SPRING VALLEY – New Spring Valley Elementary Principal Nicole Lamb feels like a new kid in a candy store since beginning her new role ovcially Sept. 12. “I’m so very excited and feel so very …
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SPRING VALLEY – New Spring Valley Elementary Principal Nicole Lamb feels like a new kid in a candy store since beginning her new role ovcially Sept. 12. “I’m so very excited and feel so very fortunate to be in this position,” Lamb said. “I want to be an advocate for the students and educators in this building because our students deserve the best.”
Lamb replaces Principal Dan McGuire, who retired this summer. She served as interim principal starting in August until her ovcial appointment Sept. 12. She most recently served as the district’s director of special education and pupil services since 2020. She began her career with Spring Valley schools 13 years ago when she started as a volunteer coordinator at the elementary school thanks to an AmeriCorps grant. During that time, she had gone back to UW-Stout to earn her special education teaching license, a decision spurred by a life-changing event.
She and husband Ben, who is a special education teacher for Spring Valley, found out their son Noah, with whom Lamb was pregnant at the time, had contracted cytomegalovirus (CMV).
“It’s a disease that starts out as a common cold that the mother gets,” Lamb said. “His little heart didn’t make it, though he made it fullterm. That reminded me that life is precious and life is short and you should chase those dreams.”
Having grown up with a mother who was a kindergarten and third grade teacher, education has always been a big part of Lamb’s family. But she didn’t see herself following in those footsteps.
“To rebel a little bit, I said no way, I’m never going to go into education,” Lamb laughed. “I had planned on a career in human resources and public relations.”
She worked in the private sector for a while, but after she and Ben lost their son, she knew she needed to follow her heart.
“I really enjoyed being with kids and working in a school setting, so I applied for the volunteer position,” she said.
After securing a full-time special education teaching position at Spring Valley, Lamb pursued a Master’s degree in educational leadership and special education director certification from UW-Superior. It was an easy decision to make the leap into administration.
“It’s something that I felt I had the opportunity to auect more families and students in a positive way, than the small group I got to see every day,” Lamb said. “I just felt like it was something that I really felt passionately about, to look at things more big picture. I wanted the opportunity to grow my experiences and knowledge. Our students deserve the best and I wanted to make sure I had the opportunity to lead the wonderful people in this building and school.”
Now in her dream job, Lamb has several goals as principal. For one, she wants to make sure students are getting the stau's best each day.
“That I’m providing the support for stau, students and families so they are having the best opportunities to learn and grow, not just academically, but the social / emotional piece is really important too,” Lamb said. “That has come to the forefront since the pandemic. Understanding that there’s a need for that. We are so very fortunate here in Spring Valley to have such a supportive community and a big, brand new, beautiful facility because our community supports us. I feel very fortunate to have that support from our community, so continuing to have those connections and relationships with our community members and businesses in town is a goal of mine. Making sure that we’re providing open communication and opportunities for parents to be involved in their education.”
The best part of her job hasn’t changed since becoming a principal: It’s seeing the students’ smiling faces each day. She also feels blessed to work with great people.
“It makes coming to work enjoyable,” Lamb said. “I look forward to it. It’s a place that I want to be at, working in the community that I live in.”
When she and Ben are not serving Spring Valley’s youth, they enjoy spending time with their seventh and 11th grade children. They particularly like to spend time outside doing things around their house on their farm or attend sporting events. “We’re big Wisconsin Badger fans in our house,” Lamb said. “A majority of our free time is supporting our kids at their extracurricular activities and we wouldn’t have it any other way.”
She also loves to read, but time doesn’t allow for that at this stage of life. She and Ben also stay busy running the district’s youth basketball organization and volunteering at school events.