INDIANAPOLIS (WOWO)–  Marilyn Hissong, superintendent of East Allen County Schools (EACS), was chosen by members of the Indiana Association of Public School Superintendents (IAPSS) as Indiana’s Superintendent of the Year for 2024, and will represent Indiana in the national Superintendent of the Year competition.

Hissong began her career in EACS as a school teacher and volleyball coach. She then moved into the role of
principal, later serving as the district’s director of curriculum, assistant superintendent, and became the district’s superintendent in 2017.

“As of July 1, 2023, I had the extreme privilege and honor of completing my 30th year in education, all which
has been with East Allen County Schools,” said Hissong.

EACS is unique due to its suburban, rural, and urban composition. The district covers 344 square miles,
encompassing southeast Fort Wayne and all of Leo-Cedarville, Harlan, Grabill, Woodburn, Hoagland, Monroeville and New Haven. The district consists of 15 schools serving a diverse population of 9,958 students. In one school’s attendance area, 60 percent of the population consists of Burmese students.

To meet the needs of so many different areas, in 2010 the district began the adventure of writing its own
elementary and junior high school curriculum, created by its own teachers. The process was later expanded to include writing the district’s own curriculum for high school students. These teachers come together every summer to rework the curriculum as needed.

Hissong is a graduate of Ball State University and Indiana-Purdue University.