Expanding his role as an administrator

Times Reporter

 

Westmount Principal Wayne Funk has made the decision to add to his daily administrative duties by taking on the role of principal of Trinity Lutheran Christian Academy, TLCA, in the wake of Harold Warr’s departure. 

“The division (Golden Hills) asked me if I was interested in kind of widening my scope a little bit,” said Funk.

“After doing some considering with my family and staff (I) decided it would be kind of a neat challenge to take on second school.”

He isn’t quite sure how he will be able to juggle the two, but is confident it will work out in the end. Funk said there are times he is sure he will be sprinting across the field to get from one school to the other, but it’s something he is looking forward to.

He said the one thing he is most concerned about is the toll it will take on his family. Because he will now have double everything – double the Christmas concerts, double the parent education night, double the three-year education plans – Funk has given up some of his volunteer duties in town. 

Funk said he knows if TLCA doubles in size, which it easily could, it would become too much for one person, and would likely be split again at that time. 

One thing he would like to focus on is changing the perception. Funk feels there might be the perception in the community the TLCA is a closed community, which it is not. 

“It’s an open community, we would welcome anybody who is interested in a Christian education for their kids to come in and be a part of what we think is pretty exciting,” said Funk.

“For me, I haven’t even been there a day yet, but it’s still pretty exciting to see the things that are going on there. It’s some neat stuff.”

The parents don’t necessarily have to have a faith base, but do need to understand that there will be a faith-based component to the week. Funk said he has never worked in a Christian school before and it’s going to be a new learning experience he is excited about.

Funk said his main focus will probably be helping the school grow as he goes into the 2011/2012 year. 

Funk has also given up his teaching duties to focus on the two schools better. Warr had spent a good portion of his day teaching at TLCA, and Kristen Odegard, who was hired last year in a maternity leave position, will be staying on full time, compensating for the loss of Warr as a teacher.