The Southeast Island School District, which is made up of seven small schools and a homeschool program on Prince of Wales and Baranof Island, has new principals. Both educators started their jobs earlier this summer.
Paulisa Scarlett is the district’s new area principal, who oversees schools in Kasaan, Hollis, Coffman Cove, Naukati, Whale Pass, and Port Alexander, on Baranof Island. She also serves as the principal for the district’s homeschool program. It’s the first time the district has had a principal for these schools in over two years
Scarlett most recently served as the grants director and career and technical education, or CTE, director for the Yukon Flats School District, north of Fairbanks. She said she has a background in project management and is working on a short-term plan to help grow the schools she now oversees.
“I want to see our growth,” Scarlett said. “I want to see, ‘Okay, we’re here today. What can we accomplish by the end of the school year?’”
Scarlett, who is based in Thorne Bay but will travel to each school she oversees, said her first plan of action is to ensure that safety equipment, like fire extinguishers, work properly. She wants to check in with students and teachers, and get to know each community.
Scarlett also serves as the district’s new CTE director. She said one of her goals this year is to enhance the district’s CTE course offerings. That’s following an islandwide effort to revive that type of programming for high school students.
Scarlett said she wants to ensure high school seniors are set up for success when they graduate, no matter their plans.
“When they graduate high school, it’s like now what? And I don’t want them to be saying that. I want them to have some kind of plan, some kind of action item to work on, either over the summer or anticipating for the fall. That is a big goal for me this year,” Scarlett said.
The district’s largest school, Thorne Bay School, also has a new principal. Jessica Heisler has taught in schools across Alaska, from Kotzebue to Kodiak, for a decade. She’s served as a principal before, but most of her experience is in special education. She’s also the district’s special education director.
Heisler said one of her priorities for the K-12 school is to ensure that it’s running smoothly and growing. She said her biggest goal is for students to have the foundation to do anything they want when they leave school.
“So no matter what path they choose, if they choose to go to college or vocational or get a job, any path that they choose, or military, I would ideally like for them to have the foundation to be successful in any of the fields they want,” Heisler said.
Thorne Bay’s school serves about 80 students and employs half a dozen teachers. Heisler said she’s looking forward to getting to know them and the community.
Hunter Morrison is a Report for America corps member for KRBD. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep him writing stories like this one. Please consider making a tax-deductible contribution.
