Spring Lake Welcomes Kristen Dewitt to Jeffers Elementary

Kristen Dewitt was welcomed in mid-November to Jeffers Elementary School to take charge as principal. Among transitioning to a new school, she is also moving states. From Pennsylvania to Michigan, Kristen Dewitt is looking forward to bringing her philosophy of “clear is kind” to Jeffers Elementary.

Dewitt has been in Spring Lake off and on for six weeks finishing up the moving process, while also getting comfortable at Jeffers. “It was such a blink from when I got hired to today and now it’s December and here we are,” Dewitt said. 

However, she had “such a supportive staff” in Pennsylvania to aid her in the transition, and Spring Lake has given her the time she needed to settle in. There was “no pressure to rush and hurry,” she said. 

During her short time here, she has been able to make time into her schedule to read to each classroom at Jeffers. “I’ve been reading to them, but we also take time afterwards if they have questions. In fact, this morning, one of the kiddos came into the office and I was standing there and he said, ‘Thanks for reading the story to us. You did a really good job.’” 

Dewitt knew she wanted to go into education when she was drawn to opportunities to be around kids and be a leader when she was younger. “The more chance I had to be in the classroom and around teachers I just knew I loved it.” She soon discovered that she enjoyed the curriculum and instruction, which pushed her into the administrative side of education where you get more of the “big picture.”

Dewitt is a native Michiganer and grew up on the east side of Michigan, where she graduated from Chippewa Valley High School. Following graduation she majored in Elementary Education and earned her doctorate at Western Michigan University, all while taking up a teaching position in Plainwell school district. 

Dewitt “knew I was ready for something different”  but she wasn’t sure what. Dewitt accepted a position as Assistant Professor at Penn State University in the Educational Development school. Following four years on campus, she was ready to get back to working with children, and accepted a principal position in Gracewood School District in Pennsylvania, where she stayed for 12  years. 

This summer, she began thinking about moving back to Michigan and was notified of the job opening around Labor Day. Dewitt said  that although the school year was already underway in her district and Spring Lake, the opportunity was “too good to pass up.”