My name is Jennifer Buie, though all my friends, family, and colleagues call me Katie.  I have a wonderful blended family with my spouse, Todd, and our 5 (nearly all adult!) children.  We love to garden, hike, and camp, and are currently remodeling our new home, bit by bit. 

While Minnesota will always be home, I have lived in 3 other states, most recently, Colorado. I completed my Bachelor's at Oregon State University in Anthropology and graduated Summa Cum Laude.  While I love the study of humans, I also found my love for education when I lived on a small island in Puget Sound that had a dearth of special education resources for my son. So, I partnered with the local school district and a certificated teacher to craft lessons for my son.  This is where I discovered my love of teaching. 

I returned to Minnesota shortly before 2016; it was then I decided to get my Master's and teaching certificate at the University of Minnesota. I landed in a great district as my first teaching position, which allowed teachers to be innovative with a great climate and culture. After budget constraints that lowered my FTE when COVID-19 caused low enrollment numbers, I found a full-time position as a Director of Student Services.  This role encompassed the title of Dean of Students and the management of social work, Title I, and an intervention team. It was in this role that I realized that I liked looking at the big picture and being a visionary leader in the field of education. I developed these team members into leaders in their own right and developed amazing working relationships and a positive culture. I was informed my position was funded through ESSR funds that were depleted, and my position was set to be eliminated. I decided that I would get my principal's license so I could continue my leadership journey elsewhere.  I had my mentor from my first teaching position call me, saying her daughter's school was in dire need of a social studies teacher, and they could be my site principal for my middle and high school principal internship. It was at this point that I decided I would move to Colorado after my internships to merge households with my long-term, long-distance partner. 

I pursued my principal licensure and Educational Specialist degree at Concordia University - St. Paul. I moved to Colorado right after all of my internships and classwork for my Ed.S. was complete and I took on a social studies teaching role to relearn the standards, policies, and procedures to ensure I could be a well-versed educational leader in the State of Colorado.  I have enjoyed my time teaching in Colorado and learning new strategies for leadership from my current administrators.