Joan Maland, principal at Indian Mounds Elementary, Bloomington School District

In her principalship, Maland follows the philosophy of Dr. Haim Ginott, author of Teacher and Child: “It is my personal approach that creates the climate.  It is my daily mood that makes the weather…I possess tremendous power to make a child’s life miserable or joyous.  I can be a tool of torture or an instrument of inspiration.  I can humiliate or humor, hurt or heal.  In all situations, it is my response that decides whether a crisis will be escalated or de-escalated and a child humanized or dehumanized.”

In nominating Maland for this honor, Gail Lewis-Miller (principal, Hopkins) stated: “Joan Maland is well respected among her peers for her honesty, integrity, and positive work ethic. Joan has been the principal of Indian Mounds Elementary for the past five years and has provided strong leadership to her staff.  The student population has changed dramatically over the last several years at the school and the staff recognized they needed additional staff development to address the needs of their diverse learners. Joan jumped at the opportunity to lead her staff through a book study of How to Teach Children Who Don’t Look Like You. Her love of designing and leading staff development is evident in her role as adjunct instructor at Hamline University.”

Maland is dedicated to the improvement of education both in her school and in the greater Minnesota education community.  One of the most significant accomplishments in her career centers around her commitment to nurturing quality student teachers. For the past 14 years, she has taught the Exceptionally course in the education department at Hamline University.  Long ago recognizing that not all student teachers have the required skills to identify or teach students with special needs, Maland lobbied for the Exceptionally course and then was given the opportunity to design and teach it. 

Speaking about this special teaching experience, Maland said, “Over the years it has been my pleasure to work with hundreds of both undergraduate and graduate students. Teaching at Hamline allows me the opportunity to impress upon pre-service teachers how important they are in the life of their students; how challenging and how rewarding the teaching profession can be.”

Maland was asked to participate in the redesign of the teacher evaluation process by the Bloomington school district and the Bloomington Federation of Teachers. Team work, respect, trust and open communication were all components of the arduous task encompassing many meetings that produced multiple editions over a two-year period.  The finished product was well received by all parties and is another significant accomplishment of her education career.

Two years ago, the staff at Indian Mounds willingly took on the challenge to complete and submit the application for the Minnesota School of Excellence program, a school improvement process recognized by the Minnesota Department of Education that involves a systematic program of self-study, development of a school improvement plan, and implementation of the plan based on demonstrated results. It became the primary initiative for the school year.  The Indian Mounds team designed a process to work through the project in one year, guided by the question, “What is best for students?” At the end of the process, everyone had a much greater appreciation of the “big picture.”  Another accomplishment of Maland’s career, the school was validated as a 2008-09 MESPA Minnesota School of Excellence.  Working to achieve the validation, the school community was able to celebrate the success together.

Maland has held the following leadership positions within MESPA:  2009-10 President-Elect of West Suburban division, 2008-09 President of West Suburban division, and 2007-08 President-Elect of West Suburban Division.  Her 10 years in administration include the role of principal, assistant principal, and intern.