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Making The Grade: Ross Kasun
04/30/2009
A “Super”intendent who is really looking out for our kids.
Follow your dream. The previous sentence is a simple one that uses few words, yet sums up the ideal quest. Following our passions is not always easy, and few of us are blessed with the chance to actually pursue our dreams. Ross Kasun, Colts Neck Township’s School Superintendent, has been fortunate in that he is indeed living that ideal and pursuing his dream. Kasun originally began a career in the field of finance.He realized that although he was successful in that field, it was not what he truly wanted to be doing with his life. He knew he loved working with children. He spent time coaching and had a penchant for teaching. He decided to take a chance and made a bold decision to start a new career in the field of education. To make this dream a reality, Kasun went back to school to acquire the appropriate credentials and found himself juggling the demands of work, school, and family as part of his mission to become an educator (during this time Ross married and he and his wife had two children). Finally...a dream realized!He grew quickly in his new profession. Starting out as a kindergarten teacher, Ross went on to teach other grades, then became an administrator, and now serves as Colts Neck’s Superintendent. He is enthusiastic and quite knowledgeable about education, and his drive and positive attitude are contagious. He is dedicated to meeting the needs of each child in his care, and is focused on nurturing each student in the district to ensure each one is given the opportunity to reach his or her highest potential. Superintendent Kasun was kind enough to share his thoughts with Living In Colts Neck.
LICN: How long have you been the superintendent of Colts Neck’s Board of Education?
RK: I began in August.
LICN: And prior to coming to Colts Neck, what was your background… your experience, educational training, credentials?
RK: I was the assistant superintendent in Summit. That was for 3 years. Before that I was a principal in the Milburn school district. Actually, my school was in Short Hills. That was for 5 years. Before that I was an assistant principal in South Orange/Maplewood.
LICN: So you circled that area!
RK: I have always lived in Monmouth County [and] it’s nice not driving up the Parkway anymore!
LICN: Do you have any experience in other industries or fields?
RK: I started off as a finance major. I worked in business for almost 5 years. At that time I was dating my wife, who was teaching. I was very involved with her school. I was coaching sports, and I realized that if I was going to work my entire life (as I pretty much knew I would have to) that I really wanted to work with kids and make a difference. So I went back to school. For undergrad I went to Seton Hall. I made a lot of great connections there and actually worked with P. J. Carlissimo. P.J. was the basketball coach at the time, so my position required a lot of interaction and planning with the program. I went back and got a graduate assistantship for education, so I left finance. When I got my master’s in elementary education, I got a job right away. Shortly after that I started to go for my degree in administration at Rutgers.
LICN: What drew you to elementary education instead of upper levels like high school?
RK: It was the age of the kids I was working with and coaching. My wife was working in an elementary school and at that point it seemed a good fit for me.
LICN: Did you spend any time in the classroom or did you start out in administration?
RK: My first teaching experience was as a kindergarten teacher. It was very interesting. I was the only male in the school. It was not that I was looking for a kindergarten job or saw myself as a kindergarten teacher, but the school I student taught in…I really liked the principal and the district. They basically said we have one job open next year and we hope you take it in our kindergarten. I lasted a year [laughs], and it was more than enough. I really learned so much about how to teach from that experience. I would never change it for the world – it really made me a much better teacher. From there I taught fourth and fifth grade for 5 years while I was going to school for administration. Once I got my degree I became the assistant principal in South Orange/Maplewood.
LICN: So that was a master’s degree?
RK: Yes, it was.
LICN: Have you continued on in your education?
RK: I have finished all the coursework for my doctorate, and I am in the midst of finishing my dissertation. My goal is to finish it and defend it by June or July. I went back to Seton Hall for that.
LICN: That must have been a lot on your plate!
RK: It was. I went to school on the weekends and I actually lived on campus for a month last summer. It was strange being back in dorm life and hard being away from my family. But it’s a great program.
LICN: What were your general impressions of the district when you got here?
RK: I was very impressed. Number one, one of the things that really attracted me was the size of the district. Other districts I worked in were much larger, and being an administrator in something that large…it’s hard to have as much contact with students, parents, and teachers as I wanted. I loved the size; it’s a K–8 district, which is my passion and love. I quickly realized what we had; although it was a new administrative team, I was really impressed by the people the district had hired. All really had the same vision, focus, and beliefs that I have about schools, teaching, and learning. I felt at home from day one. After a few weeks it seemed I had always been here. It was a really good fit.
LICN: When you said the new team, are you referring to the principals in the schools?
RK: The principals, the director of special ed, the head of curriculum… most of them were hired within the last year. The middle school principal, Colin Rigby, started exactly when I started; the elementary principal, Jeffrey Huguenin, is in his second year; Tricia Barr is in her third; Henry Rose started last November; and Susan Ladd started last October. We are all new.
LICN: How many schools are in the district, and how many children are served?
