School news
February 4, 2016, The Bridgton News, Page 3A
Conversation with Matt Lokken
Valentine’s Day
Feb. 14
Wayne Wheelock -- GoFundMe.com/5HHT3TCS After party immediately following at 7 Willis Park Rd., Bridgton. For more info: 347-1986
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GEO BEE WINNER, AGAIN — Stevens Brook Elementary School Principal Cheryl Turpin congratulates Brayden Warde on winning the SBES National Geographic Bee for the second straight year. and administrators. I found endless support. Anything I needed, people were there to help me get settled in. The staff is phenomenal. They have a ‘can do’ attitude. They have been very supportive and willing to do what we decided we need to do. Q. Goals starting out? ML. My plan was to just to have as many conversations I could with as many people as I could, to get to know as many students as I could right from the start. Then, take in everything and
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The Path of Practice Class Schedule Tuesday
4:45 p.m. All levels 6:00 p.m. Gentle & Therapeutic Thursday 4:45 p.m. All levels 6:00 p.m. Gentle & Therapeutic Saturday 8:30 a.m. All levels 10:00 a.m. Gentle & Therapeutic Contact 207-650-7708
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1-6 p.m. at American Legion Hall Rte. 11, Naples
students on a really meaningful level has been really enjoyable. Q. The principal’s position has evolved compared to years ago when it was a “bad” thing to be sent to the principal’s office? ML. Kids are different. Demands on schools are different. The family is different. So many things today are different that impact the school and what it has to do. I find the most enjoyable part of the job is the ability to creatively problem-solve all of these challenges. We are trying to empower students more, take ownership of their learning, and really model positive behavior than get compliance from students. I’ll take five minutes to shoot baskets with the kids, poke my head out into the hallway and talk with kids. I want them to feel comfortable to come to me if they need help or just want to say ‘Hi.” When I do have to address behavioral issues, it’s easier. The rapport has been built. Kids want to be liked. They want to please everyone, at this age. They want to be accepted by all of their peers, their teachers, liked by everyone. They will work hard to gain that approval. It’s good to build those relationships. They are very receptive to feedback when they are not holding up their end of the bargain. Q. Why middle school? ML. My background in teaching, 7-12, I knew the academics. I was an assistant principal for a pre-K to 8 school, so I had a chance to work with elementary students. I had a nice view, K-12, as to what each level held. What I found, I always thought I was a high school-type educator. I enjoyed the challenging content of AP Physics and Chemistry. But, middle school is definitely my niche. There is so much growth that happens in the span of middle school — physically and emotionally, in terms of maturity. The curriculum is advanced enough that it has rigor to make it exciting and engaging, yet it is still fun, and lends to project learning — not like the pressure in high school, which focuses on content to get ready for college. Middle school has a nice balance to develop the student as a person and still incorporate academic rigor — it’s a nice mix. The energy in a middle school building is phenomenal. High school is still enjoyable. Kids are who they are. It’s tough to impact them, less malleable. More mature. Middle school age is a unique journey. Q. How was the transition starting a new job here? ML. It was surprisingly easy. One, I have an incredible assistant principal (Maggie Thornton), who is motivated and energetic and just really competent. She was already on board when I came after Labor Day, the school was up and running. She was invaluable. The district has a ton of resources and support for teachers
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ML. I grew up where “school” was the center of my family. My dad was a teacher and a coach. My mom was a school nurse. Two of my aunts and an uncle were teachers. Those people were huge parts of my life growing up, and I was very involved in school as an athlete and a student. So, school was a major component of my upbringing. It was a cornerstone of what we did as a family. I went off to college and earned a degree in wildlife biology. I worked in a scientific research capacity for about a decade. Then, I returned to school to become a teacher. I went to Montana State University to earn a master’s degree and got into a teaching program there. My first job was at the Flathead Indian Reservation in Wyoming as a science teacher for grades 7 to 12. It was a real challenging job with seven different science classes taught every day. It was a fantastic experience. Q. How did you land in Maine? ML. I am a native of Iowa. My wife is from upstate New York. She works for an environmental consulting company, which has offices across the country. A position opened in Maine, so we both got jobs in Presque Isle. I was a biology teacher there. We then migrated south, and I took a job at Kennett (North Conway) as a chemistry teacher. I earned a second master’s degree in education leadership, and later worked in Dover-Foxcroft. Q. What moved you toward administration? ML. I felt really good about some of the things I was doing in my classroom, and I wanted to share that vision on a broader level. Also, it seems like I’ve been taking classes forever (curriculum and instruction), which I enjoyed, and the next step was education leadership. During some course work, some professors early on gave me the tap on the shoulder and told me I needed to go for this. ‘You get it,’ they said. I really enjoy the visioning, big picture look for education. As I took more classes, my interest grew. I took on more leadership roles as a teacher in my building, and wanted to keep progressing. Q. Biggest challenge from being a teacher to an administrator? ML. I really enjoy science and sharing those conversations about science with students on a regular basis. It was tough to give up. There are a lot of difficult decisions to be made as an administration. The areas you have to manage and juggle expand greatly. Initially, that pushed me outside of my comfort zone. But, I have found the interactions I get to have with kids now are almost better than when I was a teacher. Teachers live in the bell schedule, sometimes 25 kids in a classroom. If they see a student that is misbehaving or struggling, they have little time to stop what they are doing and really give that student undivided attention and the help they need. Whereas in this capacity, those students that are struggling behaviorally or academically, I can stop what I am doing and work with that student for a half-hour or hour, really deep conversations, find out what is going on which is leading up to the struggles they are having. The opportunity to support
thepathofpractice.com / e-mail pathofpractice@gmail.com
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2013 Chevrolet Silverado
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2014 Dodge Journey
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2006 Dodge Dakota
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