About Us

Colorado was one of the early groups to see the long-range implications of the situation and, during the spring and summer of 1969, an administrator-board member of CEA, John Stuart, led the exodus from CEA. He invited all school executives of a like mind to join him in the organization of a separate administrator association. About 250 prospective members attended the first annual convention of CASE at Hinkley High School in Aurora in the fall of 1969. At that meeting John Stuart was elected president and Bill Hinkley secretary. Individuals who served on the first board of directors for CASE were John G. Stuart, Jack Messervy, Malcomb Drake, William C. Hinkley, Carl Zeiger, Howard Cloud, Harold Dunning, James Filke, and Gerald Ellis.* A constitution was adopted, and the association was born.

By the summer of 1970, it became apparent practicing school executives could not meet the increasing demands of the organization on a volunteer basis. A full-time effort was needed. Colbert Cushing, who had retired as a CEA staff member, agreed to take on the task until a full-time executive secretary could be found.

One of the first tasks facing Cushing was the need to convince CASE membership that, rather than being “one happy family,” the association should be structured as an umbrella organization – identifiable departments with their own programs, activities, and structures, but operating within the identified structure of the association. Five departments were identified and an overall Board of Directors (Coordinating Council) was established. One of the important reasons for the departmental approach was to attract administrator members from CEA. CASE, with its Coordinating Council, its commitment to departmental sanctity, and its plan to rotate leadership among all departments proved attractive.

On January 5, 1971, Arly Burch joined the association as the first salaried executive secretary. Art Ludka became the associate director in 1973 to augment the leadership structure of the association. Under their enthusiastic leadership and the assistance of a dedicated staff, membership grew to over 1,600 school executives representing nearly 75 percent of the eligible school administrators in Colorado.

In September 1971, the elementary principals (DESP, now known as CAESP) affiliated with CASE, and in 1972, the secondary school principals (CASSP) joined the umbrella. With the superintendents and other districtwide administrators already in CASE, it was only a matter of time until the educational specialists and the business officials established their own department structures (DES and DBO).

In 1996, the DES department was renamed the Colorado Association of Educational Specialists (CAES), and school personnel administrators (CASPA) joined CASE that year. In 1998 the Department of General Administrators was renamed the Colorado Association of Superintendents and Senior Administrators (CASSA). Four years later, in 2002, educational technology administrators formed a seventh department under the umbrella of CASE named the Colorado Association of Leaders in Educational Technology (CALET).

Over the years, the association’s image has emerged as a solid, effective, and viable organization. CASE is valued by its members for high-quality professional development, advocacy for the profession and public education, legal assistance, and networking opportunities. In recounting CASE’s history, it also is appropriate to acknowledge the support of the Colorado Association of School Boards (CASB). In recent years CASE has expanded its influence through collaborative partnerships with a variety of education-related organizations including CASB and the Colorado Education Association.