Wayne Barker is superintendent of schools in Northwest Allen County Schools, based in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
He started his career in this district as a teacher and coach. He loved his experiences as a coach and continues to apply his coaching skills to build teams among educators in the school districts he has led.
Northwest Allen County Schools currently serves approximately 8,000 students in 11 schools. The district has seen steady growth in the past few years and is anticipating growth will accelerate in the next few years.
Barker has been a school administrator for 27 years, starting as an assistant principal in the Bluffton-Harrison Metropolitan School District in 1995, and later becoming that district’s superintendent in 2009.
From 2019 to June of 2022, he served as superintendent to the School City of Mishawaka.
Barker is a graduate of Ball State University. He earned a master’s degree from Indiana University-Purdue University at Fort Wayne, and his Ed. S. degree from Indiana University – Bloomington.
He was an early adopter of digital learning and has made presentations to more than 60 Indiana school districts implementing 1:1 digital learning initiative. He is also a Lifetime Certified Trainer in the Framework for Understanding Poverty.
Barker has served on the Board of Trustees for the Studebaker National Museum, Bluffton Regional Hospital and the Wells County Chamber of Commerce. He serves on the Distinguished Service Awards Committee for the Indiana Association of Public School Superintendents and participates in two superintendent study councils. Barker is also a member of the Indiana School Boards Association.
Past AASA Indiana Superintendent of the Year Winners:
2022 Indiana Superintendent of the Year: David Clendening
2021 Indiana Superintendent of the Year: Kent Deckoninck
2020 Indiana Superintendent of the Year: Philip Downs
About the Award:
The Superintendent of the Year program, sponsored by First Student and AASA, pays tribute to the talent and vision of the men and women who lead the nation’s public schools.
State-level winners are selected on the following criteria:
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- Leadership for Learning
- Communication
- Professionalism
- Community Involvement