RK: There are three schools: primary (K–2), elementary (3–5), and middle schools (6–8). That is another thing I really like. Two of the schools are right on this campus, so I can just walk to them. I was just over there this morning. We have about 1,360 kids.
LICN: What are your goals for district? What you would like to accomplish?
RK: I think our overall goal is (and it was always) student achievement. We can do a better job at meeting the needs of all students…not only focus on those kids that are struggling. We are really lucky; we have so many kids who are well above grade level and have such passion for science, mathematics, music, arts; giving those kids opportunities to grow and push them…you do that through different branches of instruction. What I say all the time to staff is how we can better differentiate students needs.
LICN: Can you explain differentiated instruction and give us some examples?
RK: In its simplest terms, because it’s a very complex topic, it’s taking information that you know about a child and using it to increase learning. Using information, adjusting your approach to make sure he or she is learning more than if you did not differentiate.
LICN: How would you do that?
RK: Good teachers do it naturally. For instance, if you know a student needs to hear directions more than once you would repeat it. You are actually changing your practice so that the student can be successful, just like you might for a student who has difficulty focusing. You move them up to the front of the classroom or you stand by them because that helps. It gets a lot more complex when you are doing it with mathematics, science, or language arts topics. Let’s say you are teaching students how to write a well-drafted essay; some come in knowing how to write a great essay. My philosophy is [that] it’s really wasting their time to teach them how to write it again, so maybe you teach them how to take a compositional risk, or how to write an introduction that really hooks a reader, or use vivid language… That lesson is changing and modifying. Then you have the kid who is really struggling, so you provide him or her with a template to follow. You are changing the practice so everyone is successful and at the right level of challenge.
LICN: In terms of classroom management, how does that work, as you have children at different levels?
RK: The basic concept (I hope to write a book on it someday) is that you have a workshop model. You go in and present a concept. As kids break up in groups they work together. In reading, I can say how do you make a prediction in a book. You might have six different levels of kids in a class. They go back and practice making a prediction at each of their reading levels. Some may be fluent readers but have no idea how to make an inference, so you may have to pull kids from another group. It is really fluid. You have to move kids depending on skill need. It’s a way to make all kids meet their true potential.
LICN: Are there any targeted programs offered to meet the various student levels? For instance: addressing students with special needs or the gifted and talented, as well as programs addressing art, music, or athletics?
RK: We do have pullouts for students that have IEPs; we also have pullout programs for kids who are identified as gifted and talented in certain areas.
LICN: What is an IEP and what defines a student for the gifted and talented program?
RK: An IEP is an individualized education program. We use a lot of different measures. First we use state test scores. Students need to be advanced proficient; we use our own assessments in math and language arts and we also use teacher recs. The last layer is having teachers in each school who are gifted and talented teachers who screen the kids and make sure we are “hitting” all the right kids.
LICN: And in terms of other talents such as music, art, and athletics… are there any programs for those children?
RK: We really have a lot. At the middle school we have an extensive intramural program – it has chess to flag football to drama and plays and bands. The elementary school just puts on a huge drama production with the drama group. There are lots of opportunities. We have regular sports teams for grades 7 and 8 – cross country, soccer, and basketball.
LICN: Any more specifics on programs?
RK: For special ed we have a variety of options for students, depending on need. There are some students that just need a little bit of support in the classroom specifically designated by their IEP. There are other kids that actually need a different type and way to learn. They are pulled out and go to resource room that speaks to their needs or disabilities. There really are two models: in-class support, where someone comes in and does a little support for one or two, or even some regular ed students that are struggling; or there is resource room for a pullout and replacement for classroom learning. More often than not we try to do in-class support, as most research says who works better; however, there are some areas where kids are working with such a disability that it doesn’t work. We also have some students that receive speech, OT, or PT services – some in the classroom and some as pullouts. The gifted program…we first identify students, try to meet their needs by differentiating in the classroom. Above and beyond that we pull kids out and offer extra challenge problems in mathematics and extra language arts projects. In the middle school how kids are chosen really becomes project-based. They design self projects.
LICN: Are the kids placed by levels in the middle school?
RK: In mathematics.
LICN: As Colts Neck is part of a Regional High School District, does that impact on decisions that are made in terms of education?
RK: It does a little bit. We try to meet with the high school, our curriculum director, and say what it is that is expected the kids know in grade nine. How do our programs align? Also, the state standards have really put schools on the same page on curriculum. Even though I am now in my fourth district, I can tell you it’s not much different [from] community to community. The same skills and concepts are being taught as was the goal of the core curriculum standards.
LICN: Are there any other goals you have for the district?
RK: I said it with my first staff meeting. My goal is that I hope when I leave here (I hope this is theplace I retire from)…I hope the teachers feel I pushed their thinking, that I made them better teachers by being here and through that, student learning benefited. Also, that I helped build a sense of community among the schools, and spirit and pride focused on learning.
LICN: On the website I saw global education mentioned. What is global education?
