DAVID MAMARIL HOROWITZ

david.horowitz@bgdailynews.com

Amy Sample remembers when her childhood basketball coach asked what she wanted to do in life. Then 10 years old, she had no clue what he was talking about. That’s when the coach, Al Lykins at Beth Haven in Louisville, said he saw her helping and coaching others.

“I think those little words like that – those things we say to kids when they’re real little – those things stuck with me and gave me confidence (that), ‘Yeah, maybe that is something I want to do in my life,’ ” Sample said. “I just think those moments for students are so important, and we’ve got to give them as many as possible as educators.”

Forty-nine years old, she’s taught in classrooms for 14 years. Most recently, she was the principal, senior vice president and chief operating officer at Saint Xavier High School in Kentucky. Recently, the Bowling Green Independent School District announced Sample as its new director of instructional programs.

She’ll oversee curriculum and teacher resources, including standards alignment and reporting. Also under her purview are state and federal assessments, professional learning, multilingual learner programming, grants and BGISD’s comprehensive improvement planning process.

“I am confident that Dr. Sample’s proven ability to lead collaboratively, support teachers, promote equity, and implement successful initiatives, will be invaluable in advancing the goals of BGISD,” BGISD Superintendent Gary Fields wrote in a statement.

Asked about priorities, Sample said her role is to provide as much support to people and serve them the best she can.

“I think I’m very fortunate to be coming into a system that already has so many great things in place – the programming and curriculum, the people – they’re all amazing,” she said.

Sample added that her first year will be focused on learning and understanding the system, the people and student population, and then possibly look at changes down the road.

Team-building has always been her focus, she added. Sample intends to learn as many people as she can as quickly as she’s able and build collaborative teams and work from there.

The government’s role in public education is an area that’s newer to Sample, so she’s studied for months to prepare for her new role. A new potential challenge Sample anticipates is a fear of the unknown concerning the U.S. Department of Education, she said.

But overall, Sample likens going from a Catholic school to a public school system to her previous transition from an all-girls school to an all-boys school. People would ask how she handled the difference – to which she says that education is education.

“They just need to know that you love them, you’re going to hold them accountable and you’re going to do your very best,” she said. “I think that’s universal … That’s what I hope to give them.”

Sample assumes the role from Darlene Porter, who is retiring, according to BGISD.

A lifelong Louisville resident, Sample knew she wanted to teach since she was a junior at Mercy Academy.

“I wanted students to have the same experience that I had in high school, because I just felt so lucky and blessed,” she said. “So, that became my mission.”

At Saint Xavier High, she’s additionally served as an English teacher and EXCEL Coordinator for Students with Diverse Learning Needs as well as an assistant principal. Previously, she was principal at Mercy Academy. She’s also led a curriculum redesign at both schools – though Sample added that BGISD already has a great curriculum, and she doesn’t see the district needing a redesign.

Concerning the move, Sample said that she’s always found herself drawn to the Bowling Green area. One of her colleagues at Saint Xavier, football coach Kevin Wallace, has also shared nothing but praise for the Bowling Green community, she added. Wallace is a former coach at Warren East and most recently at Bowling Green High.

Then, there’s the job itself: Being a principal is exhausting if done right, entailing much navigation through administrative and operational systems, she said. For Sample, working directly on teaching and learning is the part of the job that inspires her most, she said.

“I think that’s why any of us get into education – and that’s (…) giving a young person every opportunity that they can in this world …,” she said.