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LEADERSHIP IN PUBLIC EDUCATION
New principals and administrators
David Law serving
as president of state
in place as school year begins
superintendent’s
association
Anoka-Hennepin
Superintendent David
Law is now serving
as president of the
Minnesota Association
of School Administrators
(MASA) board of
directors.
Law previously served
the MASA board as the
Region 9 Superintendent Component Group
Representative and was named president-
elect for the 2018-19 school year prior to his
role as MASA president for 2019-20.
“When I was asked to consider the
presidency (of MASA), I was honored,” Law
said. “Serving on the board — it allows me to
see education from the lens of our out-state
colleagues, which helps me do a better job
advocating for our district and advocating for
kids around the state when discussing needs
for public education.”
MASA is a private, nonprofit member
service organization representing Minnesota’s
educational administrators, including
superintendents, directors of special
education, curriculum and technology leaders,
central office administrators, and higher
education administrators and professors.
The organization supports excellence in
professional practice, enhances the leadership
networks of members, and provides members
with a variety of valuable benefits. n
Jessica Lipa, director
of career and
technical education,
earns state award
Jessica Lipa loves her
job, which works out
because she’s good at
it. But winning awards
for doing that job —
well that makes her a
little uncomfortable.
“We have an
incredible group of
talented teachers here
in Anoka-Hennepin,” she said. “So to earn an
award — it’s just surprising.”
Lipa is the director of Anoka-Hennepin’s
Secondary Technical Education Program
as well as career and technical education
districtwide. On Sept. 27 she accepted the
2019 Professional Support: Administration
Recognition award from the Minnesota
Technology and Engineering Educators
Association (MTEEA). The award recognizes
an administrator who demonstrates significant
commitment and support for technology
education.
“I’m super honored — I’m excited,” Lipa
said. “But here at STEP and around the
district, I’m not the one doing the work. I
might be guiding our career and technical
education work, but the teachers are doing
the heavy lifting. They deserve recognition for
their hard work, too.”
MTEEA as a state organization is dedicated
to providing technology and engineering
educators with professional development,
quality resources and best practices. n
Two Anoka-Hennepin elementary schools and the Compass program will have new principals, and the
district will have one new associate superintendent, and a new chief operations officer, following summer
retirements and new professional opportunities.
Associate superintendent
Dr. Eric Melbye
was named associate
superintendent for
middle schools and
student services
and began with the
district on July 1,
filling the void left by
Cory McIntyre, who
was hired to become the superintendent
of Osseo Area Schools. Melbye came to
Anoka-Hennepin from Bloomington Public
Schools where he served as an assistant
superintendent for four years. Prior to his
role as an assistant superintendent for
Bloomington schools, he served five years as
executive director of student services. Melbye
held roles as executive director of interagency
services for Southwest Metro Intermediate
District 288, and special education supervisor
for Bloomington schools.
Chief operations officer
Greg Cole was
named the district’s
chief operations officer
on April 25 and began
his current role with
the district on July 1,
taking over for Chuck
Holden who retired.
Cole has nearly 30
years of educational
experience, most of which has been with
Anoka-Hennepin. He was the principal of the
district’s Compass program after serving as
an English teacher as well as an administrative
intern and assistant principal at Northdale
Middle School. Cole leads the district’s
transportation, child nutrition and buildings/
grounds departments, as well as construction
and security/emergency management. n
Principal positions
Ray Brodeur, who served as an
assistant principal with the district’s
Compass program in 2018-19, was
named the new principal of the
program following Cole’s transition
to chief operations officer. Prior
to his appointment with Compass,
Brodeur was an assistant principal
at Roosevelt Middle School for
two years after serving as an
administrative intern at Anoka Middle School for the Arts.
Brodeur was a social studies and special education teacher
prior to his administrative experience.
Missy Monson was named the new
principal at Oxbow Creek Elementary
School in Brooklyn Park following the
retirement of longtime principal Rolf
Carlsen. Monson came to Oxbow
Creek after serving as principal
at Hamilton Elementary School in
Coon Rapids. Before serving as a
principal at Hamilton, Monson was an
administrative intern at Oxbow Creek
and an assistant principal at Eisenhower Elementary School
in Coon Rapids. Monson taught kindergarten, first and
second grade and served as a district intervention specialist
and instructional coach before getting into administration.
Monson began her role on July 1.
Julie Bowman took over as the new
principal at Hamilton after serving
as an assistant principal at Johnsville
Elementary School in Blaine. Prior
to her role as an assistant principal,
Bowman served as an administrative
intern at Crooked Lake Elementary
School in Andover. She also led
Crooked Lake’s school initiatives for
staff and students as a teacher on
special assignment and has previously taught kindergarten,
as well as first, second and third grades. Bowman began her
new role July 1. n
District communication efforts honored
as some of the nation’s best
Anoka-Hennepin’s efforts to inform and
engage students, staff and community have been
recognized as some of the nation’s best through
the National School Public Relations Association
(NSPRA), a professional organization for education-
based communicators from across the country.
NSPRA presented the Golden Achievement
Award to Anoka-Hennepin Community Education
for work supporting upgrades and improvements at
Roosevelt Community Pool. The district was one of
153 school districts in the nation to be recognized at
this level and the only school district in Minnesota to
earn this status for 2019. Community Education also
landed an Award of Excellence for a video produced
for the Metro North Adult Basic Education Pathways
program.
Awards of Merit were presented for Anoka-
Hennepin’s motivating back-to-school video and
effective online e-newsletter Backpack Online.
The video production featured the “stars” of
Anoka-Hennepin coming down the red carpet, a
homegrown twist on academy awards. Student
emcees introduced creative movie clips featuring
“above and beyond” winning employees and the
piece ended with a message to have “an incredible
year.” The Backpack Online e-newsletter is
published weekly during the school year, providing
news updates and information to subscribers via
email making the content available on a home
computer and mobile devices. Subscribe to
Backpack Online online at ahschools.us/bpo.
The School Board monitors and adjusts
communication efforts to maximize awareness,
participation and value for services provided
through Anoka-Hennepin schools.
n