School board chooses new high school principal

Whitefish High School has a new principal. The school board approved the selection of Dave Carlson at their Tuesday, July 14, meeting.

Carlson served as principal/director at the Learning Alternative Community School, in Spring Lake Park, Minn., for the past two years. The school board looked at 12 candidates from Montana, Idaho, New Hampshire, Minnesota, Maine, Oregon, Washington and Ohio.

"Carlson's credentials clearly singled him out as the outstanding candidate during the paper-screening as well as the formal interviewing process," school superintendent Jerry House said. "He is well prepared for his duties as our next Bulldog principal."

After 23 years in private industry, serving as a president and general manager in the propane and gas supply business, Carlson changed careers at age 40, gaining his bachelor's in social studies and his master's in educational leadership. He has served the last 14 years in education as a teacher, assistant principal and principal/director.

Carlson also has nine years of experience as a trustee for the ISD 621 Foundation, which organizes and implements major fundraising projects that distribute funds to support excellence in education.

Candidate interview teams here identified characteristics and work experience that set Carlson far above other candidates, House said.

"His experience with secondary alternative education, focusing on individualized learning, implementing professional teacher communities, assessment of student accomplishments across all curricular areas, and facilitating and expecting high quality improvements gave him the edge in delivering systems of learning for all children," House said.

Carlson also has experience in developing and implementing a 'school within a school" program called Program for Success. That and his professional interest in "personalization and engagement" and his knowledge of 21st Century Learning Skills clearly made the decision easy for the board, House said.

Carlson announced his decision to leave Minnesota on June 26.

"As some of you know, I love the West," he told his staff. "Having done my undergraduate work at the University of Northern Colorado, I was hooked early. Living and working there has been a dream for my wife and me for years, but also one of those dreams you thought would never come true. This week we discovered that dreams do come true."

"I am sorry to see Dave go," Spring Lake Park school superintendent Don Helmstetter said. "He is a class act, and I will miss him greatly, both personally and professionally. But he's living out a life-long dream, and I wish him the very best."

The Spring Lake Park school district is in the midst of a major renovation and construction plan to address a projected 20 percent growth in enrollment. The plan includes adding classrooms to all the district's schools, addressing deferred maintenance on older facilities, and building a new 750-student capacity K-3 school.

The community is invited to meet Dave Carlson and his wife Lisa at Whitefish High School on Wednesday, Aug. 12, from 5-7 p.m. The meet-and-greet ceremony will be informal, with Carlson giving a short address at 5:30 p.m.