Kind calls small mountain schools the right size

By Brenda Rader Mross
North Forty News

Last year's stint as interim principal was invaluable in making his an already familiar face at Poudre School District's three mountain schools.

As Patrick Kind's favorite "Star Wars" character Yoda would say, "Mind what you have learned. Save you it can."

Mountain schools staff and students are well acquainted with their new principal and his love for the three-fingered wise one. It's hard not to notice that at all three locations, Kind has "something Yoda" displayed proudly in his office, plus he does an imitation of the Jedi master that's quite convincing.

There is one Yoda-ism, though, that Kind might not take so kindly to when it comes to school talk: "Size matters not."

As the new principal of three schools where he estimates the average class size is 15, Kind knows size matters a lot.

"These are very effective schools," Kind emphatically stated, "where the staff is able to meet each child's individual needs. The whole building accepts that child and everyone knows their No. 1 priority. Our size allows us to get to know kids beyond their name."

Kind said small schools naturally allow for more collaboration among teachers and closeness among students.

"Peer education empowers kids," he said. "These students are scheduled together a lot; they eat lunch together. They help and support each other."

Comparing the family feel of the mountain schools with Kind's first teaching encounter--six years at a Houston inner city elementary school with 1,200 students - is like the proverbial apples to oranges.

"Quite the contrast and I love it," observed Kind. "I've been able to see firsthand the full scope, which has been great. I know how very fortunate I am to be up here."

Even come winter?

"One of our biggest challenges is geography," Kind said. "It works for and against us. The staff really wants to be here, so there's a passion that unites everyone in the building."

That zeal and commitment extends to the community.

"Families value the opportunity to keep their kids in these schools," Kind said. "They're willing to make sacrifices. We are blessed with an active parent community."

Kind has a 30-minute commute, but he noted that some days it can take that long to get from one end of Fort Collins to the other.

"That seems like a small price to pay to be able to make such a phenomenal impact," Kind said. "Here, there is such a sense of belonging - every child belongs - you know you've impacted a child's life."

The 40-year-old came to Red Feather Lakes two years ago as a fifth- and sixth-grade teacher. He later became head teacher at the school, which Kind credited as terrific preparation for stepping into the top administrative spot.

Born in Omaha, Kind received his degree in education from Kearney State College, now the University of Nebraska at Kearney, where he met his wife, Tricia. When she was pregnant with their second child - they have three sons ages 10 to 13 - they decided Texas was too far from home and compromised on Colorado.

"We literally got out the map and decided it was either Fort Collins or Colorado Springs," Kind recalled. "I was lucky to get a job teaching fourth grade at Dunn Elementary."

Tricia Kind teaches third grade at Dunn, after years of operating a home day care for educators.

Kind helped to open Bacon Elementary School as a fourth-grade teacher, an opportunity he termed once in a lifetime, before accepting the job at Red Feather.

He was also a fourth-grade instructor at Werner Elementary for four years, after taking a year off from teaching to be a computer technician for Thompson School District.

Kind said had he been approached earlier in his career about becoming an administrator, his response would have been, "No, you're crazy!" But since as Yoda sagely observed, "Always in motion is the future," Kind said as he matured, he realized "the whole perspective" and how he could impact schools.

The mountain schools community won't see a lot of change for change's sake in their schools from Kind.

"Things aren't broken," Kind simply said.

Regarding the upcoming transition to the K-5 grade reconfiguration, Kind said, "nothing is set yet," and he looks forward to the dialogue in the year ahead. Ultimately, he is committed to the concept of balance.

Like Yoda advises, "Do. Or do not. There is no try."