Winding educational path leads Montour home as she begins career as Wildcat principal

After a four year hiatus, Wildcat Nation has welcomed back Rebecca Montour with open arms. She gave herself some space from the white and blue to prioritize family when they needed her most. Now, her mind is clear and her heart is open to lead a fresh pack of eager Wildcats as their head principal. 

The last 19 years of Montour’s life have been dedicated to a career in education, with the beginnings in Hortonville, where she spent nine years in a middle school band room. There was never a distinct moment that urged her to teach; it was an instinctive desire for much of her life. 

“My friends and siblings would play school, and I always liked school and thought it was fun,” Montour said. “I always knew I wanted to do something in education, but I didn’t know exactly what I wanted to teach.” 

Despite the cherished memories made in her old band room, she felt unfulfilled by the limited outreach she had in the position. 

“I felt like I wanted to have a wider impact on more kids,” she said. “Being in the classroom, I felt like I could only affect the kids right in front of me.” 

In 2014, she paved a new path in her career, bringing her to West,  where she would spend the next five years as assistant principal. Considering West’s culture and charm, it didn’t take long for it to become her home. However, in 2019, her life took an unforeseen turn. 

On December 3rd, the community came face to face with the unimaginable; West was involved in a school shooting. The situation was contained, but unfortunately resulted in two injuries; one of which was Montour’s partner, Officer Michael Wissink. 

“That first year after he got hurt was crazy busy,” she said. “He had seven surgeries in 10 months and there were also a lot of medical appointments, recovery, physical therapy, and mental health therapy because of the PTSD.” 

The trauma experienced is impossible to compare, and everyone who was in the building had their own narrative. Hearts dropped, fear spiked, and coming back to school following the immense anxiety was a challenge for everyone. For most students and staff, home was a refuge during this emotional time. In the comfort of their home and arms of their loved ones, Wildcats could forget about the incident to a certain extent. This was not the case for Montour.

“When I went home, I was taking care of Officer Wissink and my family, and when I was here I was trying to take care of the staff,” she said. “It was very overwhelming, and I felt like my attention needed to be at home, and because of that I felt like I wasn’t doing a good job here.”

Montour came to the conclusion that time away from West would give her the space to tend to her family while simultaneously managing her career, which brought her to the assistant principal position at Menasha Middle School. 

“It was a real blessing for me to be able to go to work with people who didn’t know anything about me,” she said. “They had no idea I was connected to what happened on December 3, so I was able to go to work and focus on doing my job. Even when the trial was all over the news, nobody asked me any questions.”

However, Menasha never felt quite like home. Some of the most beautiful connections are nurtured in challenging times, and December 3 was painful and significant. It strengthened Montour’s bonds with the Wildcat community, and when she left she felt a sense of loss. 

“It was nice to make that separation, but I always missed the people that were here. I also know I did the right thing for my family,” she said. “I was too distracted with what was going on to be a good assistant principal here. Now, I’m in a better place to lead.”

Being principal wasn’t part of Montour’s original plan, but she feels privileged to have found an opportunity to return to the West atmosphere. 

“One thing I noticed right away is how friendly and respectful the students are,” she said. “Kids say hi to me all day long, and they are always so polite. Everybody’s so happy and welcoming, and it’s a really great community to be a part of.”

Montour shared that the highlight of her day is connecting with adolescents in the cafeteria and classrooms. She wants to achieve more depth in her relationship to students, and one way to do so is by giving them a morning message to look forward to every Monday. 

“I want it to be a way that students can hear from me every week. I think I have a decent sense of humor, so sometimes it will be funny, and other times it will be a reminder,” she said. “I just want it to be something for kids to think about as they go through their day. I was here when Erin Kohl was principal and I was inspired by her Kohl’s Quote on Fridays.” 

Montour’s most notable message so far has been encouraging students to shut down their phones and dial in their brains whenever they enter a classroom setting. While she doesn’t have much control over district policies, she works in tandem with assistant principals and deans to adjust school policies as they see fit. 

One policy in particular has filled some students with rancor; the comparatively much stricter phone policy. This policy makes some students angry because they can no longer slack in peace. However, policies have principles behind them, and the intention is always in their interest for the student body. Montour’s philosophy is centered around recognizing students who work hard to achieve their best.

“I always want students to know that even if they’ve made a mistake, my goal is to provide them with opportunities to find success in whatever success looks like for that specific student,” she said. 

Montour looks forward to Friday night football, enlightening her ears to the musical performances, and experiencing all the activities that make high school fun alongside her students. While high school is not the fantasy movies make it out to be, there are countless special moments to look forward to along the way, and Montour is ready to soak it all in. Above all, she wants Wildcats to recognize how greatly she values being here. 

“I feel really fortunate that I was given this position,” she said. “It’s really important to me that we do everything we can to make West the best place it can be for the students in the building.”

by Jazmine Blustin

Published October 7 2024

Oshkosh West Index Volume 121 Issue I