A new opportunity is opening up for those who want to keep learning, building connections with Greenfield-Central schools and the greater community.
GC Ambassadors will give a dozen community members the opportunity to learn about Greenfield-Central’s buildings, staff, budgets and more in a new setting with direct connections to the corporation’s top leaders.
The group will meet four to five times in the upcoming school year and delve into relevant topics, led by Superintendent Dr. Harold Olin and Assistant Superintendent Jason Cary.
Similar programs have been successful in other communities, and GC leaders are eager to share with Greenfield residents in a casual setting with open dialogue.
Olin said the program is a great way to share accurate, up-to-date information about the school corporation with vested parents and community members. The ambassadors, in turn, will be able to share what they’ve learned and multiply the school corporation’s efforts to communicate throughout Center and Green townships.
“When people attend our school board meetings, they get a snapshot in time that provides a glimpse of where we are with programs, finance, personnel, policies and more,” Olin said. “But through the ambassador program, we will have an opportunity to go into more depth with each of these items. I am confident that our participants will appreciate the information and the opportunity to ask questions in a less formal setting.”
The idea came from a school superintendents conference earlier this academic year. Cary attended a session during which a superintendent from Concord opened up about a similar program.
Cary’s ears perked, realizing this would be a way for Greenfield to create organic connections in the community. While the program is launching this year, the hope is for a new class of ambassadors each school year.
The inaugural group of ambassadors will be a mix of backgrounds; not just GC alumni or those who are already “superfans” of the district. Cary says he wants to see people from many professions and backgrounds apply, even those who may have concerns about the schools.
“People want an open line of communication with leadership, and this is a natural way to do that,” Cary said.
Cary has spent several months ironing out the idea, gathering information from superintendents in Concord and Warsaw on how their programs have thrived. Greenfield-Central’s ambassadors program will be a mix of ideas from those communities, with a few unique traits.
The group will first meet Sept. 16, and three more times throughout the school year. Olin and Cary will facilitate the meetings, and additional speakers from the school corporation or community will join in occasionally.
Topics include current and upcoming building projects; school finances; and how laws passed by the state legislature affects local teachers and students.
“One of the things we learned from the other school districts is that the topics have to be relevant to our ambassadors, so we will definitely get their input as well,” Cary added. “We want the topics to be meaningful to them and timely. We anticipate the topics changing from year to year, based on the landscape we find ourselves in at that time.”
School corporations in general don’t do a great job of sharing with the community, Cary said. Educators are humble by nature, and simply show up and do their jobs.
“But in 2025, we have to be better about being intentional with what is going on inside and outside our classroom doors,” Cary said. “And this program can do just that.”
He’s also looking forward to hearing feedback from the ambassadors, and getting a better understanding of how the community is perceiving the schools. Working closely in education and knowing all the background on school issues, Cary said it can be difficult for school administrators to relay that information to people with other professional backgrounds. He wants the program to create transparency, creating a two-way street in learning.
“We believe this is a tremendous opportunity– not just for the school district, but for the community,” he said. “We are giving people access to district leadership for the first time anyone can remember in a capacity like this. These people will get to learn more about the educational world than they ever would, and they can pick the brains of the people who make the big decisions for our district. It is a very unique opportunity, and we hope it becomes something that people are honored to be a part of. We think it will strengthen the relationship with the school district and the community for years to come.”
Those interested must be 21 or older and live in the school district to apply. The deadline to apply is May 31 at gcsc.k12.in.us; questions can be emailed to [email protected].
By Maribeth Vaughn
(pictured are the G-CCSC administrative district leaders) GC Ambassadors will give a dozen community members the opportunity to learn about Greenfield-Central’s buildings, staff, budgets and more in a new setting with direct connections to the corporation’s top leaders.
