A shakeup is coming to Shelbyville Central Schools.

Superintendent Mary Harper (photo, center) announced her intention to retire following the completion of this school year.

As Shelby County’s largest school system searches for a new superintendent, Shelbyville Middle School principal Ryan Mikus will be preparing to become the district’s Director of Student Accountability.

SMS assistant principal Wes Hall will ascend to principal at the middle school and SMS athletic director Rex Olds will become the assistant principal.

Harper made her intentions public Wednesday night at the Shelbyville Central Schools monthly board meeting.

“I just have to say I am so lucky to be able to serve in the community where I live and I love,” said Harper. “The hardest part is leaving the people. Shelbyville has had so many dedicated educators and staff that care about kids, care about their families … this school board is so lucky.”

Shelbyville assistant principal Wes Hall, left, will become Shelbyville Middle School principal in 2022 after current principal Ryan Mikus, right, steps into a new role created by the district, Director of Student Accountability.

Mikus will start his new position on July 1, 2022.

“I will oversee a lot of the testing, state and national accountability regulations that they have in place for schools and corporations,” said Mikus after the meeting. “I will work with all the schools, not just the middle school, and not just with certain data. I will look at different assessments we have throughout the year and see what kind of practices we can do to support students based on the evidence we see.”

Leaving SMS will be tough he admitted, but the opportunity to analyze data to better the Shelbyville educational experience was a tremendous draw.

“I love data. I like seeing the proof and the evidence that what we are doing is working or what we need to do differently,” said Mikus. “I feel like the data and those numbers give us that evidence and objective so we can move forward and make better decisions to further instruction.”

The transition at SMS should go seamlessly with Hall and Olds having the remainder of the 2021-2022 school year to prepare for their new roles.

“Telling the staff got to me a little bit,” said Mikus, “but it is reassuring to know that the two guys following into the leadership positions will do a great job.”