St. Francis Middle School (SFMS) Principal Heidi Critchley was honored as the Central Division Minnesota Association of Secondary School Principals Middle School Principal of the Year last month.
Critchley started as principal of SFMS in the fall of 2021. She has nearly 20 years of experience working in administrative positions.
“I am proud of the culture and climate we are building for students and staff,” Critchley said. “The biggest accomplishment is implementing programming and scheduling that supports our middle school students. This age group experiences immense physical, emotional, social, and academic growth during their time in middle school. We strive to offer programming that meets them where they are at and build our decisions focused on preparing them for their next steps in life.”
Some highlights since she has been at the helm of SFMS:
Recognized by the state for the Positive Behavioral Intervention and Supports (PBIS) program.
Ted Gehring, a 6th grade social studies teacher, was honored as the Minnesota Social Studies Teacher of the year and was a semifinalist for Minnesota Teacher of the Year.
St. Francis Middle School science teacher Emily Sevenz took her innovative work to the global stage this spring, presenting at the Ireland International Conference on Education (IICE).
Reading, math, and science scores are increasing, while behavior referrals are decreasing.
More from Critchley
“It was tough to take over a school after the pandemic. It has taken a lot of hard work and determination by the middle school staff to build programming for our students' needs which was even more prevalent after the pandemic. We have work to do, but we are on the right path. I am so proud of our staff and students for where we are today. I tell everyone that our middle school students at SFMS are some of the nicest students around.”
“We have worked hard to build our PBIS program which focuses on teaching expected behaviors, recognizing and celebrating positive actions, and promoting life-long skills for our students. In addition, our middle school teaming concept has allowed us to break down our large school of around 975 students to six teams, two per grade level. This takes our larger school community and creates smaller student cohorts. This is so important at the middle level. Our students need teachers who know them well and the team of teachers build student-centered communities.”