This year, the majority of Osseo-area high school students will begin the school year under new leadership. Both Maple Grove and Osseo senior highs have new principals. After meeting with them and speaking about the strengths of the educational philosophies at the two schools, the environment among teachers, the outstanding student achievement and the stellar credentials that each man brings to his position, it is clear that the students are in good hands.
It’s difficult to see how the steady success of these two administrators might ever fade. They have strong roots in the district and they join two of the top performing high schools in the state. The solid tracks laid for them mean the train can run smoothly during the transition, and the destination is clear. The emerging theme from both Bart Becker and Michael Lehan has to do with building an environment where students feel they belong and are challenged to the highest possible level of achievement appropriate for any given student. “We want students to exit as their best ‘self’ possible,” Lehan explains.
While the crossing bars are down and the track looks safe, there are, no doubt, some challenges to helping every student qualify to cross the stage at commencement. An achievement gap among various groups of students remains intact. While students who naturally excel must be given opportunities to advance, other students receive equitable opportunities through accelerated learning plans that map their scholastic futures. Homework assistance is regularly offered and the school day is structured so students don’t have to add extra time in order to receive help. On top of all this, Becker says, “The teachers inspire with great instruction and relationships, and they make a subject interesting so students want to learn.”
Students head into an academic year full of bright possibility, but what makes this year outstanding is the fact that new leaders have been chosen with the same rigor that’s at the core of everything the Osseo district sets out to accomplish. From the careful phased-in plan for adding ninth graders into the high school environment (and sixth graders into the junior high schools), to the school-wide integration of technology, everything is thought-out and well understood by all involved.
If the rest of our world worked this smoothly, we’d be annually graduating seniors into a society that is more worthy of the life they have been preparing to undertake. Or, perhaps, because of their well-ordered high school experience, it is these very seniors who will become the leaders of a well considered future for us all.
Michael Lehan (pictured above)
Michael Lehan will take the reins this year at
Osseo Senior High. Lehan is an experienced educator who has worked both
in the Osseo School District and in St. Paul Public Schools. Prior to
his role as assistant principal at Osseo Senior High, he served as
assistant principal at Maple Grove Senior High and assistant principal
at Harding High School in St. Paul. Lehan has also served as
administrative assistant at North View Junior High and at Osseo Junior
High.
Lehan earned an education specialist in educational
leadership degree and K–12 principal license from the University of St.
Thomas and holds a master of arts degree in educational leadership from
St. Mary’s University. He earned a bachelor of science in family social
science with a minor in youth studies from the University of Minnesota.
He is currently pursuing an education doctorate in leadership from the
University of St. Thomas.
Bart Becker
Bart Becker, Ed.D, has been named the new principal of Maple Grove Senior High. Becker began his career in Osseo Area Schools in 2001 and has spent most of that time serving the students and families at Maple Grove Senior High, first as a social studies teacher and then as a behavior intervention teacher. For the past four years, he has been an assistant principal at Park Center Senior High School.
Becker holds a bachelor’s degree in history and social studies-secondary education from Bethel University and a master’s degree in education from St. Mary’s University. He obtained his doctor of education and K-12 principal license from Bethel University.
