23 minute read
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Driven to Golf
Picking up the clubs gave this woman a career and a spouse
BY HEIDI MCCRARY
Ann Marie Armaly was 30-something when she decided to take up golf. But she didn’t think much about it after the golf pro at a local course missed their scheduled lesson, so she was surprised when a staff member at the club asked her to wait because the golf pro was rushing back to make their appointment. She learned later that the staff had called the golf pro, Jim Roschek, with the instructions “You need to return ASAP. You really don’t want to miss this lesson. Trust us.”
Turns out they were onto something.
That was in the 1980s, and Armaly was busy raising two children while also working as a successful independent insurance agent. She didn’t have time to dedicate additional energy to golf beyond learning the difference between a hook and a slice and not wanting to embarrass herself on the course while conducting business. But that persistent golf instructor, Jim Roschek, had other plans, convincing Armaly to continue her lessons, and the two connected, on and off the course.
As their relationship grew — they married in 1989 and she became Ann Marie Roschek — so did her interest in golf. Not only did she grow into a golf enthusiast, but she also became a certified golf instructor and began assisting her husband, a PGA professional, in running both the Milham Park and Grand Prairie golf courses.
Jim, after 28 years as director of golf with the Kalamazoo Municipal Golf Association, left that position in 2007 to serve as president and CEO of the Municipal Golf Association
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in San Antonio, Texas. During his tenure in Texas, Ann Marie continued running Grand Prairie Golf Course, with Jim returning in 2019.
Today, in a cooperative partnership with Kalamazoo Township, the Roscheks operate the facilities at Grand Prairie Golf Course, located on Grand Prairie Road in Kalamazoo. “We cater to a wide range of golf enthusiasts, from those who are new to the sport to the more experienced golfer who wants to get in a quick nine," Ann Marie explains. "It’s a family-friendly course that also caters to those wanting to improve their short game on a beautiful course.” Supporting female golfers
According to a staff member, those who golf regularly at Grand Prairie remark that the Roscheks’ work has resulted in fairways and greens that are on par with any of the top-rated courses in the area. The course's pro shop carries golf clubs for adults and juniors and a large selection of golf apparel for women — a deliberate move by Ann Marie, who believes that female golfers have had little choice when it comes to golf attire and equipment.
“We have women who belong to area country clubs who come here to shop because they know that they can find quality, fashionable attire that they won’t find anywhere else. It’s important to us to support female golfers who might feel unrepresented elsewhere,” she says.
Being a female business owner in an industry long dominated by men comes with challenges, but Roschek says she has had surprisingly few. She recalls one instance when a male employee was unwilling to accept taking direction from her. “It got to a point where I straight up asked him if he had trouble taking orders from a woman, and he replied honestly that he did,” she says. “But this was rare occurrence. The truth is that I’ve had little pushback as a woman in the golf industry, and that’s a great thing.”
Running the golf course is a full-timeplus affair for the Roscheks. While the course is generally closed from November
Left: Ann Marie Roschek became a golf pro at a time when few females did. Top and above: Roschek works with Shannon Burlison on her swing at Grand Prairie Golf Course.
through March, the task of running the business is a yearround job involving ordering products, assessing inventory and maintaining equipment so that the course is ready for spring. The Roscheks enjoy time in Florida during the winter months, but work doesn’t stop just because there’s snow blanketing the course in Michigan.
Speaking of snow, operating a golf course in Michigan has its own quirks and challenges. Michiganders are familiar with those precious days in late winter when the sun suddenly appears and the temperature jumps to a balmy 60 degrees. "We’re always ready for those exceptional few days in the early months when the snow vanishes for a moment and people are scrambling to find their golf clubs," says Ann Marie. "We have a great staff here and we’re able to open up the course on those rare days, allowing people the treat of golfing in the winter.” A family business
It’s safe to say that for the Roscheks running a golf course has become a family affair. “I grew up on the east side of the state and didn’t move to West Michigan until I was 27,” says Ann Marie. “I love Kalamazoo and the people here. It’s so nice
Center: Ann Marie and Jim Roschek co-manage Grand Prairie Golf Course. Left: The Roscheks shortly after they married in 1989. Right: In addition to managing golf courses, Jim and Ann Marie managed a blended family of five children. Brian Powers
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here that my parents decided to follow me.” Her parents, Jim and Tina Armaly, started helping at the courses, enjoying their new jobs in their retirement years. While her father has died, her mother, now 90, retired at age 87.
