Penn’s Josiah Parker named Indiana Assistant Principal of the Year

Penn High School Assistant Principal Josiah Parker has been named the 2025 State Assistant Principal of the Year by the Indiana Association of School Principals (IASP).

“We are incredibly proud of Mr. Parker for being named the Indiana Assistant Principal of the Year,”  Penn High School Principal Dr. Sean Galiher said. “Josiah is a dedicated and committed colleague who works diligently to ensure we create engaging and authentic learning experiences for our students. Penn is a better place as a result of his creativity and commitment to all students and staff.”

Photo Gallery posted below.

Parker, who has been at Penn since 2014, was named District Assistant Principal of District 2 prior to the state honor.

District Assistant Principals of the Year are elected by their peers from 12 districts in Indiana.

Parker was one of the leaders of the heralded “Hand Of Grace” project in which Penn Robotics students created a prosthetic arm for a third-grade Madison Elementary student using 3-D printer technology.

He has been Penn’s point person strengthening the high school’s connection to the community, including helping to organize Penn’s annual College and Career Fair at Penn with the P-H-M Education Foundation.

“Community engagement has been the core of my educational philosophy,” Parker said. “This was introduced to me by my mentor and high school architecture teacher Mickey Schulze. The impact those experiences had in my life and building on those as an educator have proven again and again the importance of connecting our school to our community.”

Working with the South Bend Regional Chamber on the Work Based Learning Collaborative, Educator Externships, Career focused content creation (Manufacturing, Construction Trades, Healthcare), Parker works to make connections with community partners to expand real world career opportunities available to Penn students. Some of Parker’s other community connections include:

• South Bend Career Center Planning Committee, Elkhart Area Career Center Advisory Board, Ivy Tech Advisory Board and the creation of the Penn Partnership Team (Advisory Board)
• State and National work as an Indiana High School Education Committee member for CEMETS iLab (bringing the Swiss apprenticeship model to Indiana), a member of the US Chamber of Commerce’s TPM Academy of Indiana (advancing workforce development), Member of The 75 Million Network of Jobs for the Future (job placement and job quality)

Parker was also involved in the Innovation Challenge (local schools design innovations for groups in the community like ADEC, Lime Bike, Sibley Machining) and Mission to Engineering (creating unique designs for individuals in need like Voice for Braylen, Engineering Ella, Innovations for Isaiah, Connecting with Cooper, Project Rubber Ducky, Scooter Assist, and Zephan’s Magic Wheelchair Hulk project).

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