(Editor’s Note: The following article was submitted as a press release by the St. Cloud School District 742).

Superintendent Willie Jett recently announced new administrator appointments for the 2020-2021 school year.

Principal Deb Jokela has been named the new principal for Oak Hill Community School beginning July 1, 2021. Jokela assumes the position after Mike Rivard was recently named Assistant Superintendent of Elementary Education for the district. 

Jokela is well known in the District 742 community and brings over 25 years of experience as a teacher, special education supervisor, and assistant principal at Oak Hill. Most recently, Jokela served as Interim Principal of Elementary Education for the Distance Learning Academy.

Principal Brianne Hern has accepted a one-year special assignment for the 2021-2022 school year to work at the district office as a Principal on Special Assignment for Academic Acceleration and School Support. 

In this position, she will work with the Research, Assessment and Data team, the Learning & Teaching Team, and assistant superintendents to assess the learning impacts of COVID-19 on our students and to design targeted academic interventions and supports. 

Hern brings over 20 years of experience serving in our district as a math teacher and principal and demonstrates expertise in data analysis and strategic action planning.

Principal Heather Ebnet will serve as Interim Principal at Lincoln Elementary School in Hern’s absence next year. Ebnet has many years of experience in the district serving as an intermediate-level teacher, academic coach, and assistant principal. In the past year, Ebnet served as Interim Principal of Secondary Education for the Distance Learning Academy.

About St. Cloud Area School District 742

The mission of the St. Cloud Area School District is to create a safe and caring climate and culture in which we prepare, engage, educate, empower and inspire all learners in partnership with their community to be successful in today’s and tomorrow’s society.

Our caring and committed staff members deliver learning for a lifetime to a diverse population of students in nine St. Cloud area communities. 

District 742 is the largest school district in Central Minnesota, proudly sharing the gift of education with over 10,000 students each school day.

Located 70 miles northwest of Minneapolis-St. Paul, we bring the world’s ideas into every schoolroom. Our licensed staff, nearly 70 percent of whom have advanced degrees, teach challenging classes that use the latest technology as well as tried-and-true instructional methods. 

District 742 has eight elementary schools, three middle level schools (6-8), two high schools (9-12), three alternative learning schools, an early childhood center and a community education center. The high schools offer an array of AP courses and other opportunities to prepare students for post-secondary education. Students are encouraged to participate in their choice of athletic, scholarly and fine arts activities.