RK: Global education is letting the students know that the world is more than just Colts Neck. So many things you read today say we are preparing kids today for jobs that do not yet exist. Students need to know about students in China, Indonesia, and Mexico – not just to appreciate and be tolerant; they need to understand the different cultures as they will be working hand in hand with people from around the world. We need to show why children in Mexico are learning something in a way we might not learn it. We have a great project. In November we participated in a project “iLEARN.” It’s a global network that connects schools all over the world. There are 200 projects. One is a daffodil project. We picked two grades at the elementary and primary schools. Hundreds of schools across the world all planted that day. The kids collect data as they (the flowers) grow – when they sprout, how big they get…the colors. They compare that to kids’ data in Pakistan or Canada; they chat on line and find out how the environment impacts their results.
LICN: Which leads into the green schools, can you expound on that?
RK: Schools by nature are paper rich. We look for ways to reduce, reuse, and recycle better. We are working with Monmouth County on recycling; they will offer training…we already have more bins. As a board, we have paperless board meetings; everything is on line instead.
LICN: Are there any initiatives with the buildings themselves?
RK: There are. Right now they are simple. This summer we installed motion lights in the bathrooms so the lights are not on all the time. The goal is to have every room with them. That will result in huge savings.We have a great facilities manager who is looking into chemicals for cleaning that are less toxic. He focused on how to save on heating costs.
LICN: Technology in the classroom?
RK: We continue to use technology to make global connections. We have functional labs in every school as part of related arts. All the kids cycle through them and learn. There are technology standards. More teachers are integrating computers on a daily basis. More and more technology is infused in what we do rather than just in the labs. We have a mobile Mac Lab in the middle school, and we are adding another one next year. We are making the whole middle school wireless; the next year the elementary, then the primary. I see us using more carts to use in the classrooms. Our teachers do a nice job; we have e-pals in other countries and a brand new technology director.
LICN: What are the state goals for technology?
RK: Grades 4, 8, and 11 have benchmarks. They get progressively more challenging. In grade 4 they want kids to be able to create a data table to use Excel. They have different skills; you have to be able to create a document and create a bold heading. I think because our kids are digital natives, they can pretty much hit those standards. They have grown up with it.
LICN: How are you handling security issues?
RK: This district was ahead of the game with a security plan. All of the buildings are locked and secure as soon as the students enter. The only way to get in is to be buzzed in through the front door. In the elementary school and primary center, even when the kids go out for recess, the doors lock behind them. One lunch aide allows kids back in. In a lot of other schools the stick is in the door; that does not happen here. We are planning to go to a swipe-card system…we are looking to add more cameras. We added cameras on the buses this year. From the minute a child is picked up until he or she is dropped off, you can see all different angles. All the staff has badges identifying them.
LICN: What about budget concerns?
RK: I was pleased. They have done a nice job on past budgets. I didn’t need to do major cuts. The state mandates a 4% cap. We had to do a bit of cutting but more reallocating resources. Teacher salaries and health benefits are major costs. We have a beautiful new primary center with a roof that leaks and needs replacement; we were able to leave money in the budget to have the roof replaced. I have a great board to work with.
LICN: Is there full or half-day kindergarten here?
RK: Half day, but we have a wrap-around complement program that is offered to parents. They pay for it and it’s very popular. Out of our 106 students, 98 pay and attend a full-day program.
LICN: Is there an ancillary private education foundation?
RK: Actually there is. They are planning a fundraiser this spring. We also have an active and wonderful PTO. They give a lot back to the schools and allow us to do a lot of great things.
LICN: The push seems to be on math and science now. Do you see that, and are there any other issues or areas you see as important or impacting our children over the next decade?
RK: I think the importance is the way we teach. Information is out there, it’s on the kids phones. Teachers need to be facilitators or coaches now. They have to teach children how to be critical thinkers. I also have seen a swing in education. We are doing better at letting kids be kids. Ten years ago I saw such a push to have the kids more regimented…sports, CCD, Hebrew School, and so on. There was even a push to have recess organized. Kids need to learn how to navigate on their own.
LICN: Moving on to more personal information, can you tell us about your family, outside interests, hobbies, organizations?
RK: (Laughs) Wow. Well, my family is my biggest interest and one of the reasons I wanted to work in Monmouth County. I have Jillian, who is a fourth grader, and Shannon who is in second grade, and my wife Kate, who as I said, is an educator as well. We love to spend time together; we love outdoor sports, love to ski, swim, fish, be on the water. My daughters and I are involved in Martial Arts. We love hiking and we also love spending time in Lake Placid with the whole family. I grew up going there every weekend. I love to golf, but with my doctoral studies I have not had enough time for that. Actually, my favorite course is Hominy Hill, right here in Colts Neck.
LICN: It was a pleasure to meet you. Thank you so much.
RK: Well, thank you.
Favorite Restaurant:
McLoone’s
Favorite Musician:
Billy Joel
Favorite Movie:
Rudy
Pet Peeve:
clutter!
Three people you’d like to have dinner with:
The President, the Pope, and Bobby Knight
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