INDIANAPOLIS — Jill Slinker led the academic teams at Greenfield-Central High School with a firm hand for nearly 30 years; her expectations were high, and her pupils excelled.
When a position to lead student programs statewide opened up unexpectedly, officials said Slinker was at the top of the list.
Slinker, who had taught English, advanced-placement English and Humanities courses at Greenfield-Central since 1987, along with serving as the head academic coach since 1989, was hired Jan. 4 as the director of the department of student programs for the Indiana Association of School Principals. In her new role, Slinker runs a myriad of activities for students across the state: all of the organization’s academic contests such as Academic Decathlon; cheerleading competitions; an annual Martin Luther King Jr. essay contest and more, she said.
One month in to her new role, Slinker faces her first big challenge: She and her department will stage the state competition for the Indiana Academic Decathlon at Purdue University on Friday and Saturday. The competition will run 12 to 16 high school teams through a variety of different challenges, including an interview, a prepared speech, an impromptu speech and paper tests, Slinker said.
Slinker said it was a tough decision for her to leave teaching, but the opportunity called to her.
The former director of student programs for the state organization, Kyle Harrop, died unexpectedly in September. Slinker had worked with him for 18 years, and she said it was a huge loss for students in the state.
She was speaking to staff members at a coaches’ conference about three weeks after he died, asking how they were coping, and several people encouraged her to apply for the job when it was posted, she said.
“At first, I didn’t think about it, but they made it clear they were looking for someone with experience with academic teams,” she said. “I thought about it, since I reached the age of retirement last spring. … It was a tough decision to leave teaching, because I left loving it still, loving everything about Greenfield. It’s a wonderful school system.”
Harrop’s loss had a profound impact on the staff of association, said executive director Todd Bess. Recruiting Slinker to be able to step in with her extensive knowledge was a step toward healing that professional loss, he said.
The organization is thankful Greenfield-Central let Slinker make the move in the middle of the school year, Bess said.
“It’s been wonderful,” he said. “She brings a fresh set of eyes to our programming. … We’re grateful she considered us; we felt like she could help us at a time when we really needed that important position filled.”
Slinker said while it has been an adjustment not to work from bell to bell after 34 years as a teacher, and she misses daily interactions with students, she’s enjoying working with the people at school principals association. She is looking to expand academic competitions and other activities, as well as working to solidify the organization’s relationship with Purdue University.
Slinker was a big part of the family at Greenfield, said Greenfield-Central High School Principal Jason Cary.
“We’re very happy to see her in that position, we know she’s more than qualified,” Cary said. “We hated to see her leave, but it’s something we understood would benefit everybody and not just us.”
