The late John Kusik and his wife, Carole Richards, of Chagrin Falls, were always on the same page. The couple read each other like open books, which was fitting, given their contributions to literacy. They shared a commitment and passion for finding ways to teach all children.
Kusik died this past July at age 88 after an extraordinary life. He was a manufacturing business owner, salesman, copywriter, marketing strategist (clients included Progressive Insurance and Cleveland Clinic), author of three business how-to books and publisher of health care materials. Kusik reinvented and improved himself with each new skill and career opportunity. But these were additions to his resume, not changes. He found a way to use all of his talents.
Kusik also was a past-president and board chair of Sales and Marketing Executives of Cleveland and past vice president of the Chagrin Valley Little Theatre.
Some colleagues and friends say he bound all those interests and skills into the Creative Education Institute (CEI), a nonprofit with a mission “to effect change through improved literacy.” Located in Solon, CEI was founded by Richards and Kusik in 1992, only a year after they met.
“John always had an interest in education and was active with Urban Community School (a nonprofit school in Cleveland that provides individualized education). But he really didn’t know a lot about learning disabilities or reading differences,” says Richards, a former public school teacher, tutor and founder of North Coast Education Services in 1985.
“John was listening to someone one night who said that when he was in school, he could read a book from back to front and from the bottom of the page to the top — and he could understand it. That made John a believer that learning disabilities were real and that there was a need for more literacy and a better way to teach reading,” says Richards.
Kusik became chief operating officer for CEI’s Richards Learning Systems (RLS), described as a systematic and multi-sensory approach to language arts. (Richards is president and CEO.) He was also CEI’s board chairman and vice president and marketing director of North Coast Education Services.
Today the couple’s reading programs, now in their third year, are in 41 Cleveland Metropolitan School District classrooms in nine schools. As part of the programming, the couple created the Sammy and the Magical Reading Chest video series that consists of 77 five-minute episodes for pre-K through third grade students. The last episode was filmed in July shortly before Kusik’s death.
“John always said he wanted to be able to see the last one,” recalls Richards.
Lorraine Dodero is trustee/chairman with the Sam J. Frankino Foundation (supporting excellence in education) and the Corinne L. Dodero Foundation for Arts and Sciences. Dodero is impressed with the value of Richards Learning Systems and the videos.
“I could see that any kind of academic learning combined with physical activities really made a difference,” says Dodero. “Over the years of knowing Carole and John, I have seen an impact on families with children with reading disabilities.”
The group of businesses and nonprofits the couple offered will still continue. But Richards also would like to see one idea that was near and dear to the couple be resurrected and another jump-started. Their Academic Fun and Fitness Camp operated for 16 years at a college campus until 2017. The six-week camp for children ages 6 to 19 offered academics in the morning and a variety of activities, from sports to drama to art therapy, in the afternoons.
Years ago, the adopted daughters of attorney Raymond Malone, partner with BakerHostetler, experienced learning challenges. He sought help from the camp and with tutoring.
“Carole’s programs were extremely helpful getting my daughters to the point where they could read and function in a more normal school environment,” says Malone. “Carole was the advocate and John the operations guy. John also did an extreme amount of canvasing so funds for individual instruction could be made available for free on a wider basis for those who needed it.”
Kusik had a keen sense for fundraising, knowing it was necessary to accomplish goals and help nonprofit organizations. He was active with the National Council on Alcoholism and was tapped one year to introduce philanthropist Joan Kroc, third wife of Ray Kroc, who is credited with the global expansion of McDonald’s.
“John was told to make sure she didn’t take a long time speaking,” recalls Richards. “But she talked and talked and talked. John later told me he wished he could have used a long cane to get her off the stage. When she was finally ready to leave, she said, ‘Oh, I almost forgot,’ and handed John a check made out to the Council for $1 million. John told me he wanted to ask her, ‘Would you like to talk for another hour?’”
The School of the Future, envisioned as a school dedicated to students with learning disabilities, was another idea Richards and Kusik hoped to create. Their idea was hatched well before there was more adequate state and federal funding available for such opportunities.
“Some people might dispute this, but there really isn’t any school in Cleveland that serves this population,” says Richards. “My daughter, who now works for our business, hopes eventually to resurface that idea.”
Friends and acquaintances remember Kusik as a caring, congenial guy who always had a smile on his face. His wife calls him a “happy, kind, helpful, intelligent” person who always was looking for a way to encourage literacy. Kusik had sincere, innovative goals and direction in both his professional and personal lives, but he also didn’t let formal, rigid, long-term restraints dictate his activities. He read between the lines to know what was important in life to be really successful. And that included his personal life.
“We had been together 13 years before we got married, and we were both very pragmatic,” says Richards. “We didn’t spend a lot of time struggling over decisions versus just getting things done. One morning over coffee, we decided to get married in Hawaii since we were going there anyway.
And at that time, in Hawaii, you could get a marriage license from a hairdresser. Our wedding party consisted of the minister, the photographer and a Hawaiian goose. But we were together for 31 years,” says Richards.
