Nick Gottlob

Mountain View and West Elementary Schools
Spearfish School District
Spearfish, South Dakota
ngottlob@spearfish.k12.sd.us

Previously a middle and high school principal, Nick Gottlob has served as principal of Mountain View and West Elementary Schools since 2014. Beginning with a clear vision, Gottlob identified the school’s need for Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) and, with support from lead teachers, dove into developing a professional development program focused on pedagogical practices, core instruction, and learning the assessment and data process. Following this collaborative learning process, Gottlob facilitated the implementation of the MTSS model, creating and implementing a universal intervention model and block into the school day. The result has been a shift to the known school Response to Intervention model, meeting the needs of all learners. Recognizing the critical importance of early childhood education, Gottlob has been instrumental in developing relationships with public and private community partners with the goal of creating a lab-setting early learning model in his schools. He has also led the creation of an afterschool STEAM program to introduce students to robotics, coding, conceptual math, and other technology-related concepts. Programming has expanded to the school year, and the program is wildly popular with both students and parents. Gottlob holds a B.A. in Elementary Education from Black Hills State University, an M.A. in Education Administration from South Dakota State University, and is currently working toward an Ed.D. from University of South Dakota.