New Albany-Floyd County Schools hires new assistant superintendent

Dec. 19—FLOYD COUNTY — A new assistant superintendent has been hired for New Albany-Floyd County Schools.

The NAFCS board voted unanimously at Monday's meeting to hire Amy Cook, the current principal at Charlestown High School, to serve as the assistant superintendent for secondary education.

The new hire follows the upcoming departure of two NAFCS administrators, including Louis Jenson, the district's associate superintendent, and Steve Griffin, the assistant superintendent of middle school education.

Cook has served for the last five years as Charlestown High School's principal, and before that, she was the school's assistant principal.

She is currently pursuing a superintendent's license at Indiana State University.

"We had over a dozen candidates that applied," NAFCS Superintendent Travis Madison said. "We narrowed it down, interviewed five, and Amy came very highly recommended. We're extremely excited to have her on our team."

The leadership changes have involved some restructuring, including combining the positions held by Griffin and Jensen into the assistant superintendent for secondary education position.

"I think this is kind of the start as far as how we want to reorganize things at the cabinet level," Madison said.

He emphasized Cook's experience as an administrator.

"We're excited with the experience she brings because she's obviously had some successful experience running the building there for some time, and just the several roles that she's held really lined up with what we were looking for out of that position," he said.

Cook said she started her career in education about 20 years ago at New Albany High School, and she is excited to return to the district.

"My stepchildren graduated from New Albany High School, my daughter-in-law from Floyd Central," she said.

"I know the school corporation helped lead the way to their success as young adults now, and I am very grateful for this opportunity to work with everyone and to keep doing my best to keep all the good work happening here at New Albany- Floyd County."

Elizabeth Galligan, an NAFCS board member, said Cook was a "clear standout" during the hiring process.

"I think she'll be a confident leader who provides support to our buildings, and I can't wait to see what she brings to our team," she said.

Madison also thanked Jensen and Griffin for their work in the district. Both administrators are stepping down after this week.

Jensen is retiring after 36 years in NAFCS, including 19 years as a building administrator. Griffin said although he is leaving K-12 education, he will continue working as executive director of K-14 initiatives at Ivy Tech Community College in Sellersburg.

He first began working in the district in 2001, serving as assistant principal at Floyd Central and Highland Hills Middle School until 2007.

He served as principal of Highland Hills from 2007 to 2015 before moving to Greater Clark County Schools as assistant superintendent for secondary education from 2015 to 2017.

He returned to NAFCS in 2017 as an assistant superintendent.

"It's been a true, true blessing," Griffin said. "Really, it's the relationships — 20 years of relationship building with teachers and fellow administrators and especially the students."

"I have my fondest memories of interacting with students," he said. "I still have students come up to me all these years later and share their stories of both Floyd Central Jr. High and Highland Hills, and that just makes my day because my hope is that I had a positive impact on their life."