Toni Beckler, assistant principal of Woodland Elementary School, oversees nearly a thousand students ages 4 to 12. Describing herself as “passionate,” Beckler says she laughs and cries with students and teachers every day. “There isn’t a day I think I could be doing anything better,” she says. Here is a glimpse of the everyday life of Minnesota’s outstanding assistant principal of 2013.
Q. What is the biggest challenge for you as assistant principal?
A. The biggest challenge is time. Time can be our best friend, but unfortunately in an education system where you are striving to help each individual kid, they need help now, and you need to meet their needs now. But our kids don’t have the time. If you waste the day, it’s gone.
Q. If you could transform anything about the educational system today, what would it be?
A. I think education is all about teaching the whole child. There needs to be more emphasis on social and emotional learning, building relationships and teaching the world. We need to teach our kids to be critical thinkers who think outside of the box. I would much rather teach social and emotional aspects of education.
Q. What drew you to teaching and education?
A. Being the child of two teachers, I was told that I could make money doing something else. I started out in college doing engineering, but knew that’s not what I wanted. Just being around teachers all my life, when I started studying, I knew that was where I needed to be.
Q. What do you like to do outside of class?
A. I love spending time with my family. I have two children who I am the taxicab for, and I love participating in whatever activity they are doing. I also play softball all summer. I love to read and garden. I have a huge garden in the backyard. And I love to camp.
Q. What do you hope to do in the future?
A. At some point, when my children are grown, I would love to have my own school and really see how far I could take a school in the main principal leadership position.
