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Kelseyville Unified School District is pleased to welcome Rick Kale as Mountain Vista Middle School’s new principal. Mr. Kale is a veteran school administrator with more than 20 years of experience in education.
After a decade as a lawyer, Mr. Kale went back to school to earn his teaching credential in 2004. Since then, he has spent his career as an educator in Mendocino County, first as an English teacher, then as a school principal, and most recently as a district superintendent/principal. He says he loves middle school because students are at an age where they are discovering what they are all about.
“Middle school is a time to try on every hat, to find out what you like, what you’re good at, and what you want to get better at. When kids ask me which club they should join, I tell them, ‘All of the ones you’re interested in.’ When they ask what sport they should go out for, I tell them, ‘Pick one for every season,’” he said.
Rick Kale uses humor and positivity to encourage students to work hard in whatever they do, be it academics, sports, or other extracurriculars.
“I want each student to succeed. I’m always looking for ways to support kids in their goals,” he explained. He went on to share his desire to be part of a community of staff and parents who are dedicated to continually learning, collaborating, and helping students thrive, describing education as a “team sport.” He says he has an open-door policy and welcomes questions and ideas. His contact information is available via the MVMS website.
KVUSD Superintendent Dr. Nicki Thomas said, “We are so glad Rick has joined our administrative team. His positive attitude and excitement for working with kids makes him a good fit in a district where students come first.”
While he certainly sees the need for boundaries (these are middle schoolers, after all), he is a proponent of positive behavior interventions and support (PBIS), a framework that focuses on helping children better understand how their actions affect others with the overall goal of creating a consistent, predictable and safe learning environment for all students.
As principal, he wants to reconnect staff to the joy of helping students grow and learn. He also hopes that by modeling his love-to-learn approach, he will create an environment where students and staff constantly ask themselves, “What can I learn next?” and “How can I make this even better?” He believes many students take their cues from how the adults around them respond to adversity. When he is faced with a challenge, he says he often gets excited about how he can make things better.
He says he is looking forward to moving to Kelseyville and getting to know the community. He likes what he has seen so far: beautiful natural resources, friendly people, and educators dedicated to excellence.
