PRINCIPAL'S WELCOME

Hello Students, Families, and Staff,

I would like to take some time to welcome all of you to the 2021-2022 school year! My name is Loren Finley and it is a pleasure to be working with and for you as the Republic School District Principal.

I have had quite the journey getting to Republic and I am confident that it has been the journey that has prepared me to work effectively and collaboratively with all of you. I truly believe that the success of those around me (students, all staff, and stakeholders) is also my success. In turn, we should be celebrating that success together!

I grew up in Montana and Northeastern Idaho. I lived in DeBorgia, Montana, and attended school in St. Regis (the Tigers) until I was 13. After that, I moved to Mullan, Idaho (also the Tigers) where I graduated high school.

I am happy to announce that I recently married (July 2, 2021) to the most amazing woman, Theresa (Tess) Burch (Finley). Together we have six kids. Ryan, Christopher, Nathaniel, and Matthan are all graduated and working successfully. Garrett is a senior and Marissa is a freshman at Kettle Falls High School. Tess is a middle school ELA teacher at Inchelium. Many of you may remember her as she spent her first year in education with you all, here in Republic several years ago.

I have a well-rounded experience in education. I started out as a part-time janitor in Chewelah and later became a classified employee. I served for many years as a Behavior Intervention Specialist before deciding to go back to college to become a teacher. I attended Whitworth for my BA in Elementary Education, completing those studies in 2006. Later, I attended Gonzaga where I earned my master's in Administration and Leadership. I completed my Admin credentials with WSU in 2018 with Teena McDonald. I know that after leaving Chewelah as a teacher, she spent some time in Republic as your Superintendent.

My time as a teacher has been very diverse. I spent several years as a Voc teacher as the Food and Family Science teacher in Chewelah. I spent several years as the K-8 Homelink Director in Chewelah, as well as a K-12 Advisory Teacher (ALE) with Columbia Virtual Academy, in Valley that later transferred into the Teacher Training Coordinator and Compliance Officer. At the Kettle Falls School District, I taught weights and conditioning as well as the behavior teacher. Most recently, I have been serving as the Assistant Principal, Athletic Director, and Program Director of ALE for the Kettle Falls School District for the high school.

There is so much more I could tell you about my role in education, my family, and my hopes and desires here at Republic. I think the most important thing that I can tell you is that I am very excited to be here and I would like to get to know and work successfully with all of you. I am highly involved and motivated, and very excited to be here! Everyone has been very welcoming and positive about my role.

If you should ever need to talk with me, you should have any questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out to me!

Best Regards,

Loren Finley
K-12 Principal
lfinley@republicsd.org