By William Meiners
Herald Staff Writer
[private] For the second time in as many weeks, a Gratiot County school district made quick work of finding and hiring an elementary school principal to replace an outgoing one. On August 15, the St. Louis Board of Education announced Amy King as its head administrator at Carrie Knause Early Childhood Learning Center.
King steps into the vacancy left by Stephanie Binder, who accepted a new position in Mount Pleasant. Entering her 20th year in education, King was a fourth grade teacher at Ithaca’s North Elementary School before teaching in Shepherd Middle School.
“I always wanted to be in education and eventually got interested in the leadership side of it,” said King, a 1999 graduate of Ithaca High School who earned her first teaching degree from Central Michigan University in 2003. “I earned my administration certificate and then this opportunity presented itself.”
Jennifer McKittrick, superintendent of St. Louis Schools, believes nearly two decades of educational experience makes a strong foundation as an instructional leader.
“Amy has taken on leadership roles as a teacher and has completed her administrator certificate training,” McKittrick said. “She is also student-focused. She wants to build a positive school culture for both staff and students. All of her attributes will lead to her being a strong leader for the Carrie Knause Elementary students and staff.”
As she still learns her way around the kindergarten through second grade building with the school year start just a few days away (Monday, August 29), King is excited about her new role.
“I’m looking forward to building relationships with my staff and family members of the community,” she said.
The closeknit community and welcoming atmosphere made the position particularly appealing to King. She’s also looking forward to setting the learning tone for the youngest students in St. Louis. “What’s awesome about this age is their eagerness to learn and their excitement to be at school,” King said.
Making those connections in classrooms and the community should serve her well. “I believe all school leaders should have a positive attitude and lead by making decisions that positively impact students,” McKittrick said. “I know Amy will be this type of leader. She will be welcoming and ready to serve our students and families.”
King will lead the efforts of 14 teachers at Carrie Knause. There are three classes each at the kindergarten, first, and second-grade levels, as well as teachers of special education, music, physical education, and so forth. As she builds those relationships with teachers and staff, an overall goal will be to continuously let students know, as King put it, that “we all care for them.”
King has a bit of a learning curve, as would anyone in a new administrative position. But she’s absorbing as much as possible in the waning days of summer. “We have a district professional development plan that she will be following,” McKittrick said. “We are in the second year of our plan. I also expect she will continue to build our ‘Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports,’ which are a set of ideas and tools that we will use to assist our students with school-appropriate behaviors.”
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