A View from the Now-Retired Principal's Seat

I want to share a difficult topic with you.  I say this not to scare you but to advocate for young people in my school.  Please read on, and thank you--in advance. In my opinion, public schools are the foundation of our great society.  It's no secret I believe in public schools.  I went through public schools.  I work in a public school system, and our daughters are in public schools.  Public schools welcome all students.  In collaboration with our families and community, we teach individual students, and we also teach groups of students to become active and responsible members of their communities and our world. For a moment, please consider what these statements mean. What does it mean that we welcome all students?  What does it mean that we teach individual students?  What does it mean that we teach groups of students? One way to consider these statements is to think about what they don't mean. Obviously, we don't just teach kids who are a certain ethnicit

Recently, I've experienced a reoccurring theme from my health professionals.  They went  like this: "David, I'm glad you come in for your physical each fall, but you know I've been telling you for years you need to lose a little weight and exercise more." "David, while I can tell you floss each day, you need to do a better job brushing and flossing here." "David, your eyes are telling you it's time to get glasses.  This prescription is minimal, but it really will help you with your nighttime vision.  Also, have you thought about getting some readers?" We go to health professionals to help us navigate changes in our body.  We might not always like what we hear, but I am grateful my health professionals are honest with me. I feel the same way about our lawyer, our financial adviser, our carpenter, plumber, and electrician.  We need  professionals to help us develop plans so the future will be better.  The key for me is to put thos

What did you do on Saturday?  As a parent, I know I have spent many Saturdays doing chores, running errands, and working with our daughters at different activities and practices.  Last Saturday, I spent the entire day with my father as we attended the Historical Construction Equipment Association's national show in Bowling Green, OH.  Historical Construction Equipment Association....?  Yes, construction equipment. Bill Ascher, my father, is a retired mechanic.  Specifically, he was a heavy equipment mechanic.  He fixed, serviced and repaired bulldozers, graders, cranes, scrapers, backhoes, big trucks, and just about anything else you would see on a large construction site.  He learned his craft from his father--my grandfather--who was an auto and farm tractor mechanic.  As you can imagine, however, everything on heavy equipment is bigger.  The bolts are bigger.  The wheels are bigger.  The weights are bigger.  And in many instances, the repairs are bigger. My father, and I'

When was your best school year?  Was it your kindergarten year?  Your senior year?  Maybe you had an extraordinary learning experience in middle school, high school, or elementary school?  Some people recall not fully "getting it" until they were in college. As a teacher I have had years that are more memorable than others.  Every educator remembers his/her first year of teaching, but some teachers remember the years they were teamed with different colleagues.  I can remember getting new computers or working  in new buildings with different roles. It's  only fair to say that all of us have memories of years that were more challenging than others.  Some of those challenges were due to personal issues, but sometime we have relationships that are just not  as positive as they should be.  But sometimes our favorite years are due to making new and  long-lasting friends. Then there are the "glory" years.  What about when you and your team won a championship or a

I'm a school principal.  After ensuring my school is safe for everyone, my #1 priority is to make sure students learn.  It's no secret I love my job, but I do occasionally get frustrated when the "system" hyperfocuses on test scores, school rankings, or a narrow-minded view of what kids should be learning. I'm not saying schools should not be accountable for teaching to high academic standards.  I don't shy away from that accountability, but what about the myriad of other--extremely important--measures of progress? I consider it progress when: A child learns to solve his or her problems with other children with words rather than pushing or shoving A group of kids decide to pick-up trash on the playground to keep our school cleaner A student volunteers to welcome a new student to our school even though that may mean not being able to play with his or her friends at recess A student who is selectively mute enthusiastically helps with morning announceme

Do the little things matter? I sure hope so! The school where I am principal is a busy place--even in the summer.  Kids and families use the playground.  Teams use our front field for soccer practice.  Our classrooms are used for camps and  music classes.  With all of this use, I probably shouldn't be surprised that our parking lot occasionally has litter on it.  This morning I discovered a very dirty sock, a used coffee cup, and a water bottle on the ground.  While it's not a big deal, I just put these items in the garbage can by our front door. I don't share this to brag about picking up trash.  Rather, I am convinced that a clean school is harder to get dirty.  In other words, it's also easy to not pick up trash you may have dropped if you see other trash around the area.  Keeping a tidy school becomes a habit, and I would have it no other way. What scares me is what habits our young people are learning when other seemingly little things also become habits.

