FORTVILLE — The principal at Fortville Elementary School is moving on to help lead curriculum and instruction for the Mt. Vernon school district.
Stacy Muffler will start as the school corporation’s assistant director of curriculum and instruction on July 1. Her responsibilities will include leading efforts to recapture learning loss in Mt. Vernon schools spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic and managing the district’s systems for academic and social and emotional interventions. She’ll also supervise the corporation’s virtual learning program, teacher evaluation, new teacher support and reinforce learning processes.
“Over the years my passion for curriculum development, alignment and clarity has grown exponentially,” Muffler said in a news release. “I believe my experiences as a classroom teacher, interventionist, assistant principal and principal have prepared me for this position, and I am honored to support our district in this capacity.”
At Fortville Elementary School, Muffler led a pilot team and district initiative to bring Trust Based Relational Intervention to improve student regulation behaviors and decrease school discipline.
She served as assistant principal of Fortville Elementary School before becoming principal in 2017. Muffler was a reading interventionist from 2014 to 2016 and began her education career in 2006 as a kindergarten and first-grade teacher at Fortville Elementary School.
Jack Parker, Mt. Vernon superintendent, said Muffler is well suited for her new role.
“Stacy excels in her efforts as a leader in a number of areas, however, her drive for curriculum and instruction is beyond impressive,” Parker said in the news release.
Muffler is currently pursuing an education specialist degree from Indiana State University. She earned a master’s degree in educational supervision and administration from Ball State University in 2015 and a bachelor of science in elementary education from Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis in 2006. She graduated from Mt. Vernon High School in 1998.
Mt. Vernon spokesperson Maria Bond told the Daily Reporter in an email that while the assistant director of curriculum and instruction is technically a new position, it’s also in part complementary to a position that wasn’t filled in 2019 when the district had two directors of curriculum — one for secondary and the other for elementary education.
“With the significant increase in loss of learning due to the pandemic, and realizing that it may take several years to recover learning left on the table, we believe this is the best time to bring this position back in a new form,” Bond said. “This position will help Mt. Vernon to support our K-12 students so they can succeed in post-secondary education.”
Fortville Elementary School’s open principal position will be posted on mvcsc.k12.in.us/employment. The school corporation said in the news release that a thorough and progressive selection process will start this month with screening interviews. The process will include input from all stakeholders, the release continues, including Fortville Elementary School staff, parents and principals, before presenting a final candidate to the school board.
