New Manse principal plans hands-on approach

It’s a relatively short trip from Manse Elementary to Rosemary Clarke Middle School where Kyle Lindberg was an assistant principal for the past two years.

It made for a short move for Lindberg, when he took over the head job at Manse as the new principal this school year.

Lindberg replaces Evangelyn Visser, who now works for the district office as the school improvement director.

Superintendent Dale Norton was pleased with the new appointment.

“Mr. Lindberg has the best interest of students at the forefront. He has and will continue to lead by example for all stakeholders of Manse Elementary School and Nye County School District,” he said.

Lindberg returns to the school where he taught for six years when he first arrived in Nye County. He then spent the next 11 years teaching at the middle school, and said it should be an easy transition. He really wanted to come back to Manse because he taught there, and over 40 percent of the teachers who he taught with are still there.

“Now I am accustomed to middle school scheduling and the kids. Now I am reverting back to elementary school, where I have to take their needs, my needs and the requirements of the state and county and everything else to get everything in order, so that way on the first day when you meet with your teachers you have all your ducks in a row,” he said.

Lindberg found out he was coming to the school in July and said preparing for his new job was hectic. The teachers at each grade level have a system in place already. For example, at Manse the fifth grade is departmentalized like the middle school and the teachers teach like the middle school teachers do with each teacher teaching an individual subject.

“I am going to step back and watch a year. The former principal had a program here and I am not going to come in here and change the whole program. I will change a few little things and step back and watch what was created, and then I might tweak a few things,” Lindberg said.

He was asked how hard that was to do as a leader and he replied, “It is hard for me to do. To come in and see things the way they are working, the middle school does things another way. We built a great success with our administrative team, and I see some great things that are happening. You sit back and watch, and then slowly go in and change things. It’s hard to come in and not run with your feet running as hard as you can.”

Lindberg had been a leader in motivating students and a firm believer in student incentives and rewards for students who excel in academics at the middle school. With permission of then principal Jeff Skelton, Lindberg started a hall of fame banner which recognized students who scored a 500 on the annual Criterion Referenced Test.

“The teachers said the students need something, so I told them I would create the CRT banner. We designed it for sixth, seventh and eighth graders and any kid who got 500 got their name up on the wall, kind of like the hall of fame. That is something I would like to do here.”

His idea will be different than the CRT Banner, which still hangs at Rosemary Clarke. He would like to do a hall of fame and hang each kid’s picture up on the wall for the kids who get a 500 on the CRT.

“I want to encourage them to try to get their picture up on the wall,” he said.

The idea also gains traction with parents.

“I want the parents involved in the kids’ education,” he said. “There are parents that just bring them up to the school and drop them off. It’s unfortunate and they don’t get involved. They don’t understand that if their child gets in trouble there are consequences.”

Lindberg points at last year’s bus referral stats as another way of shaping the Manse community. His goal for the year is he wants to cut the bus referrals in half from 258. He said it was the highest in the school district, even higher than the middle school at 223 and the high school at 180.

“The biggest thing is I want them to feel this is a safe place for their kid. I want to keep going with the rewards and get the parents here to support their kid. I want to constantly bring them back to the school so they see this is a community,” Lindberg said.

Of course, another way to attract the parents to the school is on sheer talent. Manse has a fabulous reputation for having a top-notch music program.

“The kids are so proud of the music program and they are so involved in it. I was never a big music person until I started coming here to watch the program,” he said.

The principal describes himself has a guy that likes to get his hands dirty. This year it will be hard to find him in his office, he remarked.

“I am the kind of person that gets involved and my hands are dirty all the time,” he said. “If you come looking for me, I probably will not be at my desk.”

In the past, he said administrators have not been around the kids. To see an administrator come into the classroom and learn what they are learning is helpful in keeping kids excited about their education.

“You relate to them, you get to know them,” he said. “You meet them at the bus stop and shake their hand, and you give them a high five. It shows them you care about their education.”