Following the retirement of Superintendent Dr. Jon Dean on Aug. 23, 2023, the Board of Education has spent the last 3 months carefully choosing a replacement. In a unanimous 7-0 vote on Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2023, the BoE officially selected Andrea Tuttle of Owosso Public Schools as the new superintendent. Negotiations for her contract are underway and are expected to be finalized at the beginning of 2024. 

“We need our leadership at the top of the district to help inspire teachers to do great things every day,” Stackpoole said. “I think everyone is super excited for Dr. Tuttle to come in and be our superintendent. The district is ready for some leadership and to make sure that we are progressing in the way that we should.”

Apart from cultivating a positive impact on educators, Superintendent Tuttle is dedicated to creating a favorable and uplifting environment for students. She endeavors to implement initiatives that not only support academic excellence but also prioritize the overall growth of each student. 

“I will work with the GP team to ensure education is engaging, relevant, rigorous and prepares students to be thinkers, problem solvers, risk takers, communicators, knowledgeable, inquirers, caring, communicators who are balanced, principled and reflective,” Tuttle said. 

Recognizing the challenging and competitive nature of the community, senior Julia Liagre stresses the importance of the superintendent’s ability to rise above such pressures and steadfastly pressure what is right for the benefit of all.

“I would expect that they’re open to new ideas,” Liagre said. “I would expect that they’re prepared to embrace adversity. I would expect that the new superintendent is willing to make decisions for the greater good despite what some few brutal people might have to say, because this community can be pretty cutthroat and I would expect them to be able to put that behind them and do what is right despite that.”

Likewise, Tuttle emphasizes that her initial months will be dedicated to learning from all stakeholders, reflecting a collaborative approach to understanding the diverse perspectives within the educational community.

“I will be a visible leader, attend district and community events and have an open door policy,” Tuttle said. “My first few months will be learning from all stakeholders.”

However, running a school district poses challenges other than pleasing people. Stackpoole points out the long-neglected structural issues within the school district that demand action.

“Personally as someone who lives in the community and has kids that go here, we have a lot of work to do and we need to make sure we have a leader willing to do this and make hard decisions because we have some structural problems in the school district we’ve been ignoring for too long and they need to be addressed,” Stackpoole said. “Professionally, I think the district is desperately in need of leadership and we have been lacking leadership this school year.”

 Pointing out expectations of Tuttle, Liagre adds another layer by underscoring the importance of understanding the experiences of students, teachers and all district employees. 

“I think they need to be someone who can empathize with students, because after all, their job is to look after us, and also the teachers and all the employees of the district,” Liagre said. “So if you can’t put ourselves in someone else’s shoes and feel what someone else is feeling, I don’t think they’re gonna be able to get the job done well, or to everybody’s needs.”

Moreover, Tuttle hopes to accommodate students like Liagre as she expresses the importance of fostering a district that offers a plethora of novel experiences, encompassing both in-school and out-of-school activities. 

“Providing a district of opportunities in all areas including curriculum and extracurricular activities will be a priority for me,” Tuttle said.