Two east metro school districts have turned to homegrown talent to fill elementary school principal positions.
Jodi Husting, assistant principal at Crestview Elementary and Nuevas Fronteras Spanish Immersion schools in the South Washington County School District, has been promoted to the top job at the dual-campus site in Cottage Grove.
She began her teaching career in South Washington County in 1992, and served for two years as the district's world language curriculum coordinator. In the latter role, she managed a grant that introduced Mandarin to the district's world language program.
Husting was assistant principal at Crestview and Nuevas Fronteras in 2014-15. She replaces Tina Haselius, who left the district to become principal of Echo Park Elementary in Burnsville.
Julie Nielsen, an assistant superintendent for the South Washington County district, said in a district news release that Husting already made a difference as an assistant principal at Crestview/Nuevas Fronteras by "providing a positive atmosphere that allows for risk taking and problem solving."
In the North St. Paul-Maplewood-Oakdale School District, Gena Abrahamson, a 1989 graduate of North High in North St. Paul, took over as principal of Cowern Elementary in North St. Paul on July 1.
She grew up in Maplewood, and most recently served as interim principal of Carver Elementary in Maplewood. Before then, Abrahamson worked for 16 years as assistant principal at North High, putting her on a path to winning a distinguished alumni award during the school's 2015 commencement ceremony.
"I am excited to be given the opportunity to be part of the Cowern community," Abrahamson said in a district news release.