Education has always been Angela Piazza’s greatest passion.
First, she began teaching Sunday School at her local church when she was just 14 years old. Then, she went on to teach at and lead both high school and college classrooms.
Next, she will take on Cassopolis Public Schools.
On July 1, Piazza will become the superintendent of Cassopolis Public Schools. She will be taking over the seat from current superintendent Tracy Hertsel, retires at the end of June.
“Education is just something I’ve always done,” Piazza said. “I’m excited to be a part of this [school district].”
Piazza, 47, was born and raised in Valparaiso, Indiana. She received her master’s degree in education from Indiana Wesleyan and her doctoral degree in educational leadership from Oakland City University. She has served as principal at Calumet New Tech High School in Gary, Indiana. Most recently, she was the assistant superintendent of Goshen Community Schools.
Piazza feels her past experiences in education have prepared her for the role of superintendent, and she hopes to bring some of the techniques she has learned in past school districts to Cassopolis.
“Everything in my past is a stepping stone,” Piazza said. “It’s always that you learn something and get to take that to the next place. I can see that when I look back at my path throughout my entire career. I’ve had public, private and charter school experience. All of that has been a building experience to lead me to this.”
One of the first things that Piazza plans to do as superintendent is take a look at the current curriculum in place. She hopes to align the K-12 curriculum to ensure that every part of the curriculum works together for student success and career readiness. Specifically, she wants to make sure the transitions from sixth to seventh grade and eighth to ninth grade are smooth, as well as making sure students learn skills such as critical thinking.
“The potential I see here is amazing,” Piazza said. “There’s a lot of good things in place. I just see connecting those things, and I really anticipate seeing some growth, not just in numbers, but in student achievement.”
She also hopes to implement dual credit and college and career readiness course as well one-to-one technology policies, which enables every student to have a device like a tablet or laptop to work with.
“I want to focus on having good programs,” Piazza said. “I want to be competitive and for this be a district that the community is excited about.”
In order to implement these changes in the school district, Piazza must first connect with the students, of which she will now be in charge. Piazza said she tends to do this with humor.
“You have to have a sense of humor to work with kids, and I think that they appreciate it too,” Piazza said. “We need to listen to the students. What are their needs and interests? What programs could we implement to prepare the students for where they want to go after high school?”
While the schools are currently Piazza’s priority, she also values getting outside of the schools and into the community.
Coming from a small community herself, Piazza said that the move to Cassopolis feels like “coming home.”
“I like the community feel and the emphasis on family,” Piazza said. “Coming to Cassopolis, it just felt right.”
Piazza plans to spend the time before school starts back up again learning everything she can about Cassopolis, the schools and the community, tasks she has already begun with current superintendent Hertsel.
“Learning the lay of the land is important,” she said. “But it works out because I love learning.”