Byron Center — According to Tina Mysliwiec, the two best things about education are the students and the teachers. In her new leadership role as principal at Brown Elementary, she now gets to work alongside both every day.
Mysliwiec taught fourth grade at Brown for almost eight years, and admits she was “a little scared” to leave her classroom and serve the building as a whole.
“I loved teaching fourth grade,” she said. “They’re starting to get your jokes and become more independent. They’re the biggest kids in the school.”
SNN gets to know Brown’s new principal better in this edition of Meet Your Administrator.
Other positions held in education: Mysliwiec began her teaching career in Waterford Public Schools in 2006. She taught in a second- and third-grade split classroom for one year, and then first grade for her final few years there. A year after moving to Byron Center, Mysliwiec started substitute teaching in the district and was a long-term sub at Brown before being hired to teach fourth grade. During her seventh year of teaching at Brown, Mysliwiec stepped up as interim principal before assuming the role permanently.
Education/degrees:
- Bachelor’s degree in education, Oakland University
- Master’s degree in reading and literacy, Marygrove College
Why did you want to become an administrator? Despite having two aunts who worked as principals and one who later became a superintendent, Mysliwiec used to say she would never be an administrator. When Brown’s previous principal stepped down from the role, Mysliwiec said her name kept coming up, so she went for it. She said it was “very surreal the way it all happened.”
“I didn’t want to be in charge of adults, but as I grew within Byron Center and more leadership roles started popping up for me, I was encouraged by different administrators to make that jump.”
What drew you to continue your leadership journey in Byron Center? “It’s the people. The teachers, families and administrators are amazing and great to me; you’re not on an island. I’ve loved living here and sending my kids to the schools; it’s the place I want to be.”
What would you like to share about your family? Mysliwiec and her husband, Vince, have been married for 19 years and share three children together: Vinny, Sophia and Blake. Her oldest, Vinny, graduated from BCHS last spring and now attends Ferris State University.
Name a few great things about going into K-12 education: Mysliwiec said she enjoys seeing students’ progress from grade level to grade level, and how teachers set the foundational skills for students to build on in future grades.
“The kids themselves, just being able to see when they get the concepts they’ve been struggling with, that’s what drives us and that’s what I love.”
How will you encourage student voice in your building? “In the building, we have our student ambassadors. In the classroom, something I would do is have an anchor chart at the beginning of the year to see how we want things to look, how we should treat each other and how to treat me and guests in our building.”
How would you describe your leadership style? “Student-centered, and really focuses on collaboration. I believe in forming really strong relationships with staff and families and having open and consistent dialogue. This served well for me as a teacher, and my kids knew they could come talk to me and I would listen and help them find solutions.”
Are you a dog or a cat person? “I have both, so I guess I am both. I grew up with cats, and then our daughter wanted a cat, and (my husband and I) had a dog together.”
What book, movie, TV show or podcast have you loved lately? “I really like crime shows. I like solving mysteries and figuring stuff out. I love any documentary, historical fiction and books from the education world. I listen to audio books for multitasking.”
What is one thing on your bucket list? Born in Germany, Mysliwiec lived in several countries as a kid while her father served in the U.S. Army. She attended high school in Singapore and traveled back with her family to attend her 25th class reunion last year.
“I love to travel, which was ingrained in me as a kid. I would love to be able to go to Hawaii and … it would be cool to finish my teaching career in Singapore.”
Read more from Byron Center:
• Elementary principal heads to West Middle
• A familiar face with a New England accent returns
