A school board committee recommends the full board hire Jean Kowalski as principal of Hinks and Courtney Fredlund as principal of Ella White. The committee also recommends Meaghan Black be hired as assistant principal of Thunder Bay.

Six candidates were interviewed for the three positions, officials said.

Kowalski and Black were serving as interim principals at Hinks and Thunder Bay, respectively.

Assistant Superintendent for Instruction Meaghan Gauthier said the committee wanted to make sure staff at the three schools had an opportunity to review all the candidates interviewed.

Courtesy Photo Meaghan Black is recommended as principal of Thunder Bay Junior High School, pending action by the Alpena Public Schools Board of Education on June 15.

‘We had great conversations around the attributes of each candidate, and then, in the end, what the committee felt is, because both Jean and Meaghan did such a good job in their interim roles, that consistency, especially in this time, is important,” she said.

Kowalski, who previously served as the principal at Thunder Bay, stepped into the interim role at Hinks when Principal Sharon Miller retired in December 2019. Black was then selected to serve as interim principal of Thunder Bay.

Gauthier said Kowalski had expressed interest in returning to the elementary level.

“It’s kind of where her passion is,” Gauthier said. “She loved both the junior high and the elementary, but she really had a desire to return to the elementary.”

Kowalski taught in APS for 12 years until she moved into an administrative role in 2008. In addition to serving as principal for Thunder Bay, she has been principal at Wilson, Long Rapids, and Sanborn elementary schools.

Courtesy Photo Jean Kowalski is recommended as principal of Hinks Elementary School, pending action by the Alpena Public Schools Board of Education on June 15.

APS hired Black as an instructional coach in 2012. In a memo to the board, Gauthier said Black has done “an excellent job” in leading district instructional initiatives.

Gauthier said Black had expressed interest in becoming a principal at some point in her career. She said Black had previously interviewed for a principal’s position.

“Because of the skill that she demonstrated in her role, and in her interview, and the past year, we thought it was a good opportunity for her to get some experience in that role,” Gauthier said. “She ended up doing an amazing job, and ended up loving that level when she thought she would be seeking out an elementary position.”

Fredlund accepted the position as principal for Ella White School, replacing Melissa LaCombe, who first worked in the district as a teacher in 1995 and then as a principal since 2002 and is retiring this month.

Fredlund joins Alpena from Arizona, where she has seven years of experience as a principal. Gauthier said she has family ties to the area and is looking forward to moving to Alpena.

“She expressed interest in joining the Alpena team, whether that be as a teacher or a principal,” Gauthier said. “But, after her interview as a principal, she comes with a lot of great experience and skills that I think will be a great attribute to our administrative team.”

The school board is expected to approve the hires on June 15.

CORRECTION: Meghan Black was recommended assistant principal at Thunder Bay Junior High School. That information was incorrect in an earlier version of this story.