Northern Lights Public Schools has announced new assistant principals for Cold Lake Junior High, Ecole Plamondon School, and North Star Elementary School for the 2023-24 school year. 

Colleen Yoshida has been appointed assistant principal of Cold Lake Junior High, Adrienne Peoples-Sprecker has been appointed assistant principal of Ecole Plamondon School, and Erin Bowering has been appointed assistant principal at North Star Elementary School. 

“We are excited to welcome Colleen to Northern Lights,” said Superintendent Rick Cusson. “She is an experienced educator with a strong commitment to innovation and collaboration to foster student success.”

Yoshida is an award-winning educator with almost 30 years of teaching experience at the junior and senior high school levels. She has also worked as an instructional coach focusing on integrating educational technology in classrooms.

In 2013, Yoshida received the Prime Minister’s Award for Excellence in Teaching. She has also won awards from the National Association of Biology Teachers and the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta. 

“I am so very excited to begin this new administrative chapter in my educational career, and honoured and grateful  that it will begin with becoming part of the staff and leadership team at Cold Lake Junior High School,” said Yoshida. “I am looking forward to the opportunity to work with the staff, the students and their families, and the community at large to support and encourage students in their junior high learning journeys.” 

Peoples-Sprecker has worked for Northern Lights for over 25 years in a variety of roles including teacher, assistant principal at Vera M. Welsh Elementary School in Lac La Biche, and as an Early Learning Consultant for eight years.

She holds a Masters of Education Studies – Educational Leadership from the University of Alberta. In 2020, she was presented with the Early Childhood Education Council Award from the Alberta Teachers’ Association in recognition of her contributions to early childhood education. 

“I am excited to share my passion for learning with staff, students and parents; and I am delighted for the opportunity to collaborate further within such an amazing school community,” said Peoples-Sprecker. 

Ms. Bowering joined the team at North Star Elementary in 2017 as a Grade 2 teacher. In 2021, she became the school’s Student Support Team Coordinator, working collaboratively with students, staff and parents to ensure supports are in place to meet students’ needs. She has a Bachelor of Education from the University of Alberta with a minor in Special Education.

“I am very excited to be continuing my journey at North Star Elementary School. Joining a strong team of administrators in a new capacity at NSES will strengthen my leadership abilities and increase my knowledge of how to best assist all of our students and staff with the ongoing changes in education,” said Ms. Bowering.

“I look forward to continuing my work with the incredible staff in our school while maintaining connections with students and families as well as those who assist us in our community. The sky’s the limit when we love, laugh and learn together.”

This is a new administrator position created as part of the configuration changes made at NLPS schools in Cold Lake. The final configuration changes will take place in 2023-2024 with North Star becoming a K-6 school. Prior to the configuration changes, it was a K-3 school.

With files from Northern Lights Public Schools.