After 15 years, principal Tim Isaacs stepped down as Central’s head administrator, and for Kim Case, with her extensive career and work experience as an educator and her honest and innovative perspective, her role as principal could only be described as a full-circle moment.
“It’s hard to put into words,” Case expressed about her role at Central. “It’s almost surreal to have started my career here, to have watched my children graduate from here, to honestly not think that I was ever going to be back. I still had connections here: folks I cared about, and ties to Central Hardin. I just never thought that I would be back, much less the one making decisions, but it’s been really exciting,” adding that to her, “..This is home. I chose here for my children, I chose to begin my career here, and I’m choosing to end my career here. So that makes me excited to just be here and be back a part of Central.”
Case grew up in Hardin County and attended Howevalley, an elementary through eighth grade school, then West Hardin High School. Case graduated in 1990, the last year West Hardin was a high school and during the time that Central was being built; her mom was even on the planning committee to decide what Central’s colors were.
After graduation, Case went to ECTC for one year, then attended Campbellsville University, earning her undergraduate degree in English. Next, she received a degree in counseling through Western Kentucky University. Case was perseverant in completing her education to pursue a career as a guidance counselor.
“I thought ‘I don’t want to do anything else, I just want to be a guidance counselor.’”
But soon one decision would change the course of her career.
“I had a call from a good friend, who said, ’Have you ever thought about being an administrator?’ and I said, ’No, I haven’t,’”Case recounted. “Well, I think you’d be really good. Why don’t you think about it?” was the response. So, Case returned to school once again and this time, earned an administrative degree at the age of 45. “Here I am,” Case said.
Case brings an insightful perspective to Central from her work experiences, having been a guidance counselor, transition coach, and assistant principal.
“The only thing I haven’t done was to be a custodian or a cafeteria worker, but I’m a mom, so I’ve cleaned up a lot of messes and I’ve cooked a lot of meals,” Case joked.
Because of these experiences, Case has learned a valuable lesson.
“I can look at what others are doing and not only be sympathetic to whatever’s going on, but empathetic as well, because I’ve been there, done that, felt the pain, the glory, everything in between that goes along with it. So hopefully that helps me to be more connected and understanding with everybody here.”
Case describes the feeling as being a student her whole life, although she hopes that “you all are done with [choosing] your careers before you hit 45, I don’t wish that on anyone, but it’s worked out for me.”
Along with various job experiences, the locations have all been local. Case has worked at all five high schools in Hardin County, plus two neighboring high schools in the area.
“I’m very familiar with lots of different high schools in this area: Central, John Hardin, and North Hardin, and that gives me a pretty unique perspective too, having taught at all three here within Hardin County, and my oldest graduated from E Town. I bring that experience,” Case explained. “I think sometimes when you’ve been to other places and you see the good things that other people are doing, you can bring and share that, change it a bit, and make us even better.”
Outside of school, although Case describes herself as a simple person and joked that “I choose to spend my free time at school a lot. I’m kind of a nerd,” Case’s happy place is near water, and she loves to go to the beach. “I don’t know if I was a sailor or a mermaid or a fish in a former life because I love water,” Case quipped. On a thoughtful note, “It just brings me peace when I’m around it.”
That said, Case has big plans for Central: what does it mean to be your Bruin best? Case introduced this idea at our class meetings during the first full week of school. Whether it’s with academics, athletics, extracurriculars, or just to be a good human.”
Case admits that the concept’s name is “cheesy, and I get that people are going to look at me and say, ‘that’s kind of cheesy, Ms. Case,’” but she believes that “it is something. It’s simple but effective. It may look different than others, but it’s okay if you’re trying to be a good teammate, member, whatever it applies to.”
With that in mind, a main goal Case plans to focus on for this school year is culture and academics. She noted that she aims to “not necessarily improve, because I think that we have a good student culture and academics, but I think that we can take the good and make it better, and in doing so, lead to Bruin best.”
