Nov. 21 – WARDEN – Annie Hindman has stepped into the role of principal of Warden Middle School, bringing experience in both education and juvenile justice. Hindman grew up on a farm between Moses Lake and Warden and credits much of her dedication to education to her mother, who taught kindergarten and first grade at Warden Elementary for sixteen years.
“Warden schools were a second home to me,” Hindman said.
Hindman graduated from Moses Lake High School and has two children in the Moses Lake School District, a middle schooler and a high schooler. Hindman said she spends as much of her free time with her children as possible. She is a 4-H sheep leader and helps coach basketball for her youngest daughter.
Hindman and her partner live between Moses Lake and Warden, just as she did growing up, and now they too have their own small farm. Hindman said she still helps her parents.
Background
After obtaining a criminal justice degree, Hindman worked in juvenile justice for eight years, which she describes as a crucial experience. Hindman said that when she worked in the system, right after graduating from college, she was the first to encounter a prison break.
She worked security and discovered sheets hanging in the barbed wire covered in blood. She called in the incident and the prison realized that two youths had escaped. The youths were found not long after.
“Research shows that your education is directly related to whether you’re going to spend time in prison or not,” Hindman said. “Ultimately, I was drawn to being on the other side and trying to prevent children from getting into the justice system.”
Despite vowing not to become a teacher like her mother, she found her way into school counseling, earning a master’s degree and ultimately spending 13 years in that role at various locations, including schools in Hermiston, Oregon and Moses Lake.
There were challenges. The transition from juvenile justice to education required a significant adjustment.
“I went from dealing with those high-risk offenders to becoming a basic counselor,” Hindman said. “I had to undergo a whole brain shift; it took me a year to retrain my language. Like how you talk to a first-grade student is very different from how you talk to an 18-year-old perpetrator. The adjustment there was really difficult, but what I discovered is that I was at my best when I was surrounded by children and that I loved my job.’
Hindman said she did well as an elementary school counselor in Oregon and then at Moses Lake High School — where she helped create the open house program for the MLSD — before becoming a high school principal for the first time this semester.
“Working with someone new is always very scary, but she is doing great,” Warden High School Principal Katie Phipps said. “It takes a very strong person to be a high school principal, and she’s doing well. She’s doing great.’
Warden Middle School and High School share a building and some staff because of the district’s size, so the two principals work together regularly, they said.
“I’ve always said I can’t do this work without a partner and the last partner I had here was great, and it was hard when he left, so to have someone come in who can fill those shoes, she’s doing great ” said Phipps.
Goals
Hindman’s goals for Warden Middle School revolve around fostering a supportive and positive academic environment.
“What I would like to see is that we have kids here who are prepared for high school and that we create a positive, nurturing learning environment,” Hindman said. “If you have a space where kids can come in and feel safe, feel comfortable and feel cared for, their academics will show that, right?”
She said she strongly believes that a supportive atmosphere is directly related to student success. Hindman said she feels like high school is sometimes dismissed by students, but it is important.
“It absolutely counts, and it does matter, because all the practices and the things they do now just prepare them to be successful high school students, which then prepares them to be successful after high school,” she said.
One of her initiatives in her first semester is the implementation of a weekly newsletter aimed at increasing parental involvement.
“I’m sometimes an overcommunicator because I like to keep parents informed about what’s going on at school,” Hindman said.
The newsletter contains highlights of school activities, sporting events and behavioral expectations and provides parents with a platform to provide their feedback. Feedback from parents was overwhelmingly positive, with many appreciating the consistent communication.
Hindman also wants to improve academic support for students, especially notable due to the lack of an after-school program this year.
“We need to explore how we can continue to provide support outside of regular school hours,” she said. “It’s all about adapting to the needs of our students.”
Motivations
The motivations driving Hindman into her new role stem from her background in counseling and a desire to positively impact students.
“I’m a relationship person,” Hindman said. ‘I’m a counselor. I will always be a counselor. I now have other duties as assigned and that is the most important part.”
Through her experience, she has seen firsthand how connections between students and adults can significantly impact educational outcomes.
“If my influence can come in and create an environment where kids feel at least one positive relationship with one adult in their school,” Hindman said. “Then hopefully we can retain them, because research shows that if they have at least one adult person with whom they feel connected and comfortable, their academic success increases exponentially.”
Hindman said there have been challenges, especially in how students treat each other specifically regarding technology. However, she is exploring options to mitigate those negative interactions.
“I didn’t have phones growing up in school. We didn’t have social media. One of the things was that if you had a problem with someone, you had to say it to their face or in a note that when you left school, it stopped as soon as you left school, unless they called you on your home phone. But our kids don’t have that luxury anymore, and the social problems that happen today they continue, and they happen 24/7 and so too. So my goal is to ultimately not have bell-to-bell telephones.”
Hindman also focused on teamwork and collaboration among staff.
“The duties of a principal and of an (administration) team in a small school community are that everyone wears many hats and that has been a change and adjustment for me as well. But we have such a very strong team here, and so They have made the transition well and they continue to encourage me.”
Hindman said she has built good relationships with many teachers, and was fortunate to know a handful of them from when her mother worked in the district.
“We are excited about the energy she brings to our building and her enthusiasm about the things we can accomplish this year and about starting new things in the building,” Warden Middle School Social Studies teacher Beky Erickson said. “She really enjoys the kids and it’s nice to have her here.”
As Hindman settles into her role, she says she remains optimistic about the journey ahead.
“Every day presents new challenges, but also countless opportunities to grow and learn,” she said.
