GO BE WHAT YOU WANT TO BE.”

In 1987 these wise words from Mr. Wik, the Mahnomen high school guidance counselor, encouraged Beth (Wambach) Slette not to worry about her future, but rather to just get started and allow the path to unfold naturally. At the time, she was thinking about becoming a hairdresser. Little did she imagine that her career path would eventually lead her to the role of superintendent of the third largest school district in the state of North Dakota.

Growing up in Mahnomen, Minnesota, as the youngest of Andrew and Beryl Wambach’s eight children, Slette was accustomed to being around older siblings and adults, and could relate well with all kinds of people. Though they never discussed career planning, Slette learned many valuable life lessons from her homemaker mother. By her example, Beryl Wambach taught about developing relationships, servant leadership, parenting, and providing hospitality; all skills that Slette uses daily in her roles as wife, mother and superintendent. Likewise, Slette’s father Andrew Wambach significantly impacted her development. Serving as a lawyer in Mahnomen, he consistently modeled active listening and focused engagement with each person he met. Now in his late 80s, Wambach is still active in his law practice and his absolute adherence to honesty, strength of character, and wise counsel continue to guide his daughter today as she is faced with difficult decisions.

After graduating from Minnesota State University Moorhead in 1991 with a degree in elementary education, Slette was still uncertain if she was fully ready for a classroom of her own. She moved home to Mahnomen and began her career as a paraprofessional in the local school, and one year later, became a classroom teacher at Naytahwaush Elementary School. In 1994 she accepted her first position with West Fargo School District at Harwood Elementary. During her time there, Superintendent Chuck Cheney asked if he could come visit her during her prep period one afternoon. Again, a simple suggestion, “Have you ever thought about being a principal?” along with gentle encouragement to plan for future leadership roles in their rapidly growing district inspired Slette to ponder the possibilities.

Emboldened by her husband Bruce to “Just do it,” Slette asked for a year’s leave of absence and plowed head long into getting her master’s degree in educational leadership from North Dakota State University. Looking back now they can agree that it was the right decision, but at the time it was a challenging commitment. Their young daughters, Maria and Sophie, were just four and two years old, and like all toddlers, they required a lot of time and energy. Additionally, they had just moved into a new house and downsizing to one income left them financially stretched. Bruce, who works for UPS, added overtime shifts to make ends meet.

Many of her master’s degree classes required either library or online research, and since she did most of her schoolwork during her daughters’ naptimes or after their bedtime, getting to the library was hard. At the time the Slettes did not even own a home computer. Again, Bruce said, “Just go buy one.” So she did. But in 2001, home computers were not as commonplace and Slette didn’t even know how to set it up. With a lot of hard work, some creative scheduling, and a little extra help from both sets of grandparents, she succeeded in accomplishing her goal of finishing her MA in one year.

West Fargo’s population was indeed booming and Slette was soon called upon to serve as transition coordinator providing leadership as the district reorganized and opened new schools. When Cheney Middle School opened in 2003, Slette accepted a position as assistant principal, working alongside Principal Rob Kaspari. As Slette describes it, “His patient leadership was invaluable. He not only gave me responsibilities, he also showed me how to do his job by inviting me to learn alongside him when he had a new task to accomplish. He graciously explained and demonstrated the tasks necessary for managing a building, scheduling classes, planning for summer school and so much more.”

As time went on, Slette continued to accept new leadership roles within the West Fargo district. She learned to rely on the system, revealing that, “I continued to apply for the next job and trusted they would let me know if it was not the right fit for me.” Following her years as assistant middle school principal, Slette became the principal at Westside Elementary. A fond memory of those years was working in the same building where her daughters were attending class. They would ride to and from school together, and when possible, Slette gladly took the opportunity to walk down the hallway to see their class programs and activities.

In 2011, Slette transitioned to a position in the central administration office, working as director of assessment and federal programs. In this role she worked to monitor district compliance with guidelines and implement the district’s strategic plan.

The next career step for Slette was as assistant superintendent for elementary curriculum and instruction. This role was particularly rewarding because of the direct impact the curriculum team had on student learning. As Slette reflects, “The whole team worked so hard to accomplish our goals, and the work we did made significant improvements for students and teachers.” In this position, Slette worked directly with the superintendent, Dr. David Flowers, and gained an even greater understanding of the complexities of school systems.

