Columbia Heights High School Principal Todd Wynne said he came into education by accident. “I really didn’t have a career path until someone saw me interacting with kids and told me that they could see me being a great teacher someday.” He loved athletics and wanted to coach and reflected on the importance of his schooling as a child and how the school basically raised him. He said, “I took the advice and never turned back.”
Wynne has taken the reins of the thousand-student school during the uncertainties of the COVID pandemic. He said the school district has stressed the importance of being fluid, and recognizes the difficulty of making accurate predictions. “We are preparing to have an amazing school year and take on all that comes our way. I never would have imagined having to help lead a school through a pandemic. Across the nation, our students, families, teachers, and staff rolled up their sleeves and did the best they could do to provide learning opportunities for kids. Regardless of what happens within our nation, state, community, we will make sure we keep people safe and keep providing learning opportunities. Our students can and will adjust to whatever it is to make sure they can find success.”
He has sent letters to parents outlining the safety protocols for in-person learning, which include masks for all indoor situations and on school buses; physical distancing where possible; cleaning and sanitizing surfaces, and working with the Minnesota Department of Health in determining positive COVID cases and quarantine procedures.
Wynne grew up in Shepherd, Mont., where he went to school through 12th grade. He got a teaching degree from Montana State University-Billings and a Master’s in Educational Leadership from the University of Colorado-Denver. He began teaching in 1998 as a high school social studies teacher in rural Colorado. He’s been a high school assistant principal, high school principal, middle school assistant principal, and an elementary principal. He’s entering his 23rd year as an educator, 18 of those years as an administrator, noting, “I believe that, besides being a dad, this is the best role in the world!”
Asked about the differences between a small, rural school and a big suburban one like Columbia Heights, Wynne thinks Columbia Heights is “the perfect size. We truly know our students by name as well as their family members who may have walked our halls before them.” He said he doesn’t want students to get lost in the system, adding, ”Where else can you take AP classes, be a member of the Knowledge Bowl, serve as the student body president, play the saxophone in the band and participate in sports?”
In an interview, Wynne said his goal is to help maintain a safe and caring school culture where all students and staff feel like they belong, and where physical, social and emotional safety is assured. He said, “Students deserve to have the opportunity to come to school every day knowing they can be themselves and that they will be supported, respected, and cared for by our staff.”
Asked what he loves about the job, Wynne replied, “Pretty simple for me—I love kids. Every decision I get to make will be looked at through the lens of what is best for kids, and every staff member I have met has the same attitude. I love seeing students find their place within a school, carve out their future and mature into productive members of society, and to know that I had the chance to play a tiny role in that process is so motivating.”
Wynne plans to let his students know, on the first day of class, how “honored and blessed” he feels to be the school’s principal. He said he’ll talk about traditions, expectations, and the hard work ahead. Asked if he would find time to dabble in coaching, Wynne replied, “I hung up the whistle a long time ago. Between my thousand kids at CHHS and my four kids at home, I could never give the extra time necessary to be a good coach for kids. I still coach every day; just in a different and non-athletic way.”
Below: New Columbia Heights High School Principal Todd Wynne. (Photo by Mark Peterson)