New principals are set to head Juneau School District’s Juneau Community Charter School and Mendenhall River Community School this fall after the district announced its selections for the positions earlier this week.
Gayle Brown, a current principal at the Lower Kuskokwim School District in Kasigluk, was selected by the district to lead the kindergarten through eighth-grade charter school starting at the beginning of the 2023-24 academic year. Along with her role at the charter school, Brown will also serve as principal for the district’s HomeBRIDGE home school program, according to a news release announcing her selection.
Brown comes from a long history of academic excellence, spending 16 years across multiple high schools in New Jersey serving as a teacher of family and consumer science before coming to Alaska for her current role, according to the school district.
Eric Filardi, the principal and teacher at the Anderson School in Anderson, was selected by the district to lead the Mendenhall River Community School which serves Pre-kindergarten to fifth grade students in the district.
Filardi has a long history in academics, specifically in Alaska, and though he is currently serving his third year as the principal and teacher at Anderson School, he has taught in the state for nine years, according to the news release announcing his selection. He also works as an education technician and science interpreter for the U.S. Department of the Interior at Denali National Park and Preserve.
• Contact reporter Clarise Larson at clarise.larson@juneauempire.com or (651)-528-1807. Follow her on Twitter at @clariselarson.