When Ann Marie isn’t busy behind the counter or in the office at Grand Prairie, she's likely on the range helping golfers improve their games. A certified golf instructor, she focuses on helping those who are new to the sport or wanting to improve some aspect of their game. Being an effective golf
instructor involves experience, intuition and a deep understanding of the sport, she says, as well as the ability to make people feel comfortable during the learning process.
“Golf isn’t something mastered in a day or even a season,” she explains, “but rather it’s an ongoing process. And there is always something that we can be doing better to lower our score. We’re always saying, 'If I had just made that putt … '”
While the golf industry had been on the decline for years, the Covid-19 pandemic had a hand in its recent resurgence. In 2020, the National Golf Federation reported that the number of golfers in the U.S. increased 20 percent over 2019, its largest net increase in 17 years. “Three years ago I would have said that golf has been on the decline,” Roschek says, “but the pandemic led people back outdoors in search of something to do with their families, and suddenly people were rediscovering the magic of following that little white ball.”
As a result, more young people are taking up the sport than ever before — 2020 saw the largest gain in youth golfers since 1997,
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Roschek, right, helps Shannon Burlison adjust her swing to be more aggressive when hitting the ball.
according to the NGF — and Grand Prairie has a strong junior program.
“Children as young as 5 take part in our summer programs, and it’s thrilling to see them light up as they sink a putt or drive the ball down the fairway,” Roschek says. “They are the future of golf. Unlike many other sports, golf is something we can continue to enjoy long into our lives. We have many older golfers on our course, and we love seeing them out here. There’s nothing better than seeing a grandparent on the course introducing golf to their grandchildren.”
It's said that if you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life. Roschek couldn’t agree more. “I’m so lucky to be involved in all of this,” she says. “And because of Jim’s affiliation with the PGA, we have been able to see the best talent in the sports world. I have had the honor and pleasure to see Fred Couples, Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods, and so many more greats at premier venues like the U.S. Open Championship, The Ryder Cup and The Masters. I’m blessed.”
As a family tees off on the first hole, Roschek is nearby on the range helping a young woman with her swing. It’s all in a day’s work for her, and she wouldn’t have it any other way.
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BY KATIE HOUSTON
As educators know, the idea that they have summers off is a bit of a myth. “People think that summers slow down for us, but we are very busy with hiring, training, planning and reflecting on what went well last year and where we can improve,” says Kalamazoo Public Schools Superintendent Rita Raichoudhuri. She does acknowledge, however, that the stress level does go down a bit when the school year ends. “I will admit that when all the kids were home at the end of the day on June 10, I felt my shoulders relax.”
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She has been on the job for a little over two years as the head of Kalamazoo County's largest school district, which has more than 12,000 students. She took the helm on June 1, 2020, the result of a year-long search after Michael Rice stepped down to became state superintendent of schools.
“Sometimes it feels like I’ve been here for a long time, just because of the sheer volume of things we’ve been able to do, but two years is not a long time, and people still refer to me as the new superintendent,” she says.
Raichoudhuri arrived to face the challenge of organizing the 2020-21 school year for KPS students and their families against an ever-changing Covid-19 landscape. It was a daunting task for even the most seasoned administrator, never mind one new to the job and the community. But Kalamazoo Central High School social studies teacher Clifton Fraley-Burgett, who will mark 22 years with KPS in October, says Raichoudhuri's steady hand helped the district during a challenging, confusing time.
“I thought it was smart to go virtual for a year to help stop the spread of Covid among our student population,” says Fraley-Burgett. “I appreciated Dr. Raichoudhuri’s ability to not waiver on what we should do during this unprecedented time. We had many misinformed people trying to change how we conduct our school business, and she continued to maintain the course she laid out since this all began.”
Now, in the third year of the pandemic, hopes run high that the worst of it is over, but Raichoudhuri knows the next crisis is never far away.
“We are perhaps out of the pandemic crisis mode, but the urgent issues of public education have meant we are always in crisis,” she says. “Michigan has one of the lowest levels of education funding in the country, and I don’t believe we have experienced all the pandemic fallout in terms of labor shortages, inflation and supplychain issues — all of which have affected our planned construction projects. It’s like playing Whack-a-Mole sometimes.”
Good news on learning
On a positive note, in June the district released data showing a jump in student academic growth during the 2021-22 academic year.
