Columbia School District is pleased to announce that Ryan Hackworth has accepted the Athletic Director position, beginning Monday, April 18, 2022.
Mr. Hackworth’s hire is part of a reorganization, transitioning the Athletic Director role into a full-time position in order to better align our student athletics with our District vision, mission and beliefs. Our goal is to accommodate our students and community members by dedicating additional time to our student athletes and coaches. In accordance with the Columbia School District Mission, we believe that this move will help to foster a culture of excellence in our athletics programs.
“At the beginning of the school year, we tasked our Athletic Committee with reviewing the job duties of the Athletic Director position, and specifically asked for a review on policies regarding coaching reviews, overall alignment with our district goals, and any conflict of interest from members of our administration holding coaching positions,” says Dr. Campbell, superintendent of Columbia School District. “After reviewing their findings, we found that a reorganization was necessary and that the additional responsibilities warranted a full-time position.”
Key tasks the new Athletic Director will be tackling include:
- Aligning our program, athlete code of conduct, and parent agreements with our district’s vision, mission and beliefs.
- Ensuring that all coaches are vetted, receive required MHSAA and SafeSport Training, and are reviewed annually with feedback from the team members and parents.
- Managing the oversight of our athletic grounds, equipment usage, scheduling and resources.
We are excited to have Mr. Hackworth join our team at Columbia School District. We are looking for a lot of positive aspects and skills that he will bring to the Columbia School District. Mr. Hackworth brings a wealth of knowledge, beginning with his time working with the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Detroit Lions. In addition, he has spent time supporting the non-profit Jackson Area Soccer Club, Grass Lake Summer Youth League and Special Olympics.
For the past seven years, Mr. Hackworth has been the Athletic Director at Western School District, in Parma. During his time at Western he has developed best practices in the form of specialized training for coaches, informational documents and support systems for student athletes and the coaches. Mr. Hackworth believes that teamwork, sportsmanship, developing social skills, and hard work are important benefits of a positive athletic program. The Columbia School District Board of Education and administration are looking forward to Mr. Hackworth joining our team!