Lakeview Christian Academy announced last week that Aaron Walls is its new head of school.
Walls comes to Duluth from Kimber Hills Academy in Fremont, Calif., where he served as principal. Walls received his master's degree in educational leadership from California State University-East Bay. He is also an all-levels accredited principal through the Association of Christian Schools International.
Walls has been in school administration for six years and has been in education for over a decade. The Duluth News Tribune spoke with Walls on Friday to find out more about his plans for Lakeview Christian Academy and why he moved from sunny California to the shores of Lake Superior.
News Tribune: Moving here from California, what was it about Duluth and Lakeview Christian Academy that was attractive to you?
Walls: I was looking for something a little different. I was looking for something that would give me an opportunity to help a school get back to where it was. Lakeview has always been a presidency school. They have a great reputation in the community and I just felt like this was an opportunity to partner with a great staff to just bring this school back to where it's been and even past that. I've always loved a challenge and an opportunity. I felt like I accomplished what I wanted to in the Bay Area and I wanted to try something new.
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News Tribune: What's one thing you want the community to know about you?
Walls: I think my passion is to help every student to be able to achieve success past their perceived limitations. So it's not just about those kids who are really smart or those kids that struggle. I want every child to have an equal opportunity; to have an excellent academic experience.
News Tribune: What is your top priority for Lakeview Christian Academy and why?
Walls: I would say my top priority is to continue the legacy of providing outstanding academic experience based on Christian principles. I think that's important because there aren't a lot of Christian private schools around right now. The community deserves options. They deserve to pick what they want and if it's public school, great; if it's a charter school, great; but if it's Christian education, they should have that option. I think being able to keep that option relevant is what needs to happen.
News Tribune: What do you see as Lakeview Christian Academy's strengths, and where do you see opportunities for improvement?
Walls: The academy's strength is they have a really good reputation for academics. I think their staff is really relational. They care about the families, and families have an opportunity to be a part of the educational experience instead of just watching it. I think room for growth is just continued acknowledgment in the community. I think they have to have a community presence and engage with the community and work with the community. That's always been really key for me. Even though we are a private school, I want to be in the community and working with the community and helping where we can. I think that's important.
News Tribune: What are some things that you want to bring to Lakeview Christian Academy from your previous jobs in California?
Walls: The school I was at in the Bay Area was really keen on helping students not just be successful in school but preparing them for after school. I think social-emotional connections are really important. I want to make sure that we're not just teaching strong math, science and English, but that we are helping these kids develop socially and emotionally. That we're helping these kids be prepared for the workforce, to be entrepreneurial, to think outside the lines, to not always have to follow instructions, that sometimes you have to create something new. I think that's very important. I come from Silicon Valley and it's the entrepreneurial place in the world, and that's kind of the aspect that I want to bring here.
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News Tribune: How do you see yourself implementing that?
Walls: I need to work with the staff. It's all about relationships. So it's not me doing it by myself. It's me working with the community, families, students and teachers. That way it's everybody as a team sharing the same vision. Because if it's just my vision it's not going to work. It has to be the whole group.
News Tribune: What are your first steps for the upcoming school year?
Walls: I'm not from Minnesota. I'm not going to pretend that I know Duluth, because I don't. So I think my first step is to observe and to analyze what's going on and go from there. I'm not coming in to try and change everything right away. I may make little changes where needed, but right now I'm here to observe and build a plan from there with the staff.
News Tribune: Anything else people should know?
Walls: I think one thing people should know about me is that school was not easy. I had a really difficult time in school and they didn't understand how I learned, and I was in a lot of pull-outs. My driving force and my passion is making sure every student has an opportunity and that teachers don't see a child as difficult and just write them off. That they look at that student's strengths and utilize those strengths. That's something every child can benefit from and every child can find success. A lot of times when you have students in pull-out classes, they get a negative persona about themselves and I want to come in and make sure that we are giving these kids an opportunity to be successful — and that we are giving them confidence — so when they go to the next level they feel like they can succeed, instead of I can't do this.
Lakeview Christian Academy is a pre-K-12 nondenominational Christian school located at 155 W. Central Entrance in Duluth.
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