“In every single federal subgroup in every single grade our students have grown academically at a level unheard of even in a normal year. It’s beautiful because it counters the narrative about learning loss, especially in urban districts,” Raichoudhuri says, explaining that the data came from standardized assessments for grades 3-8.
“It’s a real morale boost. We were pleasantly surprised, and I am so proud of the work we’ve accomplished. Our teachers worked incredibly hard this year, and I was mindful that I was asking a lot of them. Our district is not an easy place to teach, and I’m grateful that our staff has persisted through this challenge. They have been doing an amazing job that has been borne out in the data.”
Crooked path to the classroom
The first educator in her family, Raichoudhuri, 42, grew up in San Francisco and started her teaching career in the same district where she had been a student.
“I come from a traditional Indian/East Asian family, as stereotypical as they come, with
“What I saw that day was a huge learning experience. My first introduction to the school system was an emergency staff meeting. Everyone was calm — that’s what educators do, remain calm when everyone’s freaking out. The principal was coordinating our response even as there was a rumor there was a third plane heading to the Golden Gate Bridge. At the time, there was nothing in the manual about terrorist attacks, and they were creating emergency contingencies on the fly.
“I was there for six weeks and loved it.”
In 2010, Raichoudhuri moved to Chicago, working in a variety of capacities for Chicago Public Schools, including as principal of Wells Community Academy High School, director of the Office of Professional Learning, and senior manager of the Office of Performance. Before being tapped to head
Left: Superintendent Rita Raichoudhuri cheers on students at Washington Writers' Academy's Field Day. Above: Raichoudhuri, center, during a meeting of the KPS leadership team including, from right, Sheila Dorsey-Smith, assistant superintendent of human resources; Susan Coney, executive director of communications and marketing; and Geoff Howe, director of Title I, school improvements and assessments. Right: Raichoudhuri cheers on a young girl during field day activities.
the hope I would be a doctor or a lawyer,” she says. She was planning to become an environmental lawyer before realizing it wasn’t the career for her. A view of life in the classroom changed her career path.
“I was working with elementary school kids around being an environmental citizen, and I was struck by the academic curiosity of fifth graders and the agency they have to feel they can change the world. I was 19 or 20 at the time and was so surprised. I didn’t think little kids cared about the world.”
After graduation, she decided not to attend law school, left her parents a letter, and “took off for three months” to figure out her next steps. When she returned, she admits, she spent months in her pajamas trying to discern a path forward. “I had no clue, since I’d had a one-track mind for so long,” she says.
Her brother, Avik, reminded her about the classroom internship she had enjoyed and suggested she check out the kindergarten class his girlfriend taught.
“She (the girlfriend) was happy all the time, gushing about her kids, and she loved her job,” says Raichoudhuri.
“It was the first day in a long time I had put on professional clothes," she says of that day in September 2001 when she visited her brother’s girlfriend’s classroom for the first time. "I heard my parents watching the news. I came out to see what was going on, only to see the second plane hit the second World Trade Tower. KPS, Raichouduri was serving as executive director of CPS’ Early College and Career Education, where she established secondaryschool-to-employment pipeline programs that helped students gain college credit and professional credentials. It's a mission she has also brought to Kalamazoo.
Boosting career pathways
Raichoudhuri credits her own experience switching career paths in her 20s with why she is “so hot on career pathways” as KPS superintendent.
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“I was very privileged, with parents to support me while I figured things out, but I don’t want our students to find themselves in that position, so far down a path that switching seems impossible.”
To that end, the district’s new Career Launch Kalamazoo program, created in 2021, provides KPS students with apprenticeships in information technology, health care, and manufacturing. Its creation was funded by a grant from the Partnership to Advance Youth Apprenticeship. KPS partnered with Kalamazoo Valley Community College, the city of Kalamazoo, The Kalamazoo Promise, Bronson Healthcare Group, Flowserve and Mann+Hummel to develop the program.
Raichoudhuri describes the program as “a quadruple dip for students.”
“Juniors and seniors will simultaneously earn high school credit, college credit and industry-valued certifications — all while earning $15 per hour for workplace learning,” she says.
Career Launch Kalamazoo's soft launch this summer saw 14 students signed up with employer partners, including Flowserve, Bronson Healthcare and Mann+Hummel, and enrollment is open for students to participate this year.
