Melissa Tate, a 1998 graduate of Falls High School, is returning to her alma mater.
Tate is assuming the role of the new Falls Elementary and West End Elementary principal — a position that was vacated by Jerry Hilfer in June.
“I never dreamed I’d be the principal in my home community, but I’m really, really happy and I feel really fortunate,” Tate said of her new job.
Tate was offered the position in early August, resolving a stalemate over the hire of a principal that lasted almost two months. At the time of her hire, Tate only had her administrative license for just over a month.
She was one of 13 original candidates who applied for the principal position in May, but did not have a school administration license at that time. All applicants without licensure were eliminated before interviews began in early June. When the Falls School Board was unable to come to an agreement on who to hire, a second round of interviews took place and Tate had since received her administration license for principal and director license for managing special education.
Independent School District 361 Superintendent Nordy Nelson told The Journal Tuesday, “Melissa has really stepped up to take an active part in the district’s operations as far as special education and the elementary principalship. We’ve come a long way with our special education programming because of Melissa’s background and expertise in that area.”
Tate says she is focusing on using what resources the school offers wisely and has hopes of focusing heavily on the school’s Response to Intervention program, which is a method of academic intervention used in schools to provide early, systematic assistance to children who are having difficulty learning.
“We really want to reward positive behaviors and attitudes,” she explained. “I want to see focus put on the 85 percent of students who are doing what is expected of them in school.”
After graduating from FHS, Tate ventured to Duluth to study elementary education at the University of Minnesota-Duluth. In addition to her undergraduate degree in elementary education, she received a minor in both science and special education.
She continued at UMD to get her special education license, then spent the next seven years as a special education teacher in Grand Rapids, Nashwauk-Keewatin, and Littlefork-Big Falls school districts, respectively.
“I loved every minute of working with students and their families, however, I felt I could have a larger impact as an instructional leader,” Tate said of her early career.
While teaching, Tate worked to receive her master’s degree in education from Bemidji State University with a cognate in special education. She received her administrative and director of special education licenses from Moorhead State University in June.
“It’s been fast,” she said of her schooling. “But I think that my special ed background will only make me a stronger administrator.”
On top of balancing everything she has been through in the past few months, Tate is also raising her own children. Oliver will be 3 years old in October and Greta was born in February.
“I get a lot done when they go to bed,” she said with a laugh.
Tate said she anticipates the day Oliver and Greta walk through the doors of West End Elementary and hopes she will still have the opportunity to sit in the chair behind the principal’s desk.
“It is nice, too, because a lot of people my age are having kids now and I feel like that’ll be a nice touch for the community and it’ll hopefully be easy for those parents to reach out to me,” she said. “If I am fortunate enough, I think I could retire from here.”
Tate said she plans to embrace the opportunity tied to her new position and anticipates the school year will be successful for students, teachers, staff and parents. She added that her door is always open to parents who have concerns about their children. Parent involvement is key, she said.
“I’m really excited about this opportunity,” Tate concluded. “It is so nice to be able to put back into my home community. We have a lot of great teachers on this staff and I can see us working really well as a team.”
