Just because he's retiring doesn't mean Dr. Anthony Etienne will stop working.

He has plans.

Currently serving as assistant superintendent for Warsaw Community Schools, Etienne said Thursday that after retiring July 4 he would like to teach a college course on school administration, do some curriculum auditing or maybe work with the Northwest Evaluation Association on helping school districts set up testing procedures.

Just your normal, run-of-the-mill retirement "hobbies."

Considering the fact that he has spent his entire professional life in the educational field, however, his choice of retirement activities is not that surprising: "I've been very well blessed," he said.

Etienne, 64, has been with Warsaw Community Schools since August 1992, coming from Kingsport, Tenn. He said he thinks one of Warsaw's strengths is that "in all the schools in the district overall there is really a sincere caring about kids and they are willing to do what it takes to get things done."

It's not exactly what he started out to do when he went to St. Meinrad Seminary in southern Indiana and was ordained as a Catholic priest.

He didn't even, in the beginning, intend to teach, and took philosophy as an undergraduate at seminary because he had heard that if his bachelor's degree was in philosophy he wouldn't be assigned to teach. He was, however, the only one in his diocese assigned to teach, and taught Latin at a Catholic school in Clarksville, Ind., for five years.

He was hooked.

That was the beginning of a lifelong calling to teach and counsel. It led him to get his master's and Ph.D., to explore innovative educational methods such as "flexible modular scheduling," to work at some rough schools in a tough part of Indianapolis, to go to a more comfortable school system in Kingsport, Tenn., and finally to end his career in Warsaw.

Along the way he left the priesthood, got married in 1971 and had three sons - Tony, 25, is working at San Jose State University, Calif.; Patrick, 22, is attending and is employed by Indiana University, Bloomington; and Drew, 17, is a junior at Warsaw Community High School. His wife, Mary, is an art teacher in Warsaw elementary schools.

While helping educate kids, he got something of an education himself, especially in Indianapolis, where he was assistant principal and then principal of Decatur High School - which was when he got there the school with the highest arson rate in the state. He was there during the years of unrest, when the government ordered forced integration and the bused-in kids clashed with the students already at the school.

"For a guy who'd been in private schools all his life, I learned a few things," he said, smiling.

Etienne is proudest, in his long career, of being able to help people.

"Throughout my administrative career I've been pretty well able to listen to people ... and been able to accomplish things by listening to people," he said.

Etienne said he likes Warsaw and enjoys working with superintendent Dr. Lee Harman. "I think Warsaw Community Schools is on the right track. My goodness, we have a long way to go, but we realize that," he said.

He also believes the current standards movement is a positive development in the state and in the nation.

"I think it helps all of us focus on what's essential for education. It helps parents, educators, administrators focus on priorities," he said.

"I think it's about time that we decided what's essential for our young people to make them successful."

And with his plans for "retirement," it looks like he'll keep on being involved and sharing his experience to help students succeed in school. [[In-content Ad]]