Photo by Stephen Seppyes
Krueger principal Josh Malone (above) leads the Wolves with a good heart and strong values.
KMS Principal Josh Malone has students’ best interests at heart
By Connor Vandenbergh
Staff writer
MICHIGAN CITY – More than anything, Krueger Middle School Principal Josh Malone is proud of his students.
“(We have) great kids that want to learn, they enjoy being here, and to me that’s the best,” Malone said. “Especially, too, when you hear the kids’ success stories when they make it to high school.”
Malone has his own success story.
He grew up in Chesterton and spent most of his time playing outside.
“This was in the nineties, so this was before all your phones, computers and all that stuff – devices, everything – we didn’t have that,” Malone said.
When he was in school, his favorite class was gym.
“(It’s) not even debatable,” Malone said.
He played baseball and basketball at Chesterton High School. Malone hit a game-winning 3-pointer against Lake Central High School, and won a sectional title in 2004 as a senior with the Trojans’ baseball team.
He had a baseball coach and teacher, Doug Uehling, who helped him keep going in baseball and inspired him to become a teacher.
In college, he played baseball at the University of Southern Indiana. The team made it to the NCAA Division II World Series, and got third place.
“There’s so many valuable lessons that can be learned and gained through athletics,” Malone said. “Participating on a team, learning to win graciously. When you lose, lose graciously, and learn from it.”
Malone earned a Master’s degree at Ball State University.
Before becoming a principal, he was a middle school wellness teacher for Michigan City Area Schools.
“To this day, being a gym teacher is one of the best jobs I have ever had,” Malone said.
He was also head varsity baseball coach at Michigan City High School.
As a coach and a principal, he has a mindset of learning from failure.
“How do you handle failure?” Malone said. “Are you someone that’s gonna sit and dwell about it and blame other people for it, or are you gonna sit and look in the mirror and say, ‘All right, I gotta do better next time and here’s how I’m gonna do that.’”
Malone loves being a principal, especially at Krueger, and he likes being able to impact the whole school.
He also enjoys working with the teachers on interventions.
“Working with the teachers is awesome,” he said.
One teacher, Dorothea Holley, likes bantering with Malone about Georgia vs. Tennessee in college football.
She also appreciates how calmly he handles things.
“No matter how crazy things get, he always addresses it as calmly as he can,” Holley said.
The guidance counselor, Karen Hartman, said Malone likes to send her videos of red pandas. She said he really likes red pandas, and he thinks it would be cool to have a school pet red panda.
Hartman and Malone work well together and have a good attitude even when things get tough. Hartman said that Malone is motivated by doing what is best for the students.
“He’s one of the best principals I’ve ever worked with.” she said.
Malone has an 8-year-old son named Grant, and a 5-year-old daughter named Taylor. He explained how being a parent made him a better principal.
“You see how you would want your kids treated when they go to school,” he said.
For the future, Malone wants the school to keep improving.
“Hopefully our kids continue to keep growing academically, behaviorally, socially and emotionally,” he said. “(And) that they are enjoying their time here.”