Fair-Mont-Egan to Welcome New Superintendent
Tina Blair, former West Valley Middle School principal and current Fair-Mont-Egan kindergarten teacher, is eager to continue innovative school programs while prioritizing a “local feel”
By Denali Sagner
Longtime Flathead Valley educator and former West Valley Middle School principal Tina Blair is taking the helm of the Fair-Mont-Egan School next fall following the resignation of current Superintendent/Principal Brandy Carlenzoli.
Blair started her teaching career in Kalispell where, for 11 years, she taught first and fourth grades at Peterson Elementary School before moving to a role in instructional coaching. She then spent nine years in the West Valley School District, where she served as middle school principal.
After some turnover at West Valley and a family move to the east side of the Flathead Valley, Blair decided it was time to try something new.
When she started to learn about the schools on the eastern half of the valley, “Great things were said about Fair-Mont-Egan and Brandy [Carlenzoli],” she said.
Blair accepted a job teaching kindergarten at Fair-Mont-Egan, a new endeavor for her, and fell in love.
“It’s just rejuvenating to have this opportunity to be where it all starts,” she said. “It just fills your heart.”
When Carlenzoli announced her resignation earlier this year, Blair stepped up and applied for the open superintendent/principal position.
Fair-Mont-Egan is a small, kindergarten through eighth grade school located between Kalispell and Creston. The school was formed in 1967 when three smaller schools, Fairview, Montford and Egan, merged. Last year, the school enrolled around 150 students.
Blair said Fair-Mont-Egan’s small size and four-day school week model offer a unique experience for students and teachers, one that is grounded in a “local feel” and ample opportunities for collaboration and professional development.
With the four-day school week, teachers have a twice-monthly opportunity to gather for training, which can be rare in the traditional school model.
As she steps into the superintendent role, Blair hopes to carry on a successful school-wide behavior initiative and new literacy programs that had been funded by a sunsetting grant. She’s also eager to guide the school through new state math and English language standards that will go into effect in 2026.
While times have changed since she first started teaching, Blair said kids are as curious and eager as ever. While their exposure to screens has increased, so too, Blair said, has their ability to quickly pick up and process information, a phenomenon that has pushed her to adapt her teaching style over the years.
She hopes to partner with staff, the school board and the broader community to foster an encouraging environment that provides the best student outcomes, she said.
Above all, Blair hopes to maintain the community-mindedness that comes with a small, rural school, one where, as she says, “Every day that I come to school, it’s like coming home.”
Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to say that the current Fair-Mont-Egan School Superintendent/Principal Brandy Carlenzoli resigned, not retired.