Dear 4th Graders, Can you believe your time at Novi Woods is almost finished?  For five years we've been, "Growing great leaders" and reminding each other that, "It takes teamwork to make the dream work!"  Now, you're ready to be 5th grade students at Novi Meadows.  This school will not be the same without you. You and I came to Novi Woods five years ago.  You were kindergarteners the first year I was appointed to be principal here, and I was scared and excited to be at Woods.  Many of you were also scared and excited.  I didn't completely know what I was doing or was even supposed to do.  Again, I've learned many of you felt the same way.  I really didn't know anyone at Woods.  Many of you were the same as me. We've gone sledding in the winter, and who can forget the elation you shared with me as kindergarten students when you were told you could go to the "big" playground.  There have been dunk tanks and whipped cream eating

Our own Karen Bulbuk was awarded our district's Support Person of the Year on March 30.  She was completely surprised, and her family was able to join us. Mrs. Bulbuk is "that" person.  You know the type--always happy, super flexible, a master at reading the room and understanding what needs to be done--behind the scenes.  Mrs. Bulbuk is a paraprofessional in our district.  Her primary responsibility is to help support students with special needs.  In reality, she does so much more. A student Mrs. Bulbuk started helping in 2002 joined us for the special reveal.  He told Mrs. Bulbuk's family and me why he continues to stay in contact with Mrs. Bulbuk after so many years.  I've paraphrased that story here: "When I came to this school district as an elementary student, I didn't speak any English, and I struggled to learn to read.  In fact, I'm dyslexic.  Mrs. Bulbuk taught me hand signals I could use to communicate with her.  She would sit

Are you happy?  Are you a happy person?  What makes you happy? No, really.  Are you happy? It turns out happiness is more important than we might originally have thought.  Shawn Achor, a Harvard researcher and motivational speaker, wrote a book, The Happiness Advantage, in 2010, and a group of my staff and I are currently reading it for a book study.  The study really started with a Ted Talk that I shared during a staff meeting.  Achor presents his research on happiness, and I encourage everyone to watch it here . Achor proves that our conventional wisdom of happiness is wrong.  We used to think the following: I get paid well, which makes me happy. Therefore, I'm more productive. Research has proven that the formula looks more like: I choose to be happy. My happiness makes me more productive. Therefore, I get paid more. The book reiterates the Ted Talk, but then it goes into further research and practical strategies that everyone can apply to be more happy.  

Dear Criminal, I don't believe I know you but as I write this, it's been less than 12 hours since you tried to break into my home.  While I am grateful neither my wife, two teen-aged daughters, nor I were home, I'm even  more grateful you were unable to get beyond our garage and were apparently scared away because of our alarm system.  You did not take anything physical, and the damage to our doors that you kicked-in can be repaired.  Still, you did take something that in my restless sleep last night I realized is even more precious than anything my family or I have or own. Twenty years ago my wife and I built our house.  We contracted with professionals to design and build a house where we could raise a family and welcome friends.  We've hosted birthday parties, church gatherings, prayer groups, school get-togethers, team celebrations, and even Daisy troop meetings when our girls were young.  Our home is where we want our children and our children's friends to

Everyone expects schools to teach academic skills, but we teach so much more than content knowledge and procedures.  I recently received the following letter in US Mail.  It will explain exactly what I mean. Dear Mr. Ascher First of all, a very happy 2016 to you and the school staff! Until my very talkative youngest son went to Kindergarten class last school year,  I  confess I did not know that Novi Woods also holds tornado and lock down drills in addition to fire drills.  He came home and chattered about hiding in the bathroom for the tornado drill, as well as going to the kitchen for the lock down drill, and that they had to remain very quiet.  As a parent, of course, I am very happy that our school is taking all of these safety precautions for the kids. This past Christmas night, we were in Orlando, Florida.  Specifically, we were seated at the back of a restaurant in Disney Springs, when diners at the front of our restaurant started screaming and running further in