New principals have their own first days at school

WASHINGTON — Principals Teresa Beenblossom and Susie Lund, starting their first years at Washington High School and Lincoln Elementary respectively, shared the experience of many students: working through their first day in a new building.

Lund, who has worked in several Iowa school districts, but never as a principal, said it was a new experience.

“I didn’t know what to expect,” she said. “I’ve worked mainly in district leadership positions for the past 10 years, so the day-to-day bells and recess duty and where kids go when they walk into the building, those kinds of logistics have not been on my plate. Learning them is what I’m trying to figure out right now.”

Despite the day-one nerves, Lund said the staff at her building were tremendously supportive.

“I’ve had one-on-one meetings with almost everyone,” she said. “People will tell me things like, ‘I lost a family member last year and this building just rallied around me and covered for me and brought me food.’ I mean, it’s a true family atmosphere. Being virtual, you miss a lot of that.”

Still, Lund said she had some adjusting left to do.

“I don’t know what instruction looks like yet,” she said. “These first few weeks are mostly learning to move around the building, what the rules are, getting to know the kids.”

Just across town, Lund’s predecessor, Teresa Beenblossom, said her first day as the Washington High School principal was similarly supportive

“I was very excited, but I was super nervous because I didn’t really know what to expect in terms of perceptions of students and perceptions of teachers as far as the role of the principal,” she said. “I’ve truly enjoyed getting to know the staff and building relationships with them … so that expectation was passed.”

Beenblossom said the interactions with students were among the big changes from her work as an elementary school principal.

“I talked with most of the students at lunch yesterday. It’s just been fun make connections with the kids on the things that they enjoy, what they did this summer, things like that,” she said. “I was a little bit nervous about that, too, because they are older kids, and do they want to have that kind of conversation with an adult, and it seemed like they did, so that was nice.”

While she’s still adjusting to the new environment, Beenblossom said she felt good about the new school year.

“Leadership is leadership, it doesn’t matter what level you’re at,” she said. “It’s about building relationships with your staff, building relationships with your students, and then knowing what the staff need to help students be successful.”