NEW PALESTINE — Officials with the Community School Corporation of Southern Hancock County traveled east, just down the road, to get their newest principal.
Monday evening the school board approved the hiring of Austin Theobald as the principal of Brandywine Elementary School. He replaces outgoing principal Rhonda Peterson, who stepped down at the end of the school year to take an administrative job in Carmel Clay Schools.
Theobald, 40, just finished up his 16th year in education and will make a $98,000 base salary during the first year of his two year contract, effective July 1. Theobald spent the past four years as the principal at Rushville Elementary School East, a kindergarten through sixth grade school, part of Rush County Schools. He’s also served as an assistant principal at Shelbyville Central Schools.
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“We are incredibly excited to add Austin to our administrative team,” said superintendent Lisa Lantrip. “His passion for elementary education was clearly evident from the first time we met him.”
Theobald said he is thrilled to be a part of the Southern Hancock district and the principal at Brandywine, calling the school a very special place with a longstanding legacy of excellence and high-standards.
“This school district has such a strong reputation regarding how they serve kids,” Theobald said. “They’re innovative and always moving forward in a positive direction.”
A Shelby County native, Theobald attended Shelby Eastern Schools K-12 and graduated from Morristown High School in 1998. After high school he went to Ball State University, where he earned a Bachelors in Elementary Education. After several years in the classroom, he decided to go back to Ball State to get his Master’s degree in Educational Administration and Supervision in 2013.
Theobald has over 10 years experience working with third and fourth-graders and a year of working with special needs children, which he said was an invaluable experience.
Theobald considers himself to be an educator and principal who believes in the power of involving all stakeholders in the school, including the community, parents, students and teachers, he said.
“We’re stronger together,” Theobald said. “At the end of the day, every decision for me comes back to a simple question: ‘Is this what is best for my kids or this child?’”
Being new, he said his main focus will be on building relationships with students, staff, and the community while working with as a team to find innovative ways to deliver differentiated instruction to the students.
“I also want to dig into the data of this school to help identify our areas of strength and find opportunities for growth,” he said.
Theobald said he was excited to get the job because there are a lot of amazing things happening in education and at the school. From educational neuroscience initiatives to STEAM, which focuses on humanities, language arts, dance, drama, music, visual arts, design and new media, he’s looking forward to all of it.
“I am excited to see how I can partner with the educators, parents and students to find ways to meet the needs of every child,” he said.
Parents, students and staff can expect him to be an outspoken advocate for their child and the school, he said, and they can also anticipate the students to laugh a lot and have fun.
Theobald is a previous recipient of the Shelby County Educator of the Year Award who said he enjoys spending time with his family, traveling, reading, fitness and being outdoors.
The community is invited to a meet the new principal during an open house with Theobald, set from 6 to 7:30 p.m. July 17 at Brandywine Elementary School.
