New assistant principal starts Jan. 5 at LMHS

Lincoln Middle/High School will have a new assistant principal in the new year.

Western Wayne Schools’ board hired Carrie Mastriano at its Wednesday, Dec. 10, meeting.

Mastriano said she enjoys helping students become “great adults” and develop real-world skills. Now that her own children are grown, she thought the timing was right to step up to new challenges in school leadership.

Mastriano’s degrees include a Master of Science in Education in Educational Leadership and an earlier master’s in special education from Indiana University. She brings decades of experience to WWS, including a background in special education, working as an administrator for district summer school programs, and leading district-level professional development.

She will leave her role as a special education teacher at Northeastern Middle School and start at WWS on Jan. 5.

Superintendent Kelly Plank said WWS is excited to see Mastriano’s student-centered approach.

“This hands-on experience in managing programs, staff, and complex student needs has prepared her well for the challenges of assistant principalship,” Plank said. “… Her experience in special education, instructional strategies, assessments, professional development, and data will help to make Lincoln a top performing school.”

LMHS Interim Principal Melissa Zimmerman couldn’t attend the meeting, but highlighted strong student engagement, improvements in school climate, and staff stepping up during leadership transitions.

Archery

Plank said WWS’ archery program will continue despite the loss of its elementary coaches.

According to the meeting agenda, coach Larry Smith was terminated, along with his partner, Victoria Bowers, who volunteered. Another elementary volunteer, Mike Sebring, resigned.

Bowers addressed the board and described the loss of students and tuition dollars to another district that she said would result from the staff changes. She advised the board to reflect on dismissing Smith given his dedication in building the archery program, and asked that they take steps to strengthen support for current and future students.

After the meeting, Plank would not comment to WWN about the changes, citing private personnel matters, but emphasized that elementary archery would continue and that the program is “near and dear” to her. Plank said she’s already heard from candidates interested in the elementary role.

In the meantime, all ages will practice twice a week for a couple hours after school. School Resource Officer Craig Pennington is the LMHS archery coach and community member Eric Burdette assists.

2026-27 calendar

WWS will start one week later than usual on Wednesday, Aug. 12, to avoid conflicting with Indiana State Fair. Students and teachers missing important early days when expectations are set can impact discipline throughout the year, Plank said.

Another change is students having two e-Learning days for teacher professional development (Sept. 4 and Feb. 12), plus an eLearning day for parent-teacher conferences (Oct. 14).

Breaks include Sept. 7, Oct. 26-30, Nov. 25-27, Dec. 21-Jan. 4, Jan. 18, Feb. 15 and March 22-26.

Any school cancellations will be considered eLearning days. The final student day is May 27, followed by June 6 graduation.

In other business

• The board increased substitute teacher pay, agreed to use rainy day funds for track renovations (cost is being determined) and approved the high ability program handbook.
• The board approved several policy updates on topics ranging from unpaid meals to medical needs and internal controls. Plank said no major changes were made and many revisions were to comply with state legislation updates.
• Approved donations: Archery: American Legion – $1,000. Food pantry: Roger and Connie Green and Dirt Dynamics, $300 each; American Legion, $200. Athletics: WWS, $200. Athletic training: Reid Health, $1,000.

Personnel

• Hires: Ben Burris, director of technology (He will be a WWS employee but shared with Peru and East Central Educational Service Center of New Castle); Mindy Foster, elementary instructional aide; Taylor Odom, transfer to elementary art instructional aide.
• Coaches: Kristin Brown and Scott Spehegar, fifth/sixth grade girls; Rachel Russell, bowling
• Departures: Kelsey Weber, middle school special education teacher; Carmen Shute, pre-K instructional aide; Tracy Moistner, RACC bus driver