A big crowd of friends, family and school colleagues were on hand last Wednesday at Becker Middle School to celebrate the educational career of Nancy Helmer-Weiss, who retired at the end of last school year after serving for 20 years as an administrator in the Becker School District.

Helmer-Weiss began her career as a classroom teacher in the St. Cloud area and eventually came to Becker to serve as an assistant principal.  One of her duties was to help design and open the current MS building and continue the implementation of the “middle school concept”, hallmarked by the 3R’s —Responsibility, Relationships and Respect.  

During her tenure at the helm of BMS,  the school consistently ranked near the top for academic achievement of all middle level buildings in the state of Minnesota.

School staff shared pictures, anecdotes of Nancy’s collaborative leadership style and some humorous predictions for her future as she enters her retirement.

Several speakers also mentioned some of the highlights of her career, including her advocacy for adding the MS musical program, as well as her development of leaders within the staff.

Under her tutelage, BMS also hosted teams of teachers from throughout Minnesota who came to the school to see the best practices being implemented within the classrooms.  Through this process of lesson study, Helmer-Weiss was recognized by Resource Training and Solutions as one of the outstanding educational leaders in Minnesota.

The well-wishers presented Nancy with an array of retirement gifts, including a travel bag with accessories she can use for her immediate future plans of travel and time with children and grandchildren. Long time employee Rick Speer also presented Nancy with one of his unique, hand drawn pictures. 

The afternoon ended with Helmer-Weiss thanking the many people in attendance for their camaraderie, commitment and friendship over the past two decades.