Jim Kapsa, Superintendent of South Bend schools

By Phil D’Amico, director of business growth, The Chamber of Commerce of St. Joseph County

South Bend school Superintendent Jim Kapsa has been involved with the South Bend Community School Corp. for 42 years. He has held various positions within the system, including teacher, guidance counselor, vice principal, principal and superintendent. Mr. Kapsa starts each day at 5:30 a.m., so I was fortunate enough to catch him for a 6:30 a.m. breakfast and conversation.

South Bend school Superintendent Jim Kapsa

Q: There is not one person I have not met in this town who grew up here that did not have you as a teacher, guidance counselor, vice principal, principal or superintendent. It’s like living in a town with a real-life “Mr. Holland’s Opus.”

A: Ha ha ha! I have been in education here for 42 years. You’re bound to run into a few people you taught. Also my wife was a teacher for 27 years, so we know a few people.

Q: Do you ever hear from any of your former students?

A: I just received a great e-mail the other day from a young lady who was a student of mine. She thanked me for all that I did for her and how I had a positive influence on her life.

Q: That has to make any teacher feel like their career as an educator has real purpose.

A: When you’re a teacher there is no greater compliment than hearing you had a profound impact on someone’s life. It is what all teachers want to hear.

Q: How are kids different today?

A: Kids have so many distractions today that growing up many of us didn’t have. For instance, cell phones, iPods, laptops, etc. -- all of those things are great, but in some ways it disconnects them from the social aspect and from interaction with their teachers. Kids all want to make money to afford those things and they miss out on the essence of their education and the total school experience.

Q: What do you see as our greatest challenges in education today?

A: Well, there is no question about it that parental involvement is at the top. We really need to see how we engage parents in the process of educating their child, and engage them in all that the schools do and the programs that are in place to help them succeed. I think, also, there is a constant challenge to have a curriculum that motivates and inspires kids to learn. You asked earlier about why are kids different, I think that inspiration to learn is different. I also think we are challenged to create programs that get our youth to be more hands on. Kids today want to be interactive, engaged and hands on. We need to channel that creativity into our curricula.

Q: What types of programs can do just that, or can accomplish those types of activities?

A: Well, we have some very good CTE [Career and Technical Education] programs that will satisfy those hands-on courses. I also believe that when we get the New Tech High School up and running, that will allow students to work in teams, focus on project-based curricula and allow students to gain experience in solving problems, presenting solutions and managing processes and teams. Early College is also another great new program, where the end goal is for a student to earn a two-year college associates degree, simultaneous to getting their high school diploma. Right now we are just in the beginning stages of this, where students do get early college credits, but ultimately the goal is to get them an early degree.

Q: It always seems that at-risk students get a lot of discussion as well as the drop-out and graduation rates. How do we combat all of those issues?

A: Those are all tough issues. Also, they are nationwide problems that many school districts are trying to work very hard on. South Bend schools have made strides in both the graduation rates and drop-out rates. Recently we received a $2.5 million grant to address the at-risk students. We will be increasing the number of programs and facilities to address all three of those critical issues. I feel very good about our direction and progress being made to address all of those difficult areas.

Q: What are your goals for this coming year?

A: Always front and center is to improve student ISTEP [Indiana Statewide Testing for Educational Progress] scores. Parental involvement will be critical this year, as well as continuing our work in mentoring programs, study tables for students, and more community service. I also believe it is critical for us to continue our hard work in more community-related partnerships. We need the [support of the] community to be successful. A strong community and strong school system go hand-in-hand.

Q: You sound like you enjoy what you do.

A: I love education, the challenges and making a difference in the lives of our youth. I cannot think of anything more gratifying than to have positively affected the lives of our youth. I am encouraged by all that we have going on.