Heidi Kattula ('98 MA) was a unanimous choice to become the new superintendent of East Grand Rapids Public Schools, effective Aug. 1. The board announced that it selected Kattula for "her strength in collaboration, her ability to increase student achievement through inclusion and accountability, and her experience in instructional leadership across all grade levels." She has 26 years of experience in public education, according to an EGRPS news release.
Kattula served as a high school mathematics teacher and department chair in Ohio, where she helped coach swimming, track, cross country and volleyball. She then became the assistant principal at Wayne Memorial High School, where she built a master schedule and organized and supported all student assessments. Her next 13 years were spent in the Bloomfield Hills Schools as principal of Andover High School, principal of West Hills Middle School and director of learning services in the district office. For the past two years, she has served as the executive director of Oakland Schools, where she has led the areas in Oakland County that impact student learning from birth through grade 12.