FORTVILLE – Mt. Vernon Community School Corporation recently announced that Ashley Gustin will be the principal for the new intermediate school coming to the district in the fall of 2025.
Gustin obtained her Bachelor of Science degree in 2005 and her Master of Arts in Education in 2016, both degrees coming from Ball State University. In the beginning of her career, Gustin was a fifth-grade teacher, as well as teaching fifth- and sixth-grade high-ability students and second grade.
Later in her career, Gustin helped open an intermediate school for Anderson Community Schools with approximately 1,100 students in attendance. Before becoming a member of the Mt. Vernon family, she was assistant principal in South Madison Schools for three years and served as principal for Anderson Intermediate School before that.
Gustin said that during her time teaching she quickly found a passion for teaching teachers as she worked close with colleagues.
“An administrator whom I considered a mentor told me that she could see me leading a building,” Gustin said. “Over the course of my career, I have been shaped by great teachers and mentors who inspired me to grow and challenged me to make a larger impact.”
Superintendent Dr. Jack Parker said that Gustin’s experience opening an intermediate school in the past will be instrumental in the process of setting up the school’s operations, programming and staff.
“She possesses a strong skillset as a building leader and her experience leading Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) makes her the right fit for this position,” Dr. Parker said in the release. “She is a proven and data-driven instructional leader who will continue our district’s mission to support all fifth- and sixth-grade students to learn at high levels.”
Gustin said that her knowledge from two previous school districts and her experience opening a new building and background in administration allows her to “hit the ground running” when it comes to merging staff and building processes and procedures.
Gustin said she hopes to be visible in buildings to meet the staff and teachers this summer and plans on attending as many curricular and planning meetings as possible to understand the current Mt. Vernon systems and processes. She will also attend the summer Professional Learning Communities retreat with other administrators and staff.
“I look forward to this opportunity as it will help me understand the core values of PLCs at Mt. Vernon and build relationships with stakeholders,” Gustin said.
The district’s growth plan includes the new Fortville Elementary School, which is currently under construction and set to be open for class in 2025. It will house kindergarten through fourth grade.
Once completed, the building that currently houses Fortville Elementary students will become Mt. Vernon Intermediate School — what the building was originally designed for — pulling fifth graders from the elementary schools and sixth graders from the middle school.
Dr. Parker said in an earlier interview that the cost for the growth plan was $84 million, which included the newly opened transportation center.
Gustin said she is honored to be able to lead and serve staff. For the 2024-25 school year, she will be working with programming and operations. She will also collaborate with staff before the start of the 2025-26 school year to ensure that there is familiarity when school begins.
“The first thing I am most excited about is meeting the teachers, staff, students and families that make Mt. Vernon a great place. I know that, through these relationships, we will be able to do the hard work needed to open a successful new building,” Gustin said. “In addition, I love systems and processes, so it will be fun for me to learn Mt. Vernon’s multi-tiered systems of support and begin collaborating with teachers and staff about specifics for the intermediate building.”
