Bosse’s New Leader Ready to Meet Goals

By JOHN MARTIN, Courier & Press staff writer 464-7594 or martinj@courierpress.com

Bosse High School’s new principal doesn’t scream and yell very much.

“I’m not a Joe Clark,” William Roberts said, referring to the tough New Jersey high school principal portrayed in the movie “Lean on Me” by Morgan Freeman. “I don’t need a baseball bat.”

Roberts said his style is to lead by example, “set high standards and help individuals meet those standards.”

The 37-year-old is Bosse’s first new principal in 22 years. He was hired last spring to replace Bob Adams, who retired.

A native of Gary, Ind., Roberts has an undergraduate degree from Valparaiso University and a master’s degree from Purdue University.

Married and the father of four children, he has been a high school assistant principal in both Terre Haute, Ind., and Gary.

At Gary, where he also taught as a history teacher, Roberts had administrative roles as dean of students and an expulsion examiner.

Having gained experience in student discipline, facilities management and the classroom, Roberts said he was ready to become a principal, and part of the Bosse’s appeal was the size of the school.

With about 900 students, it’s the smallest Evansville- Vanderburgh School Corp. high school.

“(Bosse) is actually the smallest school I’ve been in,” Roberts said.

“In Gary our school populations were over 1,000. In Terre Haute we had over 2,100 students. So with the opportunity to become a principal, seeing the size of the school, I thought it was manageable.”

Additionally, “I had heard something about the history of Bosse, how beautiful the facility was and that it had a great staff.

“I have found those things to be true. Bosse High School reminds me of some of the older schools in Gary.”

Bosse’s priorities include improved scores on the Indiana Standards for Educational Progress-Plus (ISTEP) test and higher graduation rates, Roberts said.

Bosse, which has the highest rate of poverty among city high schools, has trailed other schools in those areas.

Roberts said his approach will be to do whatever is required to accomplish the goals.

He vowed to be visible throughout the school.

“I’ll be in the hallways. Teachers will see me, students will see me. I’ll go in classrooms,” he said.

(c) 2007 Evansville Courier & Press. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.