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Flathead administrator wins honor from state association

HILARY MATHESON | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 10 years, 4 months AGO
by HILARY MATHESON
EDUCATION REPORTER Hilary Matheson covers education for the Daily Inter Lake. Her reporting focuses on schools, students, and the policies that shape public education across Northwest Montana. Matheson regularly reports on school boards, district decisions and issues affecting teachers and families. Her work examines how funding, enrollment and state policy influence local school systems. She helps readers understand how education decisions affect students and communities throughout the region. IMPACT: Hilary’s work provides transparency and insight into the schools that serve thousands of local families. | November 13, 2015 10:00 AM

Michele Paine is the recipient of the Montana Association of Secondary School Principals Assistant Principal of the Year Award for 2015-16.

The Flathead High School assistant principal was nominated by Principal Peter Fusaro.

“She does a lot. She is very student-centered, advises student council — all the food drives, blood drives and dances,” Fusaro said. “And she is good at curriculum. She really has a knack for it.”

Fusaro noted that Paine has helped spearhead the curricular transition of the Common Core standards and assisted with implementing intervention and behavioral initiatives. Most recently she headed up the school’s accreditation review, he said.

Paine started working at Flathead in 1999 as a reading specialist. From 2005 to 2011, she was a kindergarten- through 12th-grade language arts facilitator for the district. In 2011, she returned to Flathead as an assistant principal.

Paine is now in contention for assistant principal of the year through the National Association of Secondary School Principals.


Hilary Matheson is a reporter for The Daily Inter Lake. She may be reached at 758-4431 or [email protected].

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