Michele Pinard, the new principal of LP Quinn Elementary School, has worked at schools on three continents, learning from observing the varying and experimental teaching styles. (Enterprise photo — Aaron Cerbone)

TUPPER LAKE — As L.P. Quinn Elementary School is under construction for the summer, it’s new principal Michele Pinard looks to reconstruct the school’s educational structure as well.

With teaching experience spanning three continents and a child-centered approach to education, Pinard wants to improve Tupper Lake’s strengths and bring fresh perspectives to the American educational system.

Pinard made an impression on the school right away, introducing herself to the 12 committee members interviewing her for the position and showing genuine interest in the conversations she had with each member.

“We knew at that moment that she valued relationships because she was creating them even before she was offered a position,” district Superintendent Seth McGowan said.

Pinard’s view of schooling is described by her as being child-centered, focusing on what students really need to be comfortable and ready to learn in school. She said she supports this by listening to children and understanding that the perspectives and thoughts her students have are important to improving how they are educated.

“If I haven’t learned more than the students, then I probably haven’t done my job,” Pinard said.

Pinard is no stranger to education. She has a Ph.D. in educational leadership and was an associate professor in SUNY Potsdam’s Curriculum and Instruction Department for 10 years. She also has worked in South African, Korean and Chinese classrooms, experiencing different styles and theories of how to educate children.

In her most recent stint overseas, Pinard was the primary director for a year at Tsinghua University in Beijing, China.

Tsinghua – pronounced “ching-hua” — is a private school which teaches a progressive curriculum in the Common Core system.

A progressive curriculum stems from viewing the role of education as a part of life instead of preparation for life. Instead of reading about a profession or visiting a place of work for a field trip, first-grade students ran their own businesses under the teacher’s guidance and learned the Common Core standards of math, science, social studies and English language arts through application and real-life experience.

Pinard recalled students running their own bakery by creating advertisements and menus, baking food and ringing patrons’ purchases up. They learned all the essential skills through their different tasks in the shop and through interviewing bakers in the planning stage.

Students had a hand in everything from purchasing ingredients to setting prices, holding class meetings and having what Pinard calls “real ownership” of the business.

“I think schools are always the center of a community,” Pinard said, “especially in the United States.”

Though Pinard, who grew up in Long Lake, has seen communities around the world, she is still amazed by Tupper Laker’s resilience and ability to get things done.

“Tupper Lake and Long Lake and the Adirondacks are a very special part of the world,” Pinard said. “I consider it a great gift to be able to come here.”

Pinard’s international perspective gives her a unique view of how to tackle the issues she faces as a principal. She recognizes these are universal educational issues that are not always as big as they seem.

“The biggest resource challenges you have are time and qualified staff. Beyond that you don’t really need a lot of stuff honestly,” Pinard said. “Every school has challenges of not having enough books or technology. But I learned how to teach in a two-room classroom with a thatched roof and a dirt floor and 80 kids who showed up every day.”

When she was low on supplies, Pinard said she would draw on the floor with a stick, an example of her simple and practical approach to education. Pinard wants to bring the practical education she saw around the world to an American system she says educates children superficially by assessing students through quantitative tests instead of qualitative ones.

Pinard has a focus on communication for improvement, wanting parental input on children’s education and planning on connecting students with the world through online pen pals.