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Christie Thomas revealed as new Alcona principal

LINCOLN TOWNSHIP, Mich. — Christie Thomas will now take over the position as middle school and high school principal. She will be the interim principal until she finishes her degree in December, and the board approves on Monday night.  Before accepting the role, Thomas, a graduate of Alcona schools herself, was serving as the dean of students, handling discipline and behavior.

She began working with the district in 2006 as a third grade teacher. After that, she was a second grade teacher for four years, and then she moved to the middle school where she taught seventh and eighth grade English.

Thomas is currently in the middle of finishing her masters degree in educational leadership and she said she knew she was moving towards an administrative position. “It was in the back of my head that I would want a administrative position, but I didn’t think it would be this soon, but I’m excited for the opportunity and excited to help the school move forward especially in this uncertain time,” she said.

Superintendent Dan O’Connor praised Thomas saying that she has traits that will make this next school year easier for both the staff and the students as well as herself, traits like people skills and compassion for others. “We were sad to lose Mr. Barber from this position and that’s unfortunate, but we do feel fortunate that we have someone from within ready to step up into the position and do a fantastic job,” he said. “I think the mentality right now is that if she can survive this school year she can survive just about any school year.”

Thomas also wants to remind the students to be patient as things will be different when they return to class. “I just want to encourage them to be patient and have empathy for everyone who’s working to make this work, and know that we are going to make mistakes and there are going to be setbacks, but we will keep doing the best that we can and making the most of not a great situation.”

The school year for Alcona will begin in six weeks.