|  | | MESPA Home > Honors > MESPA Division Leadership Award > 2008 Awards |  | Rolf M. Carlsen, North Suburban Division
 | | Rolf M. Carlsen, principal of Oxbow Creek Elementary School, Anoka-Hennepin School District (ISD #11) |
Rolf M. Carlsen was nominated for the North Suburban MESPA Division Leadership Achievement Award by his peers. He has been a member of MESPA since 1995-96 and has served his division colleagues as President-elect and President, is currently a member of the Negotiations Committee, and was a co-chair of MESPA’s annual convention, Institute 2008, held February 6-8 in Bloomington, MN. Under his leadership, Oxbow Creek was validated in 2007-08 by MESPA as a Minnesota School of Excellence. The Minnesota School of Excellence Program is a school improvement process developed and sponsored by MESPA, and recognized by the Minnesota Department of Education. It assesses six standards (leadership, vision, student learning, culture of adult learning, data and decision making, and community engagement) for quality elementary and middle level communities. Research has shown that if these six standards are evident in a school, best practices are being followed.
Carlsen sums up his educational philosophy with the following quote from Margaret Mead: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”
“Education is what allows one to become a thoughtful, committed citizen,” Carlsen believes. “I’m proud to spend my working years helping to develop such citizens,” he said.
In accepting the Division Leadership Achievement award, Carlsen noted the three most significant accomplishments of his education career. The first is that he was able to help lead in the design phase, oversee the building phase, and coordinate the opening of the new Oxbow Creek school in 2002. Another highlight is the year he served as president of MESPA’s North Suburban division. The year allowed him “the opportunity to meet principals from all over the state while improving my practice as a school leader. I was very proud of the division meetings I planned and the networking that resulted,” Carlsen said.
Thinking about other accomplishments over his 20-year career with the Anoka-Hennepin school district, Carlsen included the role he’s played in the elementary math program in his district. From teaching, to leading a math department, to serving on curriculum adoption committees, Carlsen said, “I’ve been very involved in math instruction. I think we’ve learned a great deal, made some very significant decisions, and helped thousands of kids get a strong background in mathematics.”
Past honors and recognition received by Carlsen include: Magma Cum Laude graduate of St. Olaf College; awarded a Teaching Assistant position in the Statistics Department at the University of Wisconsin, Madison; Master’s Degree in Educational Administration from the University of Minnesota.
|
|
