Jesse Pattison, the high school’s current dean of students, and Mike Buchinger, an AHS graduate and administrator at Oscoda High School, will start their assistant principal positions in the 2021-22 school year.

Romeo Bourdage, who was announced AHS principal last week, said in a news release Pattison knows the high school’s students and staff and has a strong understanding of the current system at AHS.

“He was a math and science teacher before coming to AHS and is well known as a student advocate and staff supporter,” Bourdage said. “He is eager to start and is already sharing great ideas for next year. I am so excited for his promotion and to continue to build a successful collaborative team.”

Buchinger will be joining the district from Oscoda High School, where he served as an assistant principal for two years, as well as the athletic director this year. He has previously worked in K-12 special education in Alaska and in Northeast Michigan at Thunder Bay Junior High School.

“He is happy to return to Alpena and will be working closely with our new Restorative Center and APS as we continue our implementation of restorative practices,” Bourdage said. “He is big on building relationships with students and brings a huge knowledge base from his special education training.”

They will replace Katie Lee, who was named Thunder Bay Junior High School Principal in May, and Bourdage, who was named AHS principal last week.