Jensen ready to lead Lovell Elementary to continued success

Newly hired Lovell Elementary School principal Christopher Jensen and his family have officially moved to the area and are underway with preparations for the upcoming school year.

Jensen was selected for the position in March while serving as an elementary school principal in Yakima, Washington.

He has collected a wealth of knowledge and experience in his 23 years in education, and 13 of those were as an administrator.

When he first began, Jensen thought he wanted to teach Spanish and started out in a small K-12 school in Washington until the opportunity to move closer to his wife’s family as a Spanish reading teacher for K-3rd grade became an option.

“That was a lot of fun, but I was going to have to change my certification to continue at that position,” Jensen said.

That is when he and Holly (his wife) decided to do something completely off the wall and move their family out in the middle of nowhere to do their own thing, and it landed them in Greybull.

“As soon as we drove through the area, we fell in love,” he said.

It wasn’t long before his parents and brother followed in his footsteps and also moved to Greybull and another brother became a high school principal in Cody.

“I loved my time there, and I didn’t want to leave,” he added. “This place just felt like home.”

With his wife’s continued support, he decided to pursue becoming an administrator and got his master’s degree.

He landed his first executive duties as a middle school assistant principal in Green River, where he served for three years, but said, “When the majority of what you do every day is disciplining, it wears on you.”

So he ended up back in Washington in a small, rural area where he had the chance to be a K-12 principal while teaching woodshop and Spanish, coaching and performing the responsibilities of athletic director.

Although he enjoyed it, due to the nature of the small district and wearing many hats, he still longed to be able to run his own building and showcase his leadership abilities and take on that challenge.

He then got that chance in Lyman, and after a few years, Yakima was the financial upgrade and school size he was hoping to achieve.

But when the stars aligned and the spot at Lovell Elementary School opened and gave Jensen the possibility to be back in the Big Horn Basin, he had to throw his hat in the ring.

Since the decision was made, Jensen’s wheels have been turning on things he hopes to put in motion at LES.

“The most important thing for me is the teachers’ belief in students’ ability to learn,” he said. “If we don’t come from a place where we feel like every kid can learn at a high level, we’re not coming from the right place.”

He stated that of all the strategies to increase overall success for students, the number one thing that makes the greatest impact is the teacher’s belief in their kids’ ability to learn.

Second is the students’ belief in themselves that they can learn.

“How many stories have you heard people say about ‘the one teacher that gave me a chance?’” he asked. “I want my teachers to strive to be that one teacher that made an impact in their students’ lives,” he said.

Collaboration and accountability will also be top priorities for working with his staff.

“We need to use each other as resources and help each other be accountable,” he said.

He believes that the community is very student-centric and that the kids’ time at school is all about the experience -- in the classroom, cafeteria, library, playground, etc. and friendships and relationships they make, and he takes that responsibility very seriously.

“Parents have kids, and as they are raising them, they eventually grow to an age that half of their time is now being spent in school,” Jensen said. “I feel that is a great responsibility to provide those kids exactly what I would want for my own kids --enjoyable experiences, positivity and opportunities to lead and learn.”

LEADERSHIP STYLE

“I follow the three Ps of leadership: the people, the process and the product,” he explained.

“The first thing needed is the right people, and if we don’t have them, let’s train them how to be the right people,” he said.

Secondly, the process is huge. If the right people are following the right process, the product will happen.

“For me, it’s all about the relationships with the adults in the school and developing trust and dedicating ourselves to the process,” he said.

Jensen wants to be transparent in his procedures and is focused on building things up.

“It’s all about building. I don’t want to tear people or things down, but if something needs to change, then it needs to change, and there is a positive way to do that,” he continued.

He recognizes that children aren’t perfect and sometimes make mistakes, so when those times happen, Jensen takes those moments to show them love and teach them.

“Hurt people hurt people,” he explained, “especially at these ages. What they need most is love and trust, and sometimes dropping the hammer on a kid who has come from a rough background is not going to work for them, and they just need someone to put their arm around them and help them.”

Jensen believes that discipline is about changing behaviors, which isn’t always done by cracking a whip and coming down hard on a mistake.

FUTURE

“I am really excited to be here and feel like I’m at home, and it’s been a long time since I have felt that way,” Jensen said. “I’ve done the bigger and better job, and they aren’t always bigger and better. This is what I want and where I want to be, and you can’t beat that.”

Jensen has no intention of going elsewhere in his career path and feels like all roads have led to Lovell.

He plans on following the incoming kindergarten class through the years and retiring when they graduate.

He and Holly have seven children with four being grown and three remaining under the same roof that will attend LMS and LHS this year.

The kids are excited about opportunities that are offered here, and the entire family looks forward to putting down roots and being involved in many activities.