BY MICHAEL ACKER
Staff Writer

Michelle Little SOUTH RIVER -- Corpus Christi School has brought a new principal on board to guide the school through a period of low enrollment.

Michelle Little, 38, already has an extensive background in education, and brings plenty of new ideas and initiatives to the Catholic school.

Little is a resident of Cranford, having moved there from Harrisburg, Pa., nine years ago. She has a husband, Jonathan, and four children, Rajaun, 18, Bradford, 15, Alden, 12, and Connor, 10. She said the Corpus Christi position came at a good time both for her and the school, as her experience in larger districts will help her move the school away from its troubles with enrollment and finances, which nearly forced the Diocese of Metuchen to close the school in 2005.

"We have begun to address some of the problems with enrollment. The parents here have to feel like there is a reason to send their children here," Little said.

The K-8 school is at an enrollment level of approximately 100 students as of Monday, Little said. Last year's enrollment was 120, she said, adding that the reason enrollment is down is due to the school's uncertain fate, though it was recently decided that the school will remain open.

"Some families would not have left if they had known [that the school would remain open]. They did not want to chance it." Little said. "But we have been enrolling students, and they have been coming on board as the message gets out about us. On July 1, we were at 89 students, so we are experiencing steady growth."

Little earned her teaching certificate at the University of Pennsylvania and received her principal's credential at Temple University, both in Philadelphia. Her undergraduate degree is from the University of Pittsburgh.

Little's career in education spans Philadelphia and Plainfield, working in the latter district for six years in various capacities.

In Philadelphia, Little was the administrator of a small learning community, a concept she said large urban school districts designed in order to departmentalize high schools.

"I was in charge of seven of them and we implemented a youth court. We had courtrooms built and instructors came from Temple University and the University of Pennsylvania Law School to teach."

Lawyers from the local prosecutor's office and the District Attorney's Office also gave the students instruction, Little said. The students were trained in level-one offenses, which were adjudicated by their peers for community service. For instance, if a student was caught smoking, the child would be sent to a local hospital to help cancer patients. If the child wrote graffiti, the student would join the cleaning crew in washing the halls.

"We established a system that held the students accountable for their actions without going to the police, unless it was required," Little said. "That is a wonderful program. I could not complain a bit."

Two years ago, Little passed the exam for her principal's license.

"I had held administrative positions," Little said, "but not as a principal. I think I am ready to move to the next level."

Little has been getting to know the parish community at Masses, she said, adding that she will bring a renewed sense of leadership and site-based

management to the school, while expanding academic curriculum standards by offering subjects such as foreign languages.

The school will take an individualized approach to instructing students in foreign languages, Little said. She cited the Rosetta Stone method, which companies use in business to approach the subject through individualized learning and immersion into the language.

"If we continue to do things like that and have successful programs," Little said, "people will begin to come back to the school. Community outreach has worked. The carnival was a successful event where police, firefighters and paramedic workers donated their time to work for a good cause."

Little is confident that fall programs will encourage parents to send their children to Corpus Christi.

"We have a truly dedicated staff and a summer camp every day where students get all-day programs from the morning through 6 p.m.," Little said. "For parents who are working, it is an opportunity for their children to have a structured environment to learn, play and have fun."

Little characterized Corpus Christi as a small school with a lot to offer.

"The key is for other people to know who we are and what do we do," Little said. "We provide a structured atmosphere with Catholic values."

A new math program at the school will combine students from different age levels to help students individually achieve the standard of their grade level.

"It is more one-on-one, where we alter the curriculum as we go, so that we do not inhibit their growth," Little said.

Also slated for this fall is a literacy program called the "Principal's Book of the Month," where Little will select a book for the entire school to read. The program includes a student of the month and a book-publishing program where students get to have their own books published. Additional copies of the book can be purchased by family members as gifts.

"It is a wonderful feat for a child to say, 'I wrote a book.' My goal is to have reading and writing through the curriculum," Little said.

Children learn in different ways, Little said, so the school is using different modalities of learning through thematic units.

"This is to create a learning community where the teachers are facilitators guiding student learning," Little said. "Students should be active participants. Learning should grow from their interests, from those 'light bulb' moments when you are talking about a subject and everyone is participating. You have reached an area that the students enjoy and you capitalize on it as a learning moment to take it to the next level, because that is where it is most instrumental."

The key is for collaboration between parents and school, Little said.

"Together, collaboratively, the family and the school working together," Little said. "That is when you see more benefits to the students."