Brussels ES/HS: Administrator Bios

I am very excited for the opportunity to serve as the new principal of Brussels Elementary High School. I am deeply committed to excellence in academics and positive social/emotional development for all our students across the grade levels. My leadership is student-centered, aimed at making a lasting impact in every student's life, enabling each to effectively contribute, adapt, and thrive in a constantly evolving world. I enjoy learning from and working with students, staff, and parents and look forward to the great things I know we will accomplish together.

I have spent twenty years working in education in both public stateside schools and overseas Department of Defense schools. I have been fortunate to experience the elementary, middle, and high school levels, and I love them all. Most recently, I was the principal of Ansbach Elementary School, located in scenic Bavaria, serving the military-connected children and families in USAG Ansbach. At Ansbach Elementary School, I had the privilege to lead our wonderful school community through our very successful College and Career Ready Standards for Mathematics implementation. Prior to working at Ansbach Elementary School, I was the assistant principal of sister school Ansbach Middle High School. Before joining Department of Defense Education Activity, I worked in Idaho as a principal in an alternative high school credit recovery program and a classroom educator.

The majority of my teaching experience has been at the middle school level. I taught high school chorus, music history, piano lab, music theory, and AP Music Theory. I was director of a performing arts academy, coached a musical theater program, and provided community music instruction.

I grew up in multiple states in the western United States and was educated in Idaho. I received a Bachelors in Elementary Education and Performing Arts K-12 from the University of Idaho. Five years later, I earned a Masters in Educational Leadership from Idaho State University. As a principal and educational leader, I encourage students to be independent learners and thinkers, creative problem solvers, and active participants in their educational process.

I am married to a DoDEA educator and we have one daughter. She graduated from Ansbach Middle High School and is currently finishing a degree in environmental economics at University of Wyoming. I enjoy traveling to remote destinations, playing music, gardening, hiking, and diving. My family and I look forward to exploring and experiencing all that Belgium has to offer.

Collette Tate

I am also very excited to be joining the Brussels Elementary High School team. As an educator, I am committed to being a member and leader of an educational system that provides students with a rigorous, relevant, and engaging academic experience. I believe the power of teamwork, community partnership, student-centered learning, and communication are the keys to providing the right opportunities for student and educator success.

For the past 11 years, I have been privileged to be a part of the DoDEA team as the secondary Language Arts and Literacy Specialist in the Europe East District, Kaiserslautern, Germany.

I was born in Hollywood, California and lived in and around the Los Angeles area until graduating high school. After graduation, I joined and spent nearly 12 years in the United States Air Force. Assignments included New York, Germany, California, and Okinawa, Japan. In 1992 I was honorably discharged from the Air Force as an Instructor In-Flight Refueling Boom Operator.

From the day I entered USAF instructor Flight School, I knew I wanted to be a teacher. After leaving the Air Force, I completed my Bachelor of Science Degree in Computer Studies at the University of Maryland in Tokyo, Japan. I went on to complete my California Teaching Credential and Master’s Degree in Educational Administration, Leadership, and Policy Studies at the California State University, Bakersfield and Northridge campuses.

My teaching experiences include being an instructor in the USAF, 12 years with LAUSD, and the past 11 years in DoDEA. While in Los Angeles, I taught at both the middle and high school levels. Teaching assignments included AP Computer Science, Computer Applications, English Language Arts, Social Studies, Math, and JROTC. I also worked as a literacy coach, state testing coordinator, and lead teacher at several middle and high schools, all before joining DoDEA in 2011

My wife, Veronica, is also a DoDEA educator. We have been married for 30 years and met during my assignment to Okinawa, Japan where she was a DoDEA teacher. She has 20+ years as an elementary and middle school teacher, coach, and interventionist. Our daughter, Dakota, graduated from the University of California, Santa Barbara in 2021 with a degree in dance, theater studies, and costume design. She currently lives in New York City and is living her best dance and “Broadway” life! Our son, Hunter, graduated from Ramstein High School in 2021, is an avid skateboarder, and is now attending the College of the Canyons in California and is thinking about pursuing a career in broadcast journalism.

Veronica and I enjoy family time, traveling, cooking, entertaining, and exploring new destinations! We are both humbled and honored to be joining the Brussels family and look forward to this new adventure.