By Keighla Schmidt, Staff Writer

Students walking into Burnsville High School this year will see a new, yet familiar, face at the principal’s post.

Dave Helke has brought his principal’s plaque to BHS from Eagle Ridge Junior High School and will be the interim principal this year.

“The big differences are the obvious differences,” Helke said. “The biggest change is the massiveness of the organization.”

For Helke, the student body population he’s now responsible for is nearly triple what he oversaw at ERJH. There are about 800 students at Eagle Ridge and nearly 2,400 at the high school.

Helke said he will be working toward different goals for students at the high school level; including graduation credits, college credits and understanding NCAA rules. The age and maturity difference will be new for him, as well.

For students coming into their sophomore year from Eagle Ridge, Helke said they’ll likely view him just the same as they did when they were in junior high.

“They’ll still see me as Mr. Helke, the principal,” he said.

For the juniors and seniors, who had a few other principals, they won’t see many changes, either, he said.

“I’m not planning on doing anything that’s wholesale different,” he said. “I may have a unique style, but it won’t be drastically different.”

A test, Helke said, will be to help each person feel like they fit in at the campus.

“When you’re in an institution this big,” Helke said. “It’s a challenge to make a sense of community – to get people to really feel like they belong.”

ERJH principal

Don Leake will leave his post as Nicollet Junior High’s associate principal and be the interim principal at Eagle Ridge.

A feeling of belonging came quickly to Leake at Eagle Ridge because he lived in Savage a few years ago before moving to the other end of the district. “This will be my first shot in Savage (as an administrator),” he said.Don Leake: Don Leake will serve as
the interim principal at Eagle Ridge
Junior High School.

Leake said for him, the size of the student body won’t drastically change, but the demographics will. The diversity at Nicollet was higher than at Eagle Ridge, but it’s evolving into a makeup similar to Nicollet’s.

“Absolutely, that will help me here,” he said of experience at Nicollet. “Experience is beneficial in all situations.”

Understanding junior high kids, he said, will also help.

“They’re junior high kids, they’re excited and have a ton of energy,” he said. “Junior high is a very social place for kids.”

And he plans to take that social aspect and use it to get to know the students.

 “I really want to be out there and be seen. I want them to know what I look like,” he said. “Most kids in junior high think going to the principal’s office is not a good thing. I hope, if they need to, they’d come see me.”

Aside from attending concerts, athletic games and club activities, Leake said he will have conversations over lunch with students where they’ll get to know each other.

Looking ahead

Both Helke and Leake will be serving on an interim basis and the option to return to their original school will likely be presented to them at year’s end. They will also be able to apply for the permanent positions in the seats they’re currently filling.

While acknowledging the temporary status, both said they’d be content to take either position.

“My long-term goal was to be a principal at the secondary level,” Helke said. “I never looked at a position from the standpoint of a label. I’m here to give the kids the best possible experience they can get. What I am isn’t as important, it’s whether the kids get what they need.”

The opportunity to be the high school principal, however, he said, was one that was hard to pass up.

“It’s not often you get the chance to come into a place known for excellence and quality and be able to provide the leadership you’re capable of,” Helke said.

The position was offered to Helke after two searches for a permanent principal came up fruitless.

“I was on the search committees,” he said with a grin. “This scenario wasn’t on my radar screen and I don’t think it was on their radar screen.”

For Leake, he said he has wanted to move up from associate principal.

“The opportunity to be a building principal is something I’ve been looking for,” he said. “It’s a job that can be very challenging but at the same time very rewarding … I have confidence it can be very rewarding here.”

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 Keighla Schmidt can be reached at kschmidt@swpub.com.