|  | | MESPA Home > Honors > MESPA Division Leadership Award > 2008 Awards |  | Mari Lu Martens, Southwest Division
 | | Mari Lu Martens, principal of Sibley-East Elementary in Arlington, ISD #2310 |
Mari Lu Martens was nominated for the Southwest MESPA Division Leadership Achievement Award because her colleagues state she has distinguished herself as an elementary principal with her strong advocacy for children and public education.
According to Scott Loeslie, principal of Tracy Area Public Schools, “Her positive attitude, enthusiasm, and exemplary leadership skills are well developed and her leadership attributes have earned her a much deserved and enviable reputation as an outstanding school administrator. Under her leadership the students, staff, and communities of Gaylord and Arlington (Sibley East Public Schools) have benefited from her knowledge, work ethic, and commitment to excellence in providing the children of her schools and communities with exceptional learning opportunities.”
Loeslie continued, “Mari Lu has held numerous leadership offices within the Southwest Division of MESPA, most recent of which was Division President. During her tenure as president, Mari Lu was dedicated to providing her colleagues with professional development activities to enhance their skills as school administrators. She clearly is a leader among leaders.”
Martens, a selected participant in the 2007 Minnesota Principals Academy, believes in the words of Eleanor Roosevelt that “It is better to light a candle, than to curse the darkness.” In determining the three most significant accomplishments of her career, she says: “I am the most proud of what our school district has been able to accomplish with getting students to read. Our students face many challenges before they even get to school so working with them and helping them be successful is especially rewarding. We have implemented a balanced literacy approach with a comprehensive monitoring system that is able to specifically diagnose what students need in order to be proficient in reading. We redesigned resources to be able to target the needs of the students so they are able to get the time and support they need. This has been a collaborative effort that has taken us several years to accomplish and is something we are all proud of.
“I am also proud to say that due to our collaborative efforts we have an all-day every day kindergarten program. We implemented this several years ago and it has made a huge difference. Many of our students do not have a preschool experience, so the additional time we can provide for them in kindergarten has proven to be an invaluable experience for them and has given them the support they need to be competent kindergarteners.
“We have worked diligently within our school environment to make everyone feel like they belong and we work daily on building school community. We have trained staff in Responsive Classroom, and we hold monthly assemblies with a high degree of engagement of our student council and youth development groups where students are recognized and acknowledged for their efforts and successes. As a result, we have seen a dramatic reduction in the number of discipline incidents, including bus conduct reports, play ground violations, and the number of students being sent out of the classroom.”
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