As Flowers observes, “Slette is a bright and knowledgeable educator. I always knew I could rely on Beth to do a job well. She is a very diligent worker, and there were many occasions when she took initiative to suggest a solution before I had even recognized we had a problem.” During his 45 years as an educator, Flowers realized that one of his jobs was to mentor others and help them prepare for the next opportunity. Because of this, Flowers believed that Slette would be a great person for the job and he fully supported her application for the superintendent position upon his retirement.

In an early message to the West Fargo community after accepting her position as superintendent, Slette emphasized her core belief that the purpose of school is to focus on the needs of the students and create environments where they can thrive and develop skills and attitudes that will prepare them for the future. As she explains, "Educating today's learners for tomorrow's world is not just a feel-good statement that we stamp on our letterhead. It actually means that it is our responsibility to ensure West Fargo students are ready for whatever path they choose: post-secondary ready, workforce ready, and/or military ready.”

One of the superintendent’s responsibilities is to oversee the financial management of the district. According to Slette, “Our school board and administration are cognizant of our duty to provide the best education possible while trying to keep taxes at a minimum.” West Fargo Public Schools (WFPS) has a general fund budget of $126 million, which covers everything from buildings and busses to teachers’ salaries and technology and so much more. Although the community of West Fargo recently passed a $106.9 million bond referendum to build much needed facilities, WFPS officials also diligently apply for grants to support a wide variety of initiatives. One example of a recent award they received is a $28.8 million Striving Readers Comprehensive Literacy Grant that will fund professional development in effective strategies for teaching reading, writing and related skills. WFPS was also recently awarded a five year grant from KnowledgeWorks, a national organization supporting educational innovation. West Fargo plans to move from the “one-size fits all” model of education where students are constrained by required class time, and instead adopt a competency-based model that personalizes the learning plan for each individual. This system will allow for better support of both remedial and accelerated learning, and everything in-between. The KnowledgeWorks organization will provide staff training and technology support to help educators develop strategies, thus allowing them to educate today's learners for a world where they can learn anything, anytime, anywhere.

Another positive part of the overall educational system in West Fargo is strong community support. Early in her time as superintendent, Slette faced the challenge of dealing with misconduct on the part of a staff member. Rather than seek cover behind a response of “no comment,” Slette determined to publically address the tough issue and seek help from the greater community. “The police and mental health professionals are our allies as we tackle challenges such as mental health, sexting, social media and substance abuse.” She continues, “It is our duty to make decisions based on what is best for kids, regardless of the issue.”

Living in a metropolitan area with many strong and thriving school systems is a wonderful benefit for families. When one of the metro schools does something especially well, it raises the bar for all of the schools and as Slette suggests, “that makes all of us better.” Rather than creating a sense of competition, there is a definite sense of collaboration among the West Fargo, Fargo, and Moorhead schools and beyond. Each spring the districts cooperate to sponsor a technology camp where educators and tech industry leaders share practical and innovative ways to use technology in the classroom. Another example of collaboration is metro-wide learning walks when administrators go together into schools from each district analyzing what is happening in actual classrooms and looking for best practices to share.

With such a demanding job, Slette admits there is not a lot of time for outside interests. At this stage in her life, most of her out-of-office reading still focuses on educational topics; most of her travel centers around professional conferences; and most of her volunteer work is directly connected to boards and organizations she is on to represent the school system.

Spending time with family is Slette’s greatest joy. Slette and her husband Bruce, along with Maria and Sophie — who are now young adults —especially relish relaxing at the lake in the summer and celebrating with extended family during the holidays. “Each stage of life is new and exciting to me, and I feel like I always have something to look forward to. Although it sometimes makes me sad to see our girls grow up so fast, it is truly a privilege and blessing to see what they are doing with their gifts and talents.”

According to Slette, it would not have been possible to accomplish her career advancement alone. She relies on Bruce to handle the majority of the daily household obligations, but even more importantly, she relies on him to be a sounding board. Though she is careful to preserve confidentiality, many evenings Slette will seek his insight when she begins, “Do you have time for a story?” and Bruce is always a willing and supportive listener.

Slette is calm and confident as she considers the important assignment of leading West Fargo Public Schools. She cares deeply about children and keeps her focus clear, stating, “We need to provide opportunities for all our students, regardless of neighborhood or socio-economic status, to have equal access to a well-rounded personalized education, ensuring they will be fully prepared for success in tomorrow’s world.”