'Mr. A' makes it all worthwhile

Going to the principal’s office is usually a good thing at Peterson Elementary.

Whether to grab a piece of candy, talk about school or just say “hello,” making that positive connection is one of Rick Anfenson’s favorite things about being principal at the school.

“At Peterson, kids come to the principal’s office when they’re being good,” Anfenson said in his office Thursday. “Some come to the office to show me their work some come to talk.”

Outside his office door, teacher Jill Lehr sat down in a chair with a second-grader at her side.

“I have an example of that right now,” Lehr said.

“OK come on in guys let’s see the example,” Anfenson said.

Carefully holding an open math workbook in his outstretched arms the second grader walked over to Anfenson who picked up the book.

“Oh my goodness, triple-digit subtraction,” Anfenson said.

“He did it all by himself,” Lehr said. “There’s regrouping here. High-five,” Anfenson said holding out his palm. “Get yourself a Starburst too. Keep up the good work.”

The young boy plucked a candy out of a dish as he walked out.

Anfenson, or “Mr. A” as he is known, is finishing up his 41st year with Kalispell Public Schools and is retiring. For the past 12 years he has served as Peterson’s principal starting traditions, solidifying others and establishing a culture where students are excited to come to school.

“We’re proud of our staff,” Anfenson said. “And there is so much community support at Peterson.”

Encouraged to go into education by his father, Anfenson was hired “right out of college” as a P.E. teacher in 1976 at the “old Edgerton” school location on East Washington Street. He went on to teach for 29 years, some of them he spent as a Flathead High School assistant football coach.

After nearly three decades of teaching Anfenson really had no intentions of becoming a principal, but stepped up when asked.

“Our principal at Edgerton became terminally ill. At the time the superintendent asked me to be a helper and I did,” he said.

Encouraged by school administrators, Anfenson went back to college to get an administrative degree.

“Once I got to be an assistant principal I thought I could really impact a school, students and staff school-wide,” Anfenson said and as the adage goes, he didn’t look back.

“I think we’ve established some strong school traditions,” Anfenson said.

There’s a Christmas campfire event where families are invited to drink hot cocoa, sing carols and participate in sled-pulling races. A buddy program where older students are paired with younger ones is popular and so is a student leadership group. Good behavior is celebrated alongside academics. Classrooms that show good behavior in the hallways or at recess are rewarded with a trophy.

“We emphasize character traits at our schools. We try to teach not just those academic skills but those skills that transfer across school settings like work ethic, integrity, perseverance [and] learning from mistakes,” Anfenson said.

The best part of the job is the everyday interactions between students and staff he said. Every day Anfenson’s goal is to go to every classroom in the morning and afternoon.

“Kids should know that their principal cares about what they do in the classroom,” he said.

One of the principles Anfenson has latched onto in his career is to meet students where they are at academically.

“At Peterson we believe we’re not sprinters. We’re distance runners and we believe we’re going to get everyone academically and behaviorally where they need to be by the time they leave school,” Anfenson said.

Through his run as an educator, Anfenson has cheered on students and staff.

Second-grade teacher Sara Dankers could attest to this. Dankers is one of three teachers who is a former student of Anfenson’s.

“When I was in P.E. the mile was not my most successful event. Running was hard. And I’ll never forget, I was either third grade or fourth grade, it took me like 15 minutes to run the mile. Pacing-wise you can see I was very slow, but he had the whole class cheering for me, celebrating me,” Dankers said. “I was the last one done and the whole class was there cheering for me when I crossed that finish line.”

Dankers also noted Anfenson’s patience.

“I am a person that asks lots of questions,” Dankers said smiling. “In elementary school he came up with a thing for me that I would get one really good question a day. It’s kind of been a running joke. Even as a teacher I get one really good question a day. As an administrator that patience is there. He wants us to be super successful teaching in our classroom. He’s always willing to go the extra mile making sure we are, again, successful. He wants students to be successful.”

Third-grade teacher Kelsy Hattel, also a former student, added, “We’re going to miss him tremendously.”

With three grandchildren Anfenson is ready to clear his schedule for family in retirement.

“The most important thing to me is I’ve got family time coming,” Anfenson said.

He’s also going to do a lot of fishing. Turning to his computer, Anfenson scrolled through family photos of relatives holding huge lake trout.

“Everybody in my family fishes — everybody,” he said.

But Anfenson will miss Peterson.

“I love this school; it’s hard for me to leave,” Anfenson said.

Hilary Matheson is a reporter for The Daily Inter Lake. She may be reached at 758-4431 or hmatheson@dailyinterlake.com.