When Mindy Lewis was elected to the Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp. school board in 1996, she came with her own agenda revolving around diversity.
The first African American to serve on the district’s school board, Lewis made it a priority to promote diversity in the community and the school corporation.
Lewis was instrumental in making Martin Luther King, Jr. Day a day of service in the community. She believed in giving students multiple pathways to succeed. Most importantly, as former BCSC superintendent John Quick recalls, Lewis was “just a person who had a great deal of empathy.”
At age 65, Lewis died Sunday. Still, her legacy lives on.
“While she saw her mission as serving as an active voice for marginalized students within the school district, she wanted to make sure her decisions as a board member would benefit all students,” said Bill Jensen, BCSC’s director of secondary education.
Jensen, who served as principal at Columbus East High School during Lewis’ tenure on the school board, remembers Lewis as someone who was intense and focused. Nevertheless, he said she knew how to balance that intensity with humor, a smile and “a laugh that would light up a board meeting.”
For more on this story, see Wednesday’s Republic.
