Meet Novi Woods Elementary's New Principal: David Ascher

After spending the past four years as the principal of sixth graders at , David Ascher will be moving to to serve as principal this fall.

A big fan of the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey, Ascher plans to continue stressing personal principles to all Novi Woods students, which is a district-wide kindergarten through sixth grade initiative.

"We're teaching skills they need to be better people — not just reading and writing, but character and integrity."

Ascher said the 7 Habits place high expectations for students, staff and parents, which translates into a passion to achieve great things at school — whether that's doing well on a test or beautifying the grounds.

Ascher said he is amazed at what students can do and that it's an exciting time for education.

"I love my job. It's a privilege to work in this district...it sounds cliche to say that we touch the future, but we do touch the future. As long as we continue to work together, there's nothing we can't handle," Ascher said.

Here are some more facts about Ascher:

Education: Undergraduate degree from Purdue university, two master's degrees from Michigan State University

Experience: Ascher began teaching in Novi in 1995 and has taught first, fifth and sixth grade. He served as principal of Novi Meadows: 6th Grade House since 2007.

Family: Wife, Kim; daughter, Jennifer, 11; daughter, Gretchen, 10

Residence: South Lyon

Hobbies: scuba diving, researching family history, spending time with his family

Focus areas for Novi Woods: Maintain high excellence of Novi Woods, maintain student involvement, reach out to students who aren't performing as high and continue to help support high-achieving students

Goal: Work together as a district, not as different schools.

Foreseen challenges: The budget. "We can't let that take us away from student achievement," Ascher said.

Contact info: 248-449-1230 or dascher@novi.k12.mi.us