The school district has also created a new career pathway for school staff seeking to become teachers. The Urban Teacher Residency Program, also launched in 2021, aims to help support staff already working in the district’s schools to gain elementary
Raichoudhuri participates in a tug-of-war contest with students at Washington Writers' Academy during the school's Math Fun and Field Day. or special-education teacher certification. It is a collaboration with Western Michigan University and is funded by a $5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education. The program's first cohort of 10 candidates just completed a year of accelerated training, undertaken while they were also working full time and taking college coursework. Each candidate is supported by a $20,000 stipend.
“These are staff who have already worked with students in our district, participants from diverse backgrounds that mirror student population, and this fall they will be in classrooms,” says Raichoudhuri.
Jennifer Wright, 46, is one of those people. This fall Wright has begun teaching fourth grade at Arcadia Elementary, where she served as a Title I tutor for the past eight years, after previously working in human resources. Through the Urban Teacher Residency Program, she took online WMU classes for four semesters, earning 28 credits, while spending the 2021-22 school year shadowing kindergarten teacher Alfredo Aleman.
“The program was very intense,” she says, adding that every spare minute — “nights, weekends, early mornings” — was given over to her training. The new teacher is nervous because she wants to do well, but she’s also excited.
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“I’m excited about having a brand-new career and showing the students that you can tackle something new at any age, and how I’m still learning at nearly 50."
In addition to making career pathways a priority, the district, under Raichoudhuri’s direction, has also developed programs to better serve international students, many of whom arrived as refugees fleeing violence and persecution in their home countries. KPS has enrolled students from 10 countries, and 61 languages are spoken by KPS families. To help these students succeed, KPS created Newcomer Centers last year at three schools — Lincoln International Studies School, Milwood Magnet School and Phoenix High School — to provide students who had no English-language skills or previous experience in the U.S. education system with dedicated support.
“When a refugee parent comes in, usually with their resettlement agent, we have a specialized intake process, sheltered classrooms for the student, and family supports to help them build job and language skills,” Raichoudhuri explains.
Lessons from virtual learning
While the pandemic has brought unprecedented challenges for Raichoudhuri and for KPS teachers, staff and students, the new student learning data gleaned from that time has led to the district's creation of a permanent virtual school.
“We found that there was a group of kids who did better during virtual learning,” Raichoudhuri says. “Those who might not have been doing well academically in a traditional setting because of social anxiety or due to sensory needs did better at virtual school. Going back to our motto — Every Child, Every Opportunity, Every Time — we identified an opportunity that works for some of our students, and we decided to keep it.”
The district's fully virtual curriculum is created and taught by KPS teachers, and the program allows students to participate in extracurriculars and athletics. About 800 students participated during the 2021-22 school year.
– Rita Raichoudhuri, KPS Superintendent
School safety & security
The school year wrapped up amid a national wave of mourning and renewed arguments about gun control after the Uvalde, Texas, school shooting on May 24 that killed 19 fourth-grade students and two educators. At the June 9 school board meeting, Raichoudhuri and KPS Board of Education President Patti Scholler-Barber went on record calling for Congress to enact gun-control legislation.
“After what happened in Uvalde, we are happy for another year without serious incident (at KPS),” Raichoudhuri says.
The Kalamazoo community voted in May to approve the largest bond issue in KPS history — $197.1 million to fund capital improvements, upgrade safety and
security, and provide building and classroom mechanical upgrades and technology.
“The millage was passed with one of the highest margins, in spite of inflation and gas prices, while neighboring districts were unsuccessful or barely passed," Raichoudhuri says. "I have immense gratitude to the community for seeing the promise in our district and what we do for our children.”
Upgrades to school security have been made throughout the district, including fortified entrances at all 25 schools and upgraded communications platforms that give teachers better access from classrooms to call for assistance, and principals the ability to take emergency action like a building-wide lockdown from their phones wherever they happen to be.
“All the systems in all our buildings are now connected so everyone can know what’s happening in real time,” says Raichoudhuri.
New opportunities
These changes, as well as the easing of pandemic restrictions, have brought about another benefit that Raichoudhuri is looking forward to: the return of volunteers and community partners to schools. They couldn’t visit last year because of safety protocols, and all learning was virtual the year before and for part of the previous semester.
“Fun things, like overnight camps, visiting artists, room moms and dads, will all be back,” Raichoudhuri says.
“A new school year means new opportunities. This is a wonderful school district to be in, and I wouldn’t have moved from Chicago if I didn’t see the potential and a very supportive community. People stop me all the time to tell me what an amazing experience their kids are having or had in KPS. It’s a wonderful place to teach and learn and be a part of.”
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