Linderman principal looks forward to school
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POLSON — Tim Finkbeiner’s excitement is palpable; he radiates enthusiasm.
“I can’t wait to meet the kids,” Finkbeiner said in an interview last week.
Finkbeiner was hired as principal of Linderman Elementary School. He and his family — wife Janella, Jake, 14, and Kallie, 10 — moved here from Kansas.
When the school year begins, he can learn the rhythm and culture of the school.
Finkbeiner also is interested in learning about the Salish and Kootenai way of life and history.
Working with Navajo kids during summer vacations in college fascinated him, and now Finkbeiner has a chance to learn about new tribes.
District 23 has very specific goals, Finkbeiner said, and that’s important to him.
At a district wide meeting on Aug. 29, Caryl Cox, board chair, John Triolo, vice chair, and Superintendent Linda Reksten shared the goals with teachers and staff. The first goal is to support the schools in whatever way they can so 95 percent of students will meet Average Yearly Progress in all core subject areas by 2018.
The second goal is that the Polson School Board embraces the program Graduation Matters to prepare all students to graduate so that they may obtain meaningful employment or post-secondary education.
The third goal is that the trustees want this district to be a Lighthouse District of excellence in Montana.
Doing his homework and looking into districts he was applying to, Finkbeiner said he thinks Reksten and the Polson School Board of Trustees are on the right track.
The district will pilot a new reading program called Journeys this year, Finkbeiner said. One of the important things this program will do is make sure every teacher in second grade, or third or fourth, is teaching the same reading curriculum.
Before coming to Polson, Finkbeiner served as principal in a small elementary school in Colorado and the two toughest schools in Wichita, Kan. He even won an outstanding building leadership award for his work in Wichita.
With four principals in the last four years, Linderman can use a steady hand at the helm.
Finkbeiner is impressed with Linderman’s excellent teachers.
“Our district leadership wants us to be a lighthouse for this state,” Finkbeiner said.
“I strongly think we have people in this building and this district to get us there.”
With a bachelor’s degree in sociology, a bachelor’s in education, a master’s in educational administration, and a master’s in district level administration, Finkbeiner comes with all the credentials. The most important one is that he cares for kids.
“I love kids first, that’s why I do what I do,” he said.
