Novi basketball coach to take over at Hardy

Cory Heitsch, a Walled Lake Consolidated Schools teacher and head coach of the Novi boys varsity basketball team, has been named principal of Hardy Elementary School. The South Lyon Board of Education approved his contract at a special meeting Wednesday morning.

Heitsch taught all subjects in a second grade classroom for five years and two years in a third grade classroom at Walled Lake Consolidated Schools.

“Mr. Heitsch is an engaging and well-liked teacher,” according to Beth Timlin, principal at Walled Lake's Glengary Elementary.

“I know our students will be disappointed that he will not return to Glengary in the fall,” Timlin said. “Mr. Heitsch's educational background and professional experiences will enable him to collaboratively work with students, parents and staff to ensure student success at Hardy Elementary.”

As Novi's varsity head basketball coach, Heitsch helped develop a student mentoring program between the varsity basketball players and fourth grade students from Novi Woods. Since July 2007 Heitsch had an overall record of 73 wins against 20 losses.

He will transition to Hardy, which has 650 students in kindergarten through fifth grades; as well as five self-contained special education classrooms. The school opened in 2004.

Heitsch, who graduated with a master of science degree in educational leadership from Concordia University in 2008 and a bachelor of arts in elementary education from Alma College in 2004, replaces Kim Warren who resigned as Hardy principal earlier this month to take a position as principal at Deerfield Elementary School in Novi.

“Cory Heitsch will be an outstanding addition to the administrative team within the South Lyon Community Schools,” according to Curt Ellis, Novi director of athletic director.

“He is a tremendous role model, a great teacher and a great communicator — qualities which made him an effective coach and will no doubt enable him to become a very effective administrator,” Ellis said. “Cory's tenure as the head boys basketball coach in Novi was highlighted not only by the fact that his teams won approximately 80 percent of the games they played but more importantly by the relationships he established with his players and their families.”

Heitsch comes from a family of educators — his father is a superintendent, his mother is a para-educator and his wife is a teacher.

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