Leaving The Corporate For The Kids

Be the Change

Mele Benz: Leaving The Corporate For The Kids

“What do you do when you feel like the end of the world might be imminent? For me, it turned out to be teaching,” says Mele Benz, principal at Chico’s Sierra View Elementary school.

Mele, a native of Modesto, CA, started her career at a corporate job in New Jersey. While most of her peers were becoming teachers, Mele wanted to take a different route with her degree. “That’s why I got into the corporate world,” says Mele, “But really, my heart was for teaching.”

On September 11, 2001, she watched in horror as the World Trade Center towers crumbled to dust across the river from where she lived. “It was a big wake-up call for me,” Mele says. “I asked myself what I was doing with my life and what I wanted to be contributing. I quit my corporate job and joined a friend hiking the Appalachian Trail. I had a good 700 miles to think about my life!”

During those 700 miles, Mele made the decision to return to California and get her teaching credential. From the very beginning she “loved everything about teaching,” stimulated by the challenges and refreshed by relearning information before sharing it with younger generations. She knew she had found her life’s work.

Fresh out of the credential program, Mele was hired as a physical education teacher at Aspire Summit Charter Academy in Modesto. Don Shalvey, co-founder of Aspire Schools and CEO at the time, says, “From my first conversation with Mele, it was clear her calling card read ‘care and commitment.’” Thanks to Don, Mele moved into teaching 4th through 7th grade.  Don describes Mele’s perseverance as seeing a “window of possibility for youngsters and the adults who serve them” where others see a wall.  “Don really helped me progress and see my own potential,” Mele says. “I call him my fairy godfather!”

While working at Aspire, Mele built on her bachelor’s degree from Stanford by earning a master’s degree in educational administration at San Jose State University. She subsequently moved into education administration, becoming assistant principal and then principal at Aspire Summit Charter Academy. “I loved being in the classroom,” says Mele. “There is nothing like the relationship between kids and teachers. As an administrator, I don’t have as deep of an impact on kids, but I can reach more kids and families.”

After the birth of their son, Mele and her husband, Alec, moved to northern California. Mele worked in Willows for two years before becoming the principal at Chico’s Sierra View Elementary school in 2014.  Alec left his teaching career to work as a stay-at-home father for the couple’s son, now age 5, and daughter, age 3. “Some people have babies who sleep through meetings. Mine were not that kind of baby!” Mele says with a laugh. “I’ve been so lucky to have Alec’s support and have him stay with the kids. I really couldn’t do it without him.” With his support, Mele is currently working on her doctorate at the University of the Pacific.

As a principal, Mele seeks to emulate what Don Shalvey did for her:  helping others recognize their own potential. Kelly Staley, the superintendent of Chico Unified School District, says Sierra View’s student attendance and test scores rank among the top in the state, with minimal need for student discipline. Kelly describes Mele as a “visionary leader. The success of Mele’s school speaks for itself.”

Mele views the work of the principal as “coaching teachers, kids and families to achieve personal best, seeing strengths, growth areas and next steps. I want the kids to understand the gifts they have and share them with the world around them.” These gifts do not have to come in grandiose packages to make a difference. Mele warns against feeling limited by trying to “do all the things.” She encourages kids and adults to start small. Sierra View Elementary, for example, gives kids opportunities to set up for assemblies or help recycle. “These are pretty small tasks,” Mele explains, “but they build a sense of contribution. Once you start to give, you feel that intrinsic sense of reward. Then, you keep seeing opportunities to make the world a better place.”

The mission of our Be the Change column is to feature community members from the North State who are actively making a difference in community life. If you would like to nominate someone who is making a difference, please write to pn@northstateparent.com.