“No significant learning occurs without a significant relationship.”
This personal mantra took years to develop in recently hired Hills-Beaver Creek Secondary Principal Andrew Kellenberger.
The seed was first planted in the early 2000s while he was a student attending the University of Minnesota in the Twin Cities.
The 1999 H-BC High School graduate originally entered college to become a mechanical engineer but found a new passion in education.
“I changed my major after working at an after-school program in South Minneapolis at Powderhorn Elementary School. I was an after-school teacher for a program called A.C.E.S. — Athletes Committee to Educating Students,” Kellenberger said.
“I worked with a group of students and incorporated sports into math and reading activities for students who needed a little more support in school.”
Decades later the teaching experience from those two years still lingers with Kellenberger.
“That job is still one of my favorites jobs,” he said.
After graduating, Kellenberger taught in Ellsworth, H-BC and at Normandale Hills in Bloomington where he solidified his “student-first” philosophy, and his last position (three years as administrator with Dakota Meadows Middle School in Mankato) showed what the philosophy could accomplish.
“For most of my teaching career I never imagined or thought I would become an administrator,” he said.
“However, I eventually started seeing the impact an administrator can have on a school by leading a student-first culture.”
Five years ago he was a member of a building team that pursued a School of Excellence Award from the Minnesota Elementary School Principals Association. The team looked at areas where the school did well and in areas where the school could improve.
“This two-year experience helped me see how the school improvement process can impact student achievement,” he said. “During this process I started my graduate classes for school administration.”
When previous H-BC Secondary Principal Molly Schilling left to become superintendent at Adrian Public Schools, Kellenberger found relationship building in his district already had a strong student-first foundation.
“I feel H-BC is a small community school which does this very well,” he said. “I felt my strengths and beliefs aligned with the strong culture H-BC already has — values education and does a great job of supporting our students as they go through the school system.”
Kellenberger and his wife, Natasha, will get a close-up look at the elementary as two of their three children, Henry, 7, and Nora, 5, attend classes. The couple’s third child, Livia, is nine months old.
They are looking for an acreage in the Hills-Beaver Creek area.
“We are finally getting closer to family, which is very important to us,” he said.
Kellenberger’s parents, LeRoy and Lou, live in Sioux Falls.
As H-BC Secondary kicks off classes for the 2020-21 school year on Tuesday, Kellenberger is ready to continue his student-first collaborative approach with staff and roughly 240 sixth- through 12th-grade students.
“H-BC is a great size, which will allow me to get to know all of our students at some level. Education will ultimately give our students greater opportunities when they leave our doors,” he said.
“My goal is to help students see this and provide the best education possible while they are here.”
Earlier this year, coronavirus prevention efforts disrupted how traditional education is delivered.
The H-BC Secondary will start the new school year with a block-class schedule to limit contact between grade levels. The secondary will be meeting in person for the first time since March.
“It’s been a long six months,” Kellenberger said. “I’ve never been this excited for school to sta