Posted: 7/23/03

Principal jobs go to McGrane, Lafean

Two principal positions in ISD 831 schools will be filled by in-house candidates.

The school board on Monday approved recommendations from Superintendent Lynn Steenblock to hire Gayle McGrane as principal at the Central Learning Center and Kelly Lafean as an assistant principal at Century Junior High School.

McGrane will move up to head the CLC after spending the past school year as dean of students at the CLC. She replaces Steve Massey who was earlier hired as principal at Forest Lake High School.

The CLC job includes supervision of the Montessori Elementary School and the districtís Area Learning Center.

Lafean will move to Century from Forest Lake High School where she was a dean of students.

McGrane was selected from a field of 44 applicants. Lafean was one of 97 candidates for the assistant principalship at Century Junior High School.

McGrane has degrees from the University of Minnesota and St. Maryís University in Winona. She has experience as a social worker prior to entering the education field.

She spent five years in the Fridley school system and worked two years as a dean at the high school here before moving to the Area Learning Center program a year ago.

Lafean has worked as a high school dean here the past two years. She was a special education teacher for 12 years with experience in the South Washington County schools. She was a principal intern and worked for one year as an assistant principal in South Washington County before joining the staff at Forest Lake High School.

Lafean has college degrees from St. Cloud State University and Mankato State University. She resides in Scandia.

Both principalships were filled under a district policy that involves interviews by administrators, teachers and parents with the final decision resting in the hands of the school board.

With the two posts filled, the administration must now find dean replacements at the high school and the Central Learning Center.

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