The Kids will be all right: Two key school administrators to retire in June

For Allan Labbe it’s just a typical day at Superior High School as he guzzles a cup of coffee and hustles down the hall to teach his algebra class. But a “typical day” for Labbe will soon change because he will retire as the high school principal at the end of this school year.

“Financially it just makes sense to retire now because with the teacher’s retirement you reach a point where you make as much retired as you do working full time. And I want to do some things before I’m too dang old to do them,” Labbe said, breaking into a wide grin and a chuckle.

An item on his bucket list includes bow hunting which is something he has not been able to do because of his job as athletic director and football coach. He also plans on spending a lot of time with his one year old grandson, Eli.

“He called me Papa,” Labbe said and points to a wall taped with photos of his grandchildren.

His son, Logan Labbe, has four kids who attend Superior elementary: eighth grader, Trey; Cassie who is in sixth grade; and Jackson who’s in fourth. His daughter Shawna lives in Billings and also has an infant son.

His office is just inside the main doors into the high school. The room has the appearance of a storage closet competing to be an office, with water bottles and athletic equipment strewn around the room. Every inch is covered with trophies and awards mixed in with over 32 years of memorabilia and office files. Baseball hats dangle from pegs below the window, next to wall decorated with clipboards and a certificate. A can of WD-40 shares a shelf with algebra books and a pile of crutches lean against the back wall.

Pulling on his Montana State University tie, which sports his alma mater, Labbe reflects on his long-standing career in Superior. He taught math in Billings for five years before moving to Superior with his wife, Kari. Here, he taught math before assuming the role as principal, a title he’s carried for 27 years.

Over 4,000 students have walked through his high school doors, along with seven superintendents. But Labbe never wanted that position, saying that it’s very stressful and people in those jobs rarely stay in one place for very long.

“The average stay is one to seven years,” he said, “and then they move onto something else. I wanted to stay here and help to make a real impact in the school and in this community.”

One of his biggest accomplishments has been to help implement the Response To Intervention program and establish a school improvement process. The RTI program is a multi-tier approach to the early identification and support of students with learning and behavioral needs. The program was established 15 years ago and has been a great success.

“Reading skills are the most important part of a student’s education. If a student isn’t reading up to their grade level, then nothing else works,” said Labbe.

With the school improvement process, all of the staff participates on committees to find ways to improve and find innovative teaching tools to continually move the education process forward for the students.

Throughout the years, Labbe has viewed his staff and the Superior community as an extended family. A lot of Superior graduates became teachers and have been hired back into the school.

“It brings them back into the community and there’s a real value in that,” he said. “I taught these kids and now they are here and some of them even have grandkids themselves.”

This makes the school multi-generational which is something that holds true in his immediate family. Logan is in his first year as Superior’s elementary principal, and his wife, Kari, teaches kindergarten. Labbe’s other two children also carry on the teaching tradition where his youngest son, Brian, teaches and coaches in Ronan, and his daughter is the director of St. Vincent Hospital’s preschool and daycare in Billings.

Heavily involved in sports throughout his career, Labbe was the assistant football coach to long-time head coach Dan Lucier. When Lucier moved away, he took over as head coach from 2012 to 2014. Over his tenure, he saw the sports program shift from class B to C eleven times as the school’s high school population fluctuated anywhere from 178 to 78 students. He was also instrumental in the coop between Alberton and Superior last year due to a drop in enrollment in both schools.

“Last year coaching the junior high team was one of the best experiences I’ve had. It was just a lot of fun,” he said.

Several years ago, the school was experiencing problems with drug and alcohol use. But with the implementation of some new anti-drug and alcohol programs, he’s seen a lot of improvement.

“We now have a program where we randomly select athletes every year for drug testing. Last year we only had one incident and we’re working on correcting that problem.”

Now students walk through the doors bright eyed and ready to start their days. “These are some of the best students we’ve ever had,” he grins.

Labbe loves his job, his school and his community and doesn’t have any plans to leave. His wife will continue to teach, and he hopes to stay involved with the school in any way he can including driving buses, and hopefully coach again someday. But he has to take a 150-day leave of absence before resuming any work duties, according to state regulation. This doesn’t bring him back into the school until November, 2016.

However, he will continue to work on the building committee to expand the high school. They are working on grants and hope to add a new weight room and shop onto the school. In the meantime, he and Eli plan on spending the summer hanging out and maybe doing some fishing.

Meanwhile, in St. Regis, Superintendent Judy McKay will retire at the end of this school year. McKay has only been at the school for two years, but during her short tenure she has managed to meet her main goal.

“I wanted to improve the climate of the building by bringing the community into the school,” she said.

She found this task to be relatively easy because residents were very receptive to the idea. McKay and the school’s principal, Joe Steele, regularly visit local organizations, go to the Senior Center luncheons, and attend community council meetings.

“Communication is key,” she said and she often will bring students with her to share what they are doing in the school.

The kids are doing so much McKay said, they’re involved in things like drama, science clubs like Imagination Destination, FFA, BPA, and of course, sports and band.

In addition to getting out into the communities, they also send out a steady stream of emails, keep information up to date on the school website, and utilize the local media, like the Mineral Independent.

“Kids are what we do this for,” she said.

But changes in McKay’s personal life have forced her to make the decision to leave her position after 31 years as an administrator.

“This is a 70 to 80 hour a week job and balancing my personal and professional life has become too much of a challenge,” she said reluctantly. McKay said that she loves St. Regis, the community, her staff, and the kids.

“It’s been a difficult decision but I feel now is the time to slow down and focus on my personal life and on my husband.”

Her husband, John, is a retired geologist and they’ve been married for 43 years. They have two grown children, Justin and Shannon. Both live in Missoula and Justin has three girls of his own.

During her career, McKay worked as an administrator at Lockwood near Billings for nine years, Eastern Montana College, and schools in Butte, Libby, and Frenchtown. Born and raised in Missoula, McKay’s father owned Worden’s Market in downtown Missoula for a number a years. The family had nine children and she was the third oldest.

McKay and Steele were hired at the same time and share in their philosophy to celebrate their students.

“We make a great team,” McKay said, “I’m so proud of what we’re doing. We both try to support the students in all of their interests and academic needs. I’m leaving the program in good hands with Joe Steele.”

Steele has accepted the offer to step into the position as St. Regis Superintendent.

“The St. Regis family will always have a piece of my heart,” said McKay as she prepares for her new life journey.