Missy Ferguson is Coming to Lowell

Missy Ferguson is moving from her position as the principal at Columbia Elementary School to become the principal of Lowell Elementary School when it reopens this fall—and she couldn’t be more excited.

“I guess I’m a risk taker in some ways,” Ferguson said with a chuckle. “I don’t know what I’m in for.” But she is prepared for the challenge.

A teacher since 1973, she had been in the Bellingham School District working as a teacher until she was hired to become the principal at Columbia in 2004 after obtaining her Master’s degree in Administration and Curriculum.

Surely she can be expected to bring to Lowell the ideals she has used to enhance the quality of education at Columbia. Bill Palmer, a 4th and 5th Grade teacher at Columbia, said he has seen the school go from receiving poor student assessments to being recognized within the district as a school whose students progressively perform better year after year.

“[Missy] instills a work ethic for both the kids and the teachers that allows the students to take pride in their work,” he said.

Working together with parents, teachers and students alike has helped Columbia come together as a community school, something she says was important for the school and will also be important for Lowell.

Don’t Just Take Her Word For It


Working closely with Ferguson for the past two years, Columbia PTA president Erin McEachern has only good things to say about Lowell’s new principal.

“Missy is one of a kind,” she said. “She is very involved with the students in all aspects. She’s patient, hands-on, personable and dedicated.”

Not to mention she has a sense of humor. McEachern said one year she dressed up as Cupid on Valentines Day for the kids. But this sense of humor should not take away from the fact she is very professional about her job.

“She has the ability to put forth a vision and enable everyone to make it happen,” Palmer said. “She sets high expectations for herself—she is often at the school late after hours and on weekends.”

But the environment she helps create is what he sees as a key to her success as a principal, he said. “When kids enter a secure, clean, child-friendly environment, they want to be there; and she creates that environment.”

Reflecting on his 38-year teaching career, Palmer does not think he has worked for a better principal.

“She pushed me to try new things at the end of my career. It would have been just as easy for me to continue doing what I was before [she came to Columbia].”

Opening Lowell Will Be a Challenge She Says

Ferguson said she believes it takes time to build community in schools. She believes it took until her fourth year at Columbia before things seemed aligned. This alignment is going to be one of her biggest challenges restarting as principal at Lowell. Another challenge facing her now is time.

“It is a challenge getting things open and prepared [for fall] and finding a vision for the first year,” she said. “There are a lot of things that were put in storage from when the school was open before, and some of those have to be thrown out.” She also does not have a complete staff for the fall. “About six teachers are returning, but there are still several positions in the school still open.”

One of the themes she is pushing for Lowell next year is Leadership.

“I’ve been reading a book called The Leader in Me by Stephen Covey,” she said. “It has provided me with some great advice as a principal, so I gave a copy to all the teachers and the PTA.” The book offers tips for encouraging leadership in teachers to help students learn more efficiently.

She wants parents and South Hill community members to be aware that she is not going to turn Lowell into another Columbia. She said some ideas will inherently carry over, such as when she moved to Columbia from Happy Valley Elementary School in 2004, but she wants to work with parents and teachers to create new ideas and put them at ease.

“I learned a lot from my time at Columbia,” she said. “I will constantly be in classrooms [at Lowell] for the first year getting to know the kids. I sort of fell into the principal position, but I love it. I wouldn’t be doing this job if I didn’t love it.”