The leadership team at Crawfordsville Community School Corp. is undergoing some changes.
On Monday, the board of school trustees met in a special session at the corporation offices to accept the resignation of Superintendent Dr. Scott Bowling.
Bowling has been with the school district since 2002, serving as an assistant principal, principal, business manager and assistant superintendent before becoming superintendent in 2014. In 2020, he was named Superintendent of the Year for District IV by the Indiana Association of Public School Superintendents.
“I’ve always felt that Crawfordsville is a special place,” Bowling said. “We chose to move our family here because we think it’s an outstanding education, outstanding community and now it’s home ... It’s been a blessing to lead a district that my kids attend.”
Bowling’s wife is a teacher at Crawfordsville High School.
“If you’ve ever been outside of it (the CCSC system), and you have that perspective, you know it’s an amazing school system. What we do for our location in rural Indiana, and some of the challenges we face, Crawfordsville does it right, and they did it right before I came. It was one of the reasons why I was attracted to it from the very beginning.”
Bowling was not ready to announce where he will be going when his contract ends June 30. However, he noted that he and his family will continue to reside in Crawfordsville.
Rex Ryker was then selected by the board to fill Bowling’s position. Ryker currently serves as the corporation’s assistant superintendent. He began his career with CCSC as a teacher at Crawfordsville High School, then served as assistant principal and principal at the middle school.
Ryker said once he became assistant superintendent, he began to think about a succession plan should Bowling choose to leave, and he was fortunate he would not have to look very far.
“I had dream team in mind,” he said. “Two people I thought or hoped would be with me, and they are both in this room today.”
Ryker recommended to the board that Brent Bokhart, the current Crawfordsville Middle School principal, be selected to fill the assistant superintendent’s position.
“He, as is evident, can lead in a positive, caring, collaborative manner to serve our students and staff,” Ryker said.
Bokhart came to CCSC in 2008 as a math teacher at CMS. He and Ryker, who at that time was the CMS assistant principal, developed a personal and professional friendship while serving morning gym duty together. In 2015, Bokhart was promoted to assistant principal at the middle school. He introduced the staff and students to a school-wide behavior support program. In 2016, Bokhart became the CMS principal.
“There’s a reason he’s moved so quickly,” Ryker said. “He’s talented, he’s professional, he’s focused on learning, and I trust him both personally and professionally.”
Bokhart expressed his excitement for the new opportunity.
Ryker acknowledged that the role and expectations of the central office have changed over the years.
“The central office provides more centralized support for the development of teacher instruction and student achievement,” he said prior to recommending the hiring of Brittany Cooper as Director of Elementary Education.
Cooper previously worked for CCSC as a school counselor in 2013 at CMS. In 2016, she became the CMS assistant principal. She left the district in 2019 to become principal at New Market Elementary School.
Ryker praised Cooper as someone who can unify the district’s preschool through elementary program to best serve students and staff.
“I’m honored to be back home and excited for this opportunity,” Cooper said. “I come from a family of educators, so it’s exciting to carry on that legacy.”
Steve McLaughlin, school board president, said the administrative changes taking place today underscore how important it is for school boards to hire administrators who can build great teams.
“Dr. Bowling hired all these people, and has created a legacy,” he said.
All the administrator changes are effective July 1.
