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Barrington High School athletic director Mike Obsuszt stands on the football field with wife, Michelle, a Lake Zurich Middle School teacher, and their daughter, Ashley Hartz, who is a teacher at Rose Elementary. | Michelle LaVigne ~ Sun-Times Media
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BARRINGTON — Every morning of the school year, each of the six Obsuszt family members leaves their Lake Zurich home and heads out in six different, but related directions.
Mike Obsuszt, father and Barrington High School athletic director, heads out to the District 220 high school, while his wife Michelle makes her way to Lake Zurich Middle School North to teach eighth grade.
Ashley Hartz, the Obsuszt’s daughter, drives over to South Barrington’s Rose Elementary School, where she recently started teaching second grade. Mike and Michelle’s sons, Ryan, Kyle and Tyler, are students at three of Lake Zurich District 95’s schools.
The Obsuszt’s have formed a family of educators. Mom and dad have certainly nurtured Hartz’s desire to help others learn.
“Ashley’s going to be a great teacher,” said Mike, noting that he observed her teaching skills come together long before she began her teaching job.
Hartz followed her teaching instincts while attending North Park University in Chicago when she volunteered to tutor and spend extra time with students in the city.
After graduating with a degree in education in 2010, the former Lake Zurich High School all-conference and all-area softball player returned to her hometown high school to serve as an assistant varsity softball coach in 2011 and 2012.
“I have kind of always known that I wanted to be a teacher, not only because my mom and step dad were educators, but also because I had enjoyed coaching sports and mentoring team members,” Hartz said.
Sports and leadership is something that father and daughter have in common.
Now in his 18th year with District 220, Mike Obsuszt has been heavily involved in Barrington sports both on and off the field. Prior to his role as athletic director, he was a social studies teacher and the boys’ varsity basketball coach for eight years. His last basketball coaching victory was in 2002 when his team won the IHSA Sectional championship game against Lake Zurich High School.
Hartz jumped at the chance to teach in the same school district as her father when she was presented the opportunity to student teach at Barrington’s Countryside Elementary School in 2010. She became a third-grade class assistant at Rose Elementary last year, and took over as a full-time second grade teacher earlier this year.
Just a few weeks into the school year, Hartz said she’s enjoyed getting to know her students. Her goal, she added, is to help each of them learn how to voice his or her concerns and opinions in a way that maximizes their ability to effectively problem solve.
Mrs. Obsuszt, who has won District 95’s Golden Apple Meritorious Award in 2003 and its Golden Apple Teacher Make a Difference Award in 2010, is happy that her daughter has found a job she’s passionate about.
“We’re so proud of Ashley, and we know that she will find her own and make a difference,” said Michelle, adding that the Obsuszt team of educators would be there to help her when needed.
