BAY MILLS - When Kathleen VanHouten began her job as Program Facilitator for the Bay Mills Ojibwe Charter School on July 5, 2005 she was looking forward to a fresh start for herself and for her family. According to VanHouten, the opportunity to move back to the place where she was born and raised, coupled with the opportunity to help Bay Mills' very own school become a success, was just too much to pass up.
However, barely settled into her new home and just months into her job at OCS, VanHouten and her husband separated. Now burdened with the process of going through a divorce and a custody agreement that requires a great deal of travel because of the large distance between herself and her son's father, VanHouten said her personal life became extremely difficult. So for the same reason she moved back home and accepted the position at OCS, VanHouten said she would be leaving her post at the end of the school year - for a fresh start for her and her family.
"I just want what's best for my son," she said. "With joint custody being the way that it is, it's a lot easier if both parents are able to be a part of his life. It's very trying on us to do so much traveling just so he can be a part of his dad's life. I'm not leaving because my job is hard, or because of the kids. Under different circumstances, I would've stayed here forever. It was an extremely difficult decision, but I have to put my family first."
VanHouten said she made the difficult decision to leave her job at OCS and move back down-state, where she had lived the previous 10 years, after extensive talks with her parents last month. While she admits her first few months at OCS were extremely challenging, she said by mid-year everything was running smoothly.
Because she said she loves the staff and students at OCS so much, VanHouten said leaving them would be as painful as the divorce she is currently going through.
"The hardest part of my decision is leaving the kids," she said. "Especially, because I know they've been through this before. It's similar to going through a divorce because I know I can't take them all with me. I love these kids like they're my own. I'm proud of all they've accomplished and I hope they continue to grow and continue to see the value of education."
VanHouten said she still plans on pursuing a career in school administration, and added that she would be working towards finishing her doctoral program in education this fall. While she is fully aware of OCS's history of school administrators leaving after only one year, VanHouten said she wants everyone to know, especially the students, the job had absolutely nothing to do with her decision to leave.
"My decision has absolutely nothing to do with the school," VanHouten said. "I don't want people to say, 'There goes another one who couldn't hack it.' I absolutely love every aspect of my job. I would take it with me if I could. But because I'm a mother first, I have to do what's best for my son and for my family."
