Dear Ridge Families,

Welcome to the 2023-2024 school year! My name is Michelle Shabaker and I am so incredibly excited and grateful to be joining the Ridge Family Center for Learning community as Principal. It is truly a privilege to be an educator and I cannot imagine being in a more rewarding profession. 

I am the mother of two wonderful teenage boys. My oldest son is starting his second year of college at Indiana University, and my youngest son will be a senior in high school this year. 

As an educator, I have served in various roles for more than twenty years. My career has spanned working with students and their families, from early childhood through college. In my journey in education, I served most recently as an assistant principal, and prior to that I have served as a graduate research assistant and instructor, a director of early childhood, and a speech-language pathologist. 

I believe it is crucial to build strong relationships to know how best to serve and support all students, their families, teachers, and community members. With strong relationships in place, together we can move forward in the great work already started at Ridge, fostering a learning community where students feel safe, where each child’s unique background and life experiences are honored, where there are high academic and behavior expectations for all students, where students are at the center of learning, where students have their social-emotional needs met, and where there are strong connections with families and the community. 

In this environment, children can feel secure in taking risks in their learning and gain the understanding that in every mistake their knowledge is growing and they are one step closer to success. For every child, my belief is that we must be diligent in igniting their natural curiosity, in developing a life-long love of learning, and in cultivating resilience so that they can persist and persevere through any situation they should encounter in their lives, in or out of school.

Each day, I will strive to bring my passion for education to best serve the students, families, and staff of Ridge. I look forward to working side-by-side with all the members of the Ridge learning community to make this an amazing school year! 

Sincerely,

Michelle Shabaker