James Windell
Kevin Schooley, who will soon retire as South Haven School Superintendent, was hon-ored with a Proclamation at the December 11, 2024, Board of Education Meeting.
The Proclamation from the Michigan Legislature was signed by Aric Nesbitt, who repre-sents Michigan’s 20th Senate District, and presented to Schooley by Board of Education Vice President Shawn Olney.
Olney read the Proclamation which began: “Let it be known that it is a great honor to congratulate and honor Kevin Schooley for his 34 years of service in education. Starting in 1990 Mr. Schooley has been part of the education of generations of students of Michigan and over his career has worked as a teacher, principal, and superintendent.”
The Proclamation went on to recount Schooley’s career which began when he volunteered in a middle school special education classroom. He would graduate from Western Michigan Uni-versity in 1990 with a Special Education degree. He worked at Bay City and Fowlerville Schools as a special education teacher. From there, he moved to South Haven in 1993 to become a teacher in the South Haven Schools.
After earning a master’s degree in education in 1997 from Grand Valley State University, Schooley became an elementary principal in Watervliet and in 2010 was appointed Superinten-dent of Watervliet Schools. In 2019, he became Superintendent of South Haven Schools. During his tenure as head of South Haven Schools, he helped make South Haven Public Schools a school of choice for the area. He also helped initiate an alternative program in South Haven that provid-ed for a flexible learning opportunity for students to graduate from high school.
Since announcing his retirement as Superintendent in September, 2024, the School Board conducted a search for a replacement. Ana Alman-Putnam was hired recently to replace Schooley beginning in January, 2025.
The Proclamation noted that Schooley’s favorite part of his career was “building relation-ships.” His wife Lori is quoted in the Proclamation as stating: “He is always there for the kids and while also being present for students, parents and staff. I don’t know how he does it.”
Accepting the Proclamation, Schooley said that it has been a great honor for him to have been a superintendent in South Haven. “It is a special place and it’s where I raised my family,” he said.
Schooley went on to say that he trusts that the needs of the children of South Haven will continue to be met. “That is a fact because I know staff members personally and they will con-tinue to work with kids,” he said. “They are one of the most dedicated and caring groups of peo-ple that I’ve been associated with.”
He concluded his remarks by saying it was a privilege for staff to allow him to be in their buildings and classrooms. “I can also thank central office staff as well,” he said. “They are an in-credible team, and they certainly made an impact on my life.”
Mr. Schooley was the principal for most of my children in Watervliet. He was always there for the kids, and staff. I had the privilege of working with/for him as Watervliet’s first School Resource Police Officer. I taught the 5th Grade D.A.R.E. Program for 17 years and he and his staff were so very helpful. Awesome man, father, boss, and friend.