Rogers City Elementary has itself a new principal

by Peter Jakey, Managing Editor

Rogers City Elementary School will have a new leader at the helm in the fall following the board of education?s decision Monday to approve the recommendation of its principal selection committee and hire Katy Makowski, 33. ?I?m very excited for the new position of K-5 principal,? said Makowski Tuesday afternoon. ?I?ve wanted to get to the area for some time and everybody has been so nice, everybody has been so welcoming.?

Makowski was offered a one-year contract at a salary of $58,000 a year. Her official first day isn?t until August 20, but she?s already hit the ground running, and with every passing minute a new task has presented itself. It is her first administrative job. SUPERINTENDENT JAMIE HUBER had been handling the duties of K-12 principal since last November.

?Mrs. Makowski’s strong background in curriculum and educational technology made her stand out,? said Huber. ?Her positive/motivated attitude, along with the knowledge she will be bringing to us from a number of different leadership roles she fulfilled in the Onekama Schools, will be an asset to our district and her new K-5 principal responsibilities.?

Makowski taught fifth through eighth-grade social studies and English during her nine years in Onekama Consolidated Schools (OCS). She also did curriculum-consulting work for the Manistee Intermediate School District. Makowski graduated from Troy Athens High School in 1994, before doing her undergraduate work at Central Michigan State University. She graduated in December 1999 and went on to work at Cadillac Area Public Schools for the final six months of the school year.

FROM THERE, she was hired by OCS, but continued to pursue her master?s degree in curriculum from Michigan State University. Makowski is on the board of directors of the Michigan Council for Social Studies and has many contacts within the Michigan Department of Education, she said. ?I?ve written questions for the MEAP (Michigan Educational Assessment Program) in the past, and I?ve reviewed questions for the MEAP in the past,? said Makowski. ?Technology-wise, I was part of the initial Freedom to Lear

n Initiative from the Department of Education five years ago. That was the one-to-one laptop program for sixth-graders.?

With the Freedom to Learn Initiative she became a super coach, traveling to other districts to train teachers how to implement technology. While OCS had a K-12 principal, Makowski assisted with the scheduling of school activities at the middle school. GETTING THE job in Rogers City means being closer to home. Her husband of nearly one year, Kyle, works for Ryba Marine of Cheboygan. They have a 5-month-old daughter, Kylie. She was on maternity leave from OCS, before summer vacation.

?I?ve been trying to get here, from over there, for some time,? said Makowski. ?I moved from one Great Lake to another Great Lake.? Onekama is on the shores of Lake Michigan. She has two-step children, Noah and Abby, who will continue to attend school in Cheboygan. The couple just purchased a home in Cheboygan. ?It seems there is a great staff and great community involvement in backing the school,? said Makowski. ?I want to find out what is here, what we can build on and find out what people?s needs are.? The principal selection committee consisted of Don Schaedig, Mary Jo Hein, Kathy LaLonde, Annette Vogelheim and Huber.

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