Hi. I'm Jim. Not that many peopel call me that anymore. My mom and my wife call me "Jimmy", my one year-old calls me "Da" or "Doo-Doo", and 90% of the people that I work with just call me "Coach".

I work for an inner-city school district in Battle Creek, my home for the last ten years. Like most urban schools and districts, the struggles outnumber the successes, and our finacial situation would make most accountants squumish. Yet here I am, and here I am quite sure I am meant to be: serving people who are so often left to whither by our great egalitarian society.

I bring a philosophy to education that is based upon a simple belief: that all educators are advocates for children. When one considers the changes and challenges facing inner-city schools, this belief becomes more vital. Declining enrollment, diminishing finances, and increasing pressures from within and without have demanded that we evolve as professional educators. This evolution begins with redefining who we are as teachers, administrators, and coaches. While I am finishing my Masters Degree in Coaching and Sport Leadership, I have developed the leadership experience, the focus, the passion, or the skills necessary function within these shifting and sliding elements of our time.

These are challenging days for public educators. There is no evidence that the end of these difficulties is in sight. Battle Creek Public Schools is in a state of flux, and this is a critical time. We need to develop a “winning” attitude that reaches beyond the field, court, or track. We need to win in the classroom, and we need to win in the community. At least that's what I think.



So much of who I am is rooted in being a Metro-Detroiter. Living in West Michigan for the last decade has cemented in my mind the reality that Detroiters are different, and should be proud of it. At least ten times a year, I find myself saying to someone "Yes, I went to Wayne State...no I wasn't shot, mugged, or on drugs..." or "Yes, I take my wife down town, no we aren't scared, yes we walk around...NO I DON'T BRING A GUN!" I think it's that kind of thing that, early on, drove me towards urban education. The racial, social and economic divides that persist, under the cover of "political correctness" are maddening. I just not the type to sit and complain about something...so I chose to do what I could. I continue to do what I can everyday.