As some of you already know, I have accepted a position as superintendent for Rudyard Area Schools. This was not an easy decision. I love it here in Cassopolis. I have stated in the past and truly believe that the teachers and staff at our building, and indeed in our district, are some of the most hard-working, kid-oriented, achievement-driven professionals it has ever been my privilege to work with. We have accomplished much at Ross Beatty since I arrived, and I cannot take credit for anything other than facilitating the changes. The true changes came not from me, but from the teachers and staff.
What follows is an attempt to delineate those accomplishments so the reader can get a sense of what has happened in the last four years and where we are now. Four years ago the board started us on a process inspired by Dr. Pat Davenport. The board took this step because they recognized that if we adopted it, our achievement would improve. This process takes from many places, but primarily from Larry Lezotte’s Effective Schools, Total Quality Management, and the Baldrige Management Model. The 8-step process, also referred to as the Plan/Do/Check/Act process is led by two basic premises.
The first is that all the teachers will be involved in its development. This is not a top down model, but a bottom up one. The second is that achievement is everyone’s business. Although anything brought into the school will be shaped by the individuals in it, the idea that first each major challenge is met by the process is an excellent way to begin.
In its simplest form the process works as follows. A challenge is identified. The challenge is then researched and brought into better focus by using all forms of available data. This is often done by departments, department heads, administration or some other individual who is acting in a leadership role. Next the data is presented to the whole building and a plan to address the problem is developed. After that the plan is put into action. Part of the plan includes a way to assess if the plan is working and it is checked using that assessment. From there the plan is modified, again based on the data and re-implemented in its new incarnation. After that, it starts all over again and just repeats.
Every program brought in, or potentially brought in, goes through this process. It builds buy-in and consensus, and it has worked. In the past four years our ACT scores have improved at twice the rate of the state. Our writing scores have improved by 25%. We won an award from the Michigan Association of Secondary School Principals for using data to improve achievement. This is not a flash in the pan, but true sustainable change that will continue long after I move on.
Because of the hard work, dedication and commitment of our staff, Cassopolis students can complete 47 college credits and never leave the building. These credits are in math, English, science, art, business, computers, and agriculture with health and PE being added this coming year. They can complete two AP courses with the hope to increase it to 4. They can be part of a nationally ranked FFA program, or part of 7 varsity sports. They can be part of a band that produces performances that in this past year were regarded as the best since I arrived. They can perform in plays that include members from 4-rangers to the staff and everyone in between. The opportunities continue to expand!
Our name is becoming known for what we do and how we have improved. Several districts, including Berrien Springs, Dowagiac, Buchanan, the Strategic Learning Institute (a turn-around company for the lowest five percent schools in Illinois), and many more have come to spend a day researching our Enrichment/Tutorial model because of the improvement our building has made with achievement. In addition, there have been invitations to present this same model at MASSP annual conference, the MEA annual conference, and the State Conference on Assessment, and we have.
Some accomplishments are measured by the physical things brought to the table. Most recently our district was named as a member of a consortium to receive 3-5 million dollars worth of technology and although we may not win the grant we were able to get one classroom pilot set up as a one-to-one computer class for mathematics in the 7th grade.
The vision for these accomplishments stems from a board-driven, teacher-supported, district-wide desire to do more than leave no child behind, but instead to help every student reach his or her full potential so that when they move to what's next it will be as global competitors who never have to worry about working two or three jobs to make ends meet. The students will have the skills and desire to learn what it takes to stay ahead of the game and always find a new, high-paying job. Cassopolis engages them and makes them into life-long learners who will achieve. I am proud to be a part of this vision and was honored to work with the teachers who are committed to it. Our students will succeed because of those teachers and their desire to do what it takes to help them learn.
Cassopolis will always hold a special place in my heart and I will miss it, the teachers, the community and all it does each and every day for its students.
Anthony Habra
