Setting foundations for 1,800 middle schoolers’ lives

CENTRAL VALLEY — John Kaste knows the three years that students will spend at Monroe-Woodbury Middle School are the transitional bridge between elementary and high school.
And as they make that passage, Kaste is equally aware that it’s a balance of academics and extracurricular activities combined with dealing with students’ social and emotional development that will help them have a flourishing middle school career.
It’s a challenge for students and their families and the school’s new principal is ready to do whatever he and the faculty can to help make students successful as they start plotting their courses for their futures.
“I think it’s (middle school) where students are really making choices that are impacting the rest of their lives,” said Kaste, who was previous an assistant principal at Monroe-Woodbury High School. “The decisions they are making socially and academically are setting the foundations for what they do the rest of their lives.”

Relationships

With only two and a half weeks of classes taking place, Kaste knows everyone is still settling in to routines.
That includes him, too.
“It’s a great feeling, it’s a great building,” said Kaste, who is now embarking on his first ever principalship. “I’ve always heard about great things about the staff here. Elsie Rodriguez was a phenomenal principal and it’s tough shoes to fill. I look forward to working with the staff to continue that success. I’m looking at everything that’s going on, taking notes how things have gone in the past. I’m fully been up- to- date on what’s going on in the building academically and socially.”
He also is enthusiastic about building relationships with the students.
“My top priority is to be visible, sitting with kids at lunch, finding out how to continue to improve things for students in the school,” said Kaste, a former boys and girls soccer coach. “I want the kids to feel welcome and safe.”
Making connections with students is a top priority for Kaste.
“Getting those relationships with students, helping guide them to make decisions, whatever we can do as adults in the building will help them to progress,” said Kaste, who began his career as a music teacher and is experienced playing the baritone and tuba among other low brass instruments. “Their lives are changing physically and mentally. We want to give them the right directions. The goal is to help them make that transition easily.”

Four houses, 1,800 students

Kaste felt the setting up of the middle school into four separate “houses” helps to accomplish that.
“The houses do help and help in a way that students are working with specific staff members and those staff work with each other,” he said. “It (the “house system”) takes 1,800 (students) and makes it feel a little smaller and the students get the support they need through that system.”
Additionally, Kaste also felt a student’s success is based on an approach involving students, parents, teachers, administrators and the community- at- large. He spoke of the district’s anti-bullying initiatives as one example.
“It is a five way partnership,” said Kaste, noting the school is working with many area organizations with its anti-bullying program. “We’re working with different organizations in the community so students are constantly reminded and we’re very serious about any bullying issues that are current. It’s not just a school issue, but a whole district and community issue.”
He also strongly felt that while the school has high expectations for academic achievement, it also recognizes that its students are still young kids.
“I want the students to feel they can have fun and still be young teenagers but we have to balance that with all the expectations we have within the building and with the state,” he said. “It’s very important to remember they are kids and it’s important for them to have fun as we meet all our goals. They need to have social and emotional downtime. You can’t have all this rigor without some down time. We want to do what we can to make them feel like they are kids. I don’t want them to feel like there is lot of pressure on them.”

Shaping lives

Kaste is constantly reminded of the importance of middle school in the shaping of student lives.
“They’re making decisions that are impacting the rest of their lives,” he said. “In the middle school, you’re able to grab them more and work with them a little more. In middle school, we still have time to sit and talk and support the students. My goal is to create relationships with as many students as I can and to make them comfortable. They can speak to me about everything. Same with parents, they can see me whenever they have a concern. If we don’t know about the concern, we can’t help the child or them. Communication is what helps students be successful.”

Meet John Kaste

John Kaste of Campbell Hall is the new principal of Monroe-Woodbury Middle School.
For the past six years, Kaste served as one of the assistant principals at Monroe-Woodbury High School.
From October 2000 to July 2006, Kaste was an assistant principal at Sleepy Hallow Middle and High School in Westchester County.
Kaste initially began his education career as a music teacher in the Monroe-Woodbury School District as a leave replacement. He later taught music in the Dobbs Ferry School District. He is certified to teach music for the K-12 grade levels.
Kaste earned his professional diploma in school administration and supervision from Mercy College in Dobbs Ferry. Kaste is a graduate of Iona College in New Rochelle, with a master’s degree in education/multicultural education. He earned his bachelor’s degree in music education from the Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam.

By Nancy Kriz