Yes, it's true

Yes, it's true.  After 30 years as a public educator, teacher, and administrator I will be retiring at the end of this school year.  To say the feelings are bittersweet is perhaps the greatest understatement I have ever uttered.  Yet, I am at peace.

While I will be more reflective about my last 30 years in future posts, I want to make something 100% clear; I am retiring now because I have had the most rewarding and fulfilling career I could have ever imagined.  I taught 5th grade for two years in Indiana, and over the last 28 years in Novi I have taught 5th, 6th, and 1st grades.  I was a co-principal at Novi Meadows, and I have been principal at Novi Woods since 2011. 

There have, of course, been stumbles and struggles, but the joy and relationships I have built could extend multiple lifetimes.   I only hope I have been able to return and inspire just some of the joy, love for learning, and kindness that has come to me from colleagues, parents, families, this community, and our students.

We still have a lot of this school year left, and my next responsibility is to help our students understand the upcoming changes.  Parents, please discuss my announcement with your children.  I created this video just for them, and I have intentionally released this information on a Friday evening to give you time to share with your family.  I alerted Superintendent Mainka earlier this week so our District leadership has as much time as possible to plan for the the future success of Novi Woods Elementary School.  It's very important to me that my transition does not take away from our students and their learning and growth.   

Novi Woods has a long history of being an amazing building and community, and I will do all I can to work with our team and the District processes and systems to ensure a smooth transition for the next principal of this most-remarkable school.  Even more, I am confident the best is yet to come for Novi and Novi Woods! 

It has been an absolute privilege to work and grow in Novi, and I am thankful for the opportunity to have been a professional educator in an environment that has supported me, my amazing colleagues, and our young people.  I am a better teacher, leader, and person because of the Novi Community School District, and for that I will forever be grateful.  Now, we need to collaborate to create the next chapter for our students and community.


Humbly,

David Ascher




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