Lisa Wrightsman has been named principal of Parke Heritage Middle School for the 2022-23 school year. She replaces Amanda Williams who is joining the North Putnam staff where her own children attend school.
Wrightsman has been a North Central Parke Schools employee for 13 years. She has taught fourth, fifth and sixth grades for 12 years. During the 2021-22 school year, she served as the district’s Curriculum Director. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Indiana State University in elementary education with reading and gifted and talented license add ons. She earned her master’s degree in K-12 school administration.
“Frankly, I am absolutely humbled at the amount of people that reached out when it was posted and asked when I would be applying,” Wrightsman said. “I was loving my new job as curriculum director for the corporation and wasn’t looking for anything new. As I thought more and more about it, all I could think about was the group of kids that are currently there and will be going there in the fall. I previously taught several of them in fifth grade. How fantastic would it be to grow this school with these kids? They already know my expectations going into the year; we can develop and change our school together.”
Working at the middle school last school year allowed her to see first-hand some of the changes that Williams incorporated.
“I want to continue some of the great ideas Mrs. Williams created,” she said. “She was tough on discipline, but at the end of the day, you knew it was because she cared. The middle school years can be so difficult to go through. I want to be that leader that students can come to when needed. I want our staff to be a huge support system for the kids and each other. I want to see our students grow so much while we have them — academically, socially, and as an overall person. I have a lot of ideas for our staff and students, but all of those ideas filter into one — doing what is best for our kids every day.”
Wrightsman realizes that to be a successful educator, the investment of time and dedication is crucial.
“People say it takes three to five years to notice true change in an organization,” she said. “I decided a long time ago that I was committing my professional life to this community. I was going to give back to it what it has given to me- support, encouragement and betterment of self. I hope to make our middle school the best it’s ever been, and I hope we (our kids, our staff, and our community) grow together in the process.”
