Angela Blessing Named Indiana High School Principal of the Year

Writer / Julie Yates
Photography Provided

Kokomo High School principal Angela Blessing was named the 2023 Indiana High School Principal of the Year by the Indiana Association of School Principals (IASP).

Already the High School Principal of the Year for District Five, she was chosen for the state title from a talented field of contenders representing other districts. Following the award ceremony at the IASP’s annual fall professional conference in Indianapolis, Blessing expressed her gratitude for both the honor and the positive light it will shine on Kokomo High School.  

Ironically, Blessing never considered being a principal at the high school level. Before earning an administrative license from Butler University, she got her undergraduate degree in elementary education. She was serving as principal at Bon Air Middle School when the position at Kokomo High School dropped in her lap.

“I took the job as principal of Kokomo High School in the middle of the 2015-16 school year,” she says. “[Superintendent] Dr. Michael Sargent said, ‘You are coming to the high school. You would be a great fit.’ I said, ‘No, I’m not. I’m a middle school principal.’ But I did and it turned out to be the best place for me.”

Blessing has a strong desire to ensure that all students feel they can succeed. Although she has had many varied experiences with education in her life, two stand out. The first happened when she was in elementary school.

“When I was a little girl in first grade, I had an experience with a challenging teacher,” she says. “It hit me that I wanted a great place to go to school. My desire moving forward from that was I knew I wanted to make sure school was where all felt loved and cared for.”

“Later, after graduating from Anderson University I spent my first couple of years teaching at Anderson Community Schools,” she continues. “It was a neighborhood school in a high-poverty area, and no one wanted to teach there because it was going to be closed. My mentor teacher and I walked around the area on foot so I could know about the kids I was teaching. I looped with my 16 students from fourth grade up to fifth, and we became a family. I knew I loved them, and I wanted them to be successful. The community adopted me, and I learned teaching is not just about the content. I still communicate with many of those students today.”

After her time in Anderson, Blessing moved on to Carmel Clay Schools where she taught elementary school and later became an elementary school assistant principal. Eventually she became principal at Bon Air Middle School before moving to Kokomo High School. Today she lives in Kokomo with her husband, Aaron, and their two sons.

“We made it our goal to live where we worked,” she says. “It is so important to know the community where you live and where you teach, to advocate for the school. My husband is a teacher at the high school, and my son is a senior there. My youngest is a fifth-grader at Wallace. Our whole family bleeds red, white and blue, and we attend every event possible.”

Blessing shares that when she took on the job as Kokomo High School principal, she thought it was important not to immediately start making a lot of changes. She felt it was important to reach out to individuals who had been there a long time. They helped her understand the reasons things were done certain ways; she realized those things would only be discovered by asking. The staff helped her uncover what worked and what didn’t.

Blessing is proud of several developments that have happened under her watch. For example, community partnerships have been cultivated, and dual-credit courses that count toward college credits and certifications have been developed. The graduation rate is above 95%. However, the initiative Angela Blessing is most proud of is the school’s motto, “Legacy Matters.”

“High school kids want to be part of something bigger than themselves,” she says. “‘Legacy Matters’ unites and instills a love of Kokomo as a place to come back to, but with the idea of always improving. Part of the reason our graduation rate has improved is because there are so many options and choices for students; we provide pathways for every learner. We prepare them for college, the work force or the military. Along the way, students change so much from their freshman year to their senior year. I’m thankful that I’ve had the opportunity to see firsthand how our school challenges and mentors my own children. I wish other parents could see what I do daily.”

“I am so honored to receive this award, especially to showcase how great Kokomo High School is,” Angela Blessing adds. “I couldn’t be happier to be part of Howard County and the positive changes going on here. Kokomo High School is a place where students get tremendous opportunities to succeed, fail, grow, and figure out their future. I think people need to know how awesome our students are and what an amazing place Kokomo High School is.”