Words cannot describe the feeling of joy and excitement that I have to be a part of the Freeland community and how excited I am to serve, lead, and support all students, staff and families.
This school year marks my 16th year in public education. I am a native of Midland, Michigan (proud graduate of Bullock Creek High School) and earned my undergraduate degree from Lake Superior State University where I played on the women’s basketball team for 5 years.
After graduation, I moved to Phoenix, Arizona and was a part of the Kyrene School District for 12 years. I earned my master’s degree in Educational Leadership from Northern Arizona University.
As a classroom teacher, I taught kindergarten, second, fourth, and fifth grade. I then spent the next 4 years as an assistant principal at a K-5 elementary school.
My husband, two English Labradors (Maize and Lue),and I relocated back to Michigan in 2019 in order to be closer to family. For the last 3 1⁄2 years I have been the principal of Parkview Elementary in Charlotte, Michigan.
Bringing my strength of creating relationships and the strong sense of family to each school I am a part of are extremely important to me. I strive each day to guide and challenge children to change the world around them, bringing compassion and empathy to all they come in contact with. I want to use my strength of building relationships and carrying a positive attitude to continue building an atmosphere where each person that walks through the doors of Freeland Elementary School continues to feel valued, respected, and most importantly loved.
I want each child to know that as a staff we believe in each one of them, we are not going to let them fail, and what we are doing each day for them is so very important. My strong belief that my role as a leader is to serve the children, staff and community members, is why I encourage families to be active members in their children’s education.
My goal through conversations with each one of you is to grow as a lifelong learner and a school leader. Freeland School District is a top school district and I am honored to be able to join the wonderful work that is in progress, and work alongside each stakeholder to continue the greatness.
I am honored to be the leader chosen to support the education of the children at Freeland Elementary School. I look forward to serving the community and carrying on the excellence of our school district.
Go Falcons!
Principal Kali McKenna