New principal takes office in St. Regis Schools
A new, yet old face has been selected to fill the role of St. Regis principal. Tammy Demien officially began her role as principal of the St. Regis School District this week, replacing Ed Huenemann, and while her face may be new to some, she is certainly not a stranger to the school district.
Demien attended school in Superior up until the third grade when she moved to St. Regis with her family. She attended St. Regis Schools until her graduation and then went on to University of Montana in Missoula where she received her B.A. in elementary education in 1982. Demien returned to St. Regis and taught first grade for seven years from 1982 to 1989.
"Then my husband and I moved to Arizona and we there about 19 years before moving back to Montana, to St. Ignatius," Demien said.
Demien taught at Hillside Elementary in Hillside Arizona for two years before accepting a position at Heritage Middle School in Chino Valley, Arizona, where she served as the athletic director and an educator. Demien received her master's in education leadership from Grand Canyon University in Phoenix and upon returning to Montana, she served as the principal at St. Ignatius Elementary.
"I'm excited to be returning home," Demien said.
Demien said that she enjoys being in the field of education leadership because every day is a different challenge. She said that she's been getting unpacked and is excited to get her feet wet.
"I've been a teacher for over 28 years so I'm going into administration with a plethora of experiences that have happened," Demien said. "I think that I understand the challenge of being a teacher as I've been in that position, but being a parent, I also understand that we all want the best for our children."
Demien described herself as "data driven." Currently, she is studying RTI's (response to intervention), which is a program where you look at a child's specific data and work one on one with them to find out where you need to go and what needs to be done to fit that child's specific needs.
"Reading programs are made to for about 80 percent of the population, but the other 20 percent might need something different," she said, explaining a situation in which RTI would help. "St. Regis is small enough and so you can really individualize which is a real plus here."
The small school atmosphere is something that Demien said she truly missed having taught at a school of over 700 kids in Arizona.
"There just wasn't that personal connection that there is here," Demien said. "I mean, we knew the kids by the time they got out, but it wasn't like we had watched them grow from the time they were born. It's a really important attribute of any school to make relationships with your students and to have that connection. I believe it promotes learning because they know you care about them and you show that. And I think that's a great component here in St. Regis."
Demien said that she's excited to learn more about the district and where it is and where it wants to go. While she won't be making any drastic changes, Demien said she wants to continue with what's positive and help out where needed and improve what they can.
"I want to look at where we can improve and step in wherever I can," Demien said.
Demien said that she's excited to be back in St. Regis and is looking forward to what the school year has to offer.