Seymour Middle School will have a new principal this fall as the corporation looks to help reach all students by better supporting teachers and developing them into leaders.
On Tuesday, the school board approved the appointment of Daniel Mendez of Greenwood to the position.
Mendez, 41, has a background in professional and educational leadership development and said he wants to be a part of helping the middle school reach a higher level of success.
He replaces J.B. Royer, who served four years at the school. Royer is moving back to the classroom to teach English language learners at Seymour-Jackson Elementary School.
Mendez served as principal of Southport Elementary School for 10 years before taking on the role of director of secondary education for the Metropolitan School District of Decatur Township in 2017. Before becoming a principal, he taught at the middle school level for five years.
He decided to apply for the principal position at SMS after doing some research on Seymour Community School Corp.
“I was looking for a new opportunity, and it’s a growing district,” he said.
He likes the emphasis the school system puts on career education.
“They’ve got some great career pathways for kids already in line for our students, which is outstanding,” he said. “They are definitely ahead of the game on that, and I wanted to contribute to that.”
Mendez said he wants to bring a vision of excellence to SMS that is shared by students, staff, parents and the community.
“Excellence in everything that we do,” he said. “Excellence in academics. Excellence in growing our teachers and growing our students.”
Educating the whole child, including their social and emotional side, is just as important as educating their mind, he said.
He plans to emphasize teacher development, too.
“We’ll be changing up our professional development model and adding in instructional coaching for teachers, as well, as much as possible,” he said.
The whole idea is to give teachers tools to drive instruction in the classrooms to be able to better help students, he said.
“What we’re really doing is growing teachers to grow students,” he said.
Although SMS doesn’t have instructional coaches in place like the elementary schools do, Mendez said they will find a way to make it work.
“We’re going to do our best to utilize what we have,” he said.
Mendez has a lot of experience with coaching teachers and said he will lead the initiative. As part of that effort, he wants to help teachers become better leaders, too, he said.
“I’ve worked with over 100 schools in helping them develop their leadership teams,” he said.
In 2018, he became an educational leadership consultant for INcompassing Education.
He also served as a lead peer coach for Indiana University’s Effective Leaders Academy from 2012 to 2016.
During his time at Southport, the school received three national awards in excellence in teaching, and he was awarded Principal of the Year for District 7 by the Indiana Association of School Principals.
Although they plan to make Seymour a second home, Mendez said he and his wife, Bethany, and their two children, Isaiah, 11, and Isa, 9, will live in Greenwood because his parents live there.
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Name: Daniel Mendez
Age: 41
Hometown: Crown Point
Residence: Greenwood
Education: Bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, master’s degree in educational leadership and administration from Indiana Wesleyan University and a Doctor of Philosophy in educational leadership from Indiana State University
Job: New principal at Seymour Middle School
Experience: Served as principal of Southport Elementary School for 10 years before taking on the role of director of secondary education for the Metropolitan School District of Decatur Township in 2017. Before becoming a principal, he taught at the middle school level for five years. In 2018, he became an educational leadership consultant for INcompassing Education. He also served as a lead peer coach for Indiana University’s Effective Leaders Academy from 2012 to 2016.
Family: Wife, Bethany; children, Isaiah and Isa
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