Principal's Message
Michele Paine
Flathead Families,
I’m proud to serve as principal of Flathead High School. Our school serves the Kalispell community and has done so diligently since 1895. While public schools changed a lot in 130 years, we remain committed to the students and families we serve. I believe that tradition and pride run deep in our school.
This year marks our 20 year anniversary of being Montana’s first International Baccalaureate school. Program pioneers saw the need to provide a highly rigorous college preparatory program for juniors and seniors. Our IB program today meets this need, and we’ve grown over our 20 years to also serve two-thirds of our juniors and seniors, who take one or more IB course during high school. We believe all students deserve a high quality IB education that builds critical thinking, deep analysis of content, and well-roundedness.
Our students also enjoy a number of other quality programs, including concurrent enrollment offerings, PACE Academy Charter School classes, Project Lead The Way Biomed courses, work-based learning, and career & tech ed offerings tied to opportunities in our own community. I’m proud to note that a number of our programs are student-led. For example, our School Based Enterprise class created our very own Southside Coffee shop, which is fully operated by students. Our robust Brave Mentoring program, which supports our incoming 9th grade class throughout their first semester, is planned by our Brave Mentoring student leaders, who are passionate about our school and helping 9th graders have a positive and fruitful high school experience. When students plan and take charge of their own learning, great things happen!
An extensive number of athletics and activities enhance the Flathead High School experience. Students compete and perform at high levels. I’m proud of our boys track and field team, which won a state championship last spring. Our wrestling program is often nationally ranked. And, our Theatre Program took third place in the Best of the Flathead contest, putting it among the professional theatre organizations in our valley. Student clubs such as DECA (a business leadership student organization) boast some of the largest numbers in the state of Montana. Our goal is to connect ALL students with a sport, activity, or club so that they can build relationships, connections, and skills.
The Flathead High School student body consists of students from eleven or more different partner schools, some large and some small. I love how these students come together for four years of high school, making new friends and connections. Some have parents, grandparents, and great grandparents who attended Flathead High School. That’s a lot of Flathead Pride!
As a staff we recently worked on our Profile of a Graduate, and we strive to ensure that all students graduate as critical thinkers, problem solvers, effective communicators, and are empathetic & open minded, personally accountable, and resilient. This profile is a critical component of our efforts in Personalized, Competency-Based Education. We see all students graduating with skills to take them wherever life leads them.
I am honored to serve alongside all the staff at Flathead High School, who remain committed to ensuring ALL students achieve success. With a strong staff and wonderful students, Flathead High School moves forward into another year of excellence.
Michele Paine, Principal