VERSAILLES, Ind. – Former South Ripley Junior High (SRJH) Principal Rod Hite has been named 2013-2014 Indiana middle school principal of the year.
Hite was nominated this spring, by an area principal for the District 10 principal of the year.
The Indiana Association of School Principals then selected one elementary principal, one middle school principal and one high school principal for the statewide recognition at a banquet in Indianapolis on November 23.
“I was extremely surprised,” Hite recalled. “As I was getting my award some of the South Ripley staff had come into the room and it kind of chocked me up, it was the first time seeing them since I left last year,”
South Ripley Superintendent Rob Moorhead was among former colleagues at the banquet and calls the recognition “well deserved.”
“Rod had done some tremendous things during his time at South Ripley and really transformed the educational process at the school; he really dug in and learned data and utilized data to help students succeed,” Moorhead explained.
The Indiana Department of Education releases annual “A-F” ratings to provide an accurate picture of school performance. Hite led SRJH from a “D” to “A” grade during his tenure.
Student ISTEP scores have also improved into the upper 25th percentile in Indiana making it a Four Star School. The school became the first in Indiana to have a free and reduced lunch rate over 50 percent and achieve Four Star status.
“It’s not just about what is going on at that school. It [benefits] the teachers, students and parents at that school and also those at the elementary school that feed into that,” the superintendent acknowledged.
Hite said the middle school principal of the year award is an honor and also the result of hard work throughout the corporation.
“It wasn’t truly me it was every one of those teachers, staff and administrators throughout the corporation to help put a lot of effort and get great responses from some great students,” Hite said.
“Student success starts much earlier than junior high,” Hite continued. “It starts at the elementary level as we inherit some really good scores and combine those with the efforts of how to transition that to the high school.”
“You’ve consistently seen South Ripley get better and better through the years, and it really took a lot of different people.”
Hite served as junior high principal at South Ripley between 2010 and 2014 and is now in his first semester as principal at Edgewood Junior High School in Ellettsville. He and his family usually make a weekly return to Ripley County.
“We kept our home in Versailles, come home every weekend and still attend church at Versailles Baptist Church. We try to stay active in both communities.”
