kappa, the National Association of Elementary School Principals, Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, and the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.

Making changes in the curriculum to support student needs i sn't always easy and seldom inexpensive. Th at's why Carolyn Cochren, principal at Princeton Communtiy Middle School, has identified writing grants and encouraging her staff members to seek external funding as one of her primary duties. Her success has been unparalleled. She received a $40,000 SINE grant to implement a Model School Program for Problem Solving. She was awarded a $15,000 grant from the Welborn Baptist Foundation to purchase heart monitors for the school's physical fitness program. Over the course of three years, Toyota Corparation has provided grants totaling $26,500 for remediation programs, a renaissance program, and physical fitness program. In addition, several teachers at the school have been awarded grants fo further education in their content areas.

When she joined Princeton Middle School in 2003, first on her agenda was to put together a public relations marketing plan for the school. She felt it was critical to gain the support and trust of her staff members so that they could show the community that the middle school had an outstanding and dedicated staff, students who wanted to learn, and an administration willing to work with students and staff to be successful.

Carolyn has her backelor's degree and two master's degrees from Indiana State University, as well as her Ph.D. in educational administration. She is a member of IASP, the Indiana Middle Level Education Association, and the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

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As a leader, John A. Marsh, principal of Floyd Central High School in Floyds Knob, sees his role as providing opportunities to lift up others, to help illuminate what is possible, and to help them in attaining their goals. Two groups that he has helped tremendously over the years are new and aspiring principals by serving as a facilitator and presenter for IASP conferences for educators who are interested in administrative postitions and those who have recently accepted positions.

At Floyd Central, John stresses the importance of counseling students and helping them find their career paths. He helped develop a Career Portfolio/Career Path Program so that students establish goals and take inventory of their life after high school. School to Career clusters enable students to choose from 15 career paths as a career major to study. The Counseling Department of the school has been recognized with a Gold Star by the Indiana Department of Education and was named a 2007 "Ramp School" by the American School Counselor Association. This year, counselors are serving as trainers to help students acquire skills, qualities, and experiences to grow into competent, caring, and healthy adults.

John recognizes the importance of all departments in the school and encourages students to pursue academics, arts, sports, and other interests. The school recently received the Educational Theatre Association School of the Year award and John was nominated for the Organization's Administrator of the Year award.

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