We welcome a new year of change with the many construction projects in place, but that is not the only thing that has changed around BHS. On Sept. 5, 2023, we welcomed our new principal Kim Lippe to BHS from her previous school HSE.
Lippe hasn’t always been in education, however. Early on, after Lippe graduated from college, she went into banking. While not wanting to pursue this further, she transferred into human resources. Finding a love for meeting people, she went back to college to pursue her dreams of teaching. “I think I’ve always had it in the back of my mind to be a teacher… I would say I’m a people person,” Lippe said. It was a calling for Lippe, and although people discouraged her from going into teaching, she feels as though it is such an important position for people to pursue.
Lippe’s first teaching job after going back to school to get her secondary masters degree and a teaching license was at Warren Central High School. She taught social studies, economics, US history and psychology. Lippe also was the boys head tennis coach and the girls assistant coach. She continued to work at a few other schools and began her first assistant principal job at Huntington North High School. Then from there she decided to move back to the Indianapolis area to pursue working at HSE.
When Lippe decided to leave HSE as the assistant superintendent, many people questioned why she would leave her position for a principal position at a local high school. “I did not view being the principal of a premiere high school as a step backwards when you hear people talk about Brownsburg and the academic excellence, the people, the students and the staff,” Lippe said. Lippe has traveled to many different schools and seen many different types of communities within school districts. “The community is so supportive,” Lippe said. She plans on attending more sports games and student functions to see what Brownsburg offers its community. So far she has attended a football game, a tennis match and sat in on a SALT (Student Athletic Leadership Team) meeting.
Lippe has already created goals for herself and for BHS. One of them includes being there for the students and being their biggest advocates. The other is to raise academics. “As an administrative team here, we can look at that data and make those data driven decisions to help support students. We need to close the achievement gap,” Lippe said. While looking at how the students perform, this data can provide the administrators with the knowledge needed to decide what type of support to provide. Brownsburg is placed in the top 5% of all schools in Ind. with test scores.
Assistant superintendent Matt Kegley has worked closely alongside Lippe for much of his career. While Kegley is currently being appointed by the HSE board to be interim superintendent, Kegley has seen the lasting impact that Lippe has left on HSE. “She will be thought of as a student-first educator who values the work that teachers and others do each day to support their students. I have had the opportunity to see former students come up to her to say hi and reconnect, years after she was their principal. That is the type of positive impact she has left on our district,” Kegley said. While Lippe has had an impact on her students in her previous HSE she plans on making more impacts on the students of BHS. She also plans on earning her doctorate from Ball State as soon as next year while working through her first year of principal at BHS.
Time is limited while working as principal of BHS. Plus earning a doctorate on top of that reduces even more time. “I have to be intentional about carving out time; the way they encourage you to do this is to create a schedule. It’s a lot of work, but it’s been a goal of mine to work for that doctorate,” Lippe said.
As Lippe continues to work for her goals as principal at BHS, she also wants to complete some of her bucket list items like renting a motorcycle and riding around the Big Island in HI. Other uses of her time include spending time with her son, watching tennis or connecting with students and staff members.
“Whether it is with students or staff members, Ms. Lippe always finds a way to connect with those she is working with. She wants what is best for all individuals and works with them to achieve that goal,” Kegley said.
