McCune Returns to Lead Lakeside High School

Lakeside High School’s new principal, Mike McCune, is returning to a school and community that helped shape his career as an educator. McCune most recently spent two years as an assistant principal at East Valley High School in Spokane Valley. Before that, he worked at Lakeside for six years as a math teacher, coach, athletic and activities director, and assistant principal. “Lakeside High School is a special place,” McCune said. “I am in- credibly grateful to have been selected to lead this building.”

McCune said he grew up in Stanwood, a community approximately 50 miles north of Seattle. After high school, he attended Washington State University before transferring to Whit- worth University, where he played football, and studied mathematics and education. After graduating from Whitworth in 2014, McCune said he was hired as a part-time math teacher at West Valley High School. He taught there for two years before leaving K-12 education to pursue college football coaching. After coaching full time for two years, McCune said he returned to education and joined Lakeside High School as a full-time math teacher.

He primarily taught mathematics during his six years at the school, but also taught leadership and weight training, and coached football, basketball, and baseball. McCune said he later spent two years as Lakeside’s athletic and activities director, and one year as assistant principal before accepting the East Valley position. In a July 2 letter introducing himself to Lakeside families, McCune said the school holds a special place in his life and the life of his family. “More importantly, Lakeside shaped me into the educator and leader I am today,” he wrote. “It was here that I discovered my passion not only for coaching, but for teaching.

It was here that my wife and I welcomed our first son, Cooper. And it was here that I experienced firsthand the incredible power of this community.” When the Lakeside principal position became available in May, McCune said the opportunity to return was difficult to pass up. “I returned because the staff is incredible,” McCune said. “It is full of professionals who care deeply about all students, who strive to continually improve their pedagogical practice and who all work towards common goals.

The community is very strong. They are supportive of LHS (Lakeside High School), our students, and our programs. The students are kind, driven, and motivated to learn. Lakeside meant a lot to me and poured into me as a young teacher and I am excited to serve in this new role.” McCune also praised the district’s administrative team, including Superintendent Jeff Baerwald, Director of Business Claire Olson, Director of Teaching and Learning Jennifer Ire- land, and Director of Student Services Michelle Mace.

“The district leadership is exceptional,” McCune said, describing the administrators as collaborative and focused on students. McCune said his leadership philosophy begins with the idea that “Leadership is influence.” “I love this definition because it implies that everyone has the capacity to lead,” he said. “Some leaders have strong influence, some weak, some positive and some negative. I believe servant leadership is the ultimate form of leadership.”

McCune said he learned a three-part definition of leadership from Mike Nilson, a former Gonzaga University strength coach and owner of UDistrict. The first component is “Synergy: Developing and sustaining positive relationships with all stakeholders.” The second is “Sweat: Leading by Example – I work incredibly hard and no task is too small for me.” The third is “Serve: Ensuring all staff have what they need to be successful.”

McCune said he believes in distributing leadership responsibilities among staff while personally taking “extreme ownership of all things that take place at LHS.” He enters the position as Lakeside continues to receive recognition for its academic programs, student involvement, and school culture. In his letter, McCune noted that Lakeside was recently named a School on the Rise by the Association of Washington School Principals and the Association of Washington Student Leaders.

The school offers sev- eral opportunities for students to earn college credit, while more than 80% of Lakeside students participate in a club or athletic program. The school has also been recognized as a Unified Champion School by the Special Olympics. McCune said the school will continue to be guided by its belief in “Pursuing Excellence – Changing Lives.” Citing former University of Washington and Boise State football coach Chris Petersen, McCune described excellence as, “Doing common things with uncommon enthusiasm and uncommon discipline.”

“Our work this year will be to clearly define our ‘common things’ and commit ourselves to doing them with uncommon enthusiasm and uncommon discipline,” McCune wrote. “We believe that when we consistently do the little things well, we create the conditions for every student to experience meaningful growth, lasting relationships, and memorable opportunities at Lakeside High School.” McCune said one of the most meaningful questions he received during the interview process came from a panel of Lakeside students, who asked how he want- ed to be remembered as principal.

“If students remember me at all, I hope it is simply because they knew I cared about them, supported them, challenged them, and loved them,” McCune wrote. He said he hopes students primarily remember their teachers, coaches, classmates, teammates, performances, competitions, and other experiences that made their time at Lakeside meaningful. “My responsibility is to ensure that the people doing the teaching, coaching, mentoring, and advising are equipped and supported so they can create those life-changing experiences for our students,” McCune wrote. McCune said he will host “Lakeside Listens – Coffee with the Principal” gatherings.

The meetings are intended to give families an opportunity to meet McCune and discuss what they value about Lakeside, what makes them proud of the school, and where they believe it can continue to improve. For more information, email McCune at mmccune@9mile.org.