Col. Falls principal earns award

Columbia Falls Junior High School Principal Dave Wick has been awarded the 2017 Educational Leadership Excellence Award.

The award, given annually by the University of Montana Department of Educational Leadership, recognizes the accomplishments of alumni who have made significant contributions to education. Candidates are nominated and selected by faculty in the educational leadership department.

Wick’s career in education spans nearly four decades, of which the past 21 years have been with the Columbia Falls School District. In addition to serving as the junior high principal, he is the director of elementary education.

Wick’s tenure as an administrator is marked by his distinct culture of caring, highlighted by high expectations for all in the educational community, according to a press release from the university.

This isn’t the first time Wick’s leadership has been recognized. In 2012 he was selected as the National Distinguished Principal for Montana by the National Association of Elementary and Middle School Principals. He also has been recognized as Montana’s distinguished principal more than once by the Montana Association of Elementary and Middle School Principals.

Wick currently serves as vice president for the National Association of Elementary School Principals and will assume the role of president in 2018.