Ryan Labis and Amy Wojasinski-Labis have dedicated themselves to giving the students of Michigan City a high-quality education, and they don’t plan on stopping anytime soon. Labis is the physical education and wellness teacher at Krueger Middle School as well as the middle school all-city athletic director. His wife, Wojasinski-Labis, is the department head of special education at Michigan City High School.
“My philosophy has always been: ‘How would I want my own child treated and taught?’” Wojasinski-Labis said. “I do my best to go the extra mile because, as a teacher, you are making a difference in most of these kids’ lives, even if you don’t know it.”
Labis agreed with his wife’s statement and shared his own teaching philosophy.
“I believe that staying here in Michigan City for a long time and making connections with the students is important,” he said. “I want to give the kids time to not only learn something but to be active. When I work with my students, I try to keep an open mind and show them every day that someone cares about them.”
As a Michigan City native, Wojasinski-Labis attended Elston High School, which later merged with Rogers High School to form Michigan City High School. She then went on to earn her bachelor’s degree in special education from the University of Saint Francis in Fort Wayne. In 1998, Wojasinski-Labis began teaching for Michigan City Area Schools (MCAS). That year, she also began studying for a master’s degree in educating students with emotional disturbance disabilities at Indiana University South Bend. She has now been a teacher with MCAS for 26 years.
Originally from South Bend, Labis attended Marian High School in Mishawaka and went on to graduate from Purdue Lafayette with his bachelor’s degree in social studies education. He then attended Indiana Wesleyan University where he earned a master’s degree in education. Labis met Wojasinski-Labis during a 2004 interview in which he applied for a teaching position with MCAS and she served as one of the interviewers. Upon being hired, Labis taught for two years alongside Wojasinski-Labis at Elston Middle School and a relationship quickly blossomed between the pair. They married in 2007, shortly after Labis took up a teaching position at Valparaiso High School. He spent about 13 years at Valparaiso High before returning to MCAS to teach at Krueger Middle School where he has been for the past six years.
“Ryan’s return to MCAS is great because it has helped us to grow, not only as teachers but also in our relationship,” said Wojasinski-Labis. “It has enabled us to lend more help to the community where we live and are raising our child. We are indebted to this community, so we do a lot of outreach. We go out and help purchase uniforms and we help work concessions at games. I volunteer by tutoring kids at one of the homeless shelters every week. Our family operates as a package deal, and we’re constantly using all of our resources to try and make MCAS and the rest of the community the best that it can be.”
Labis stated that MCAS and the Michigan City community have much to offer students in the area, whatever the direction they take in their lives and careers.
“The opportunities that we offer here in Michigan City are endless,” he said. “Some students don't want to go to college, and I think we should commend them. We need to be honest by telling them that they don’t have to attend college if they don’t want to. There are many different opportunities open to them; for instance, the A. K. Smith Career Center here in Michigan City offers students a wide variety of technical training and nursing programs.”
Labis, a licensed Indiana High School Athletic Association referee, unwinds by refereeing at high school basketball games in the area. Wojasinski-Labis joked that her main hobby these days is taking their daughter, Hillary, to her basketball practices. However, Labis claims that’s not quite the full story.
“Amy’s hobby is helping kids, and I'm not just saying that because she’s my wife,” Labis said. “She does more for kids than I could ever imagine. Wherever we are, whether it’s summer or winter break, she’s always looking to help kids.”
Wojasinski-Labis also seeks to help her students and the other kids she works with by instilling within them a sense of pride in their city of residence. She does this by demonstrating how she and her family have settled in Michigan City and invested their time and money there.
“My students sometimes tend to downplay Michigan City and think things are better elsewhere,“ she said. “However, they have to know that we are all on the same playing ground here. The fact that our daughter Hillary studies alongside them, I live here, I go to church here, I shop for groceries here, really says a lot to my students.”
Labis shares a similar view, affirming his and his wife’s dedication to helping both Michigan City and MCAS reach their fullest potential.
“We take a buy-in approach,” said Labis. “We're very interested not only because it affects the kids in our community, but because we also believe in what everybody's doing here. Amy and I are busy people. We're running from place to place and doing different things, whether it's community-based, school-based, or a combination of both. It's a family affair.”