Mr. Erickson is entering his twelfth year in education and his third as principal. He was born and raised right here in Manistique. He holds a bachelor’s degree in secondary education with a major in English and a minor in history from Baker College of Owosso and a master’s degree from Michigan State University in school leadership and educational technology. Don began his career at Carver-Edisto Middle School near Orangeburg, South Carolina where he taught 7th grade language arts for 3 years. He then returned home and began teaching at St. Francis in 2011. Don was awarded the Patricia Behring History Day Teacher of the Year Award for the state of Michigan in 2015. He was also selected as a Ford’s Theatre Fellow and attended the Seat of War and Peace Institute in 2016 with 30 other educators from around the nation. In addition, Don is a National History Day Behring Ambassador, and attended the 2016 Behring Teacher Ambassador Summer Program in Washington, D.C. He is also the regional coordinator for National History Day in the central Upper Peninsula. Most recently, he was selected as a White House Historical Association Fellow and attended the White House History Teacher Institute in Washington, D.C. in 2017.
|
Mrs. Knaffla's career for the past twenty years has been the owner of an environmental consulting business which focused on all environmental aspects in building transmission lines throughout the Upper Peninsula and Wisconsin. Janet holds a Bachelor's degree in Science with a Major in Biology from Northern Michigan University. She settled in Manistique ten years ago to focus on family and education. Her love of St Francis de Sales began when her two daughters started school in Pre K3 and Kindergarten. Janet was involved with the school through many school functions and was the PTO president in 2018-2019.
|