New principal at Union Elementary School says leaving Belleville East is bittersweet
Kalynn Larsen’s office is filled with pictures that show that her passion for Belleville East and its students is extremely personal.
On a bookshelf, there’s a picture of the assistant principal in a softball uniform from when she was catcher for the Lancers before she graduated in 2002. Elsewhere there are pictures of her with her husband and their three daughters. Her husband, Mark Larsen, is the athletic director and they met at Belleville East before getting married in 2009.
“I’ve been here for literally half of my life, for 19 years,” Larsen said. “The strong sense of community and the relationships I’ve built with both faculty members and families — that’s something I’ll take away with me forever.”
In the fall, Larsen will have her first job outside of Belleville 201 when she starts as the principal of Union Elementary in Belleville 118, one of the district’s feeder districts.
“One of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do is write the staff email and let them know,” she said. “It’s bittersweet — this is where I started my life after college. It was hard, but I’m excited for this new opportunity. It’s a great district to go to.”
Outside of her own high school days, Larsen has been at Belleville East for nearly 16 years. After graduating from Lewis College in 2006, she was hired as a special education teacher and eventually became a behavior interventionist, an administrative position working with students with behavior and emotional needs. She became an assistant principal at East three years ago.
Principal Josh Lane has worked with Larsen for four years and said she was a very positive and student-centered assistant principal at Belleville East.
“First and foremost, I think it’s a great opportunity,” he said of Larsen’s new position. “We work really closely with Belleville 118. I think she’ll do a great job. She connects with older students, but because of her attitude and energy, she’ll easily connect with younger students. She’s very committed to our school community.”
Moving to Union Elementary means she’ll have big shoes to fill, Larsen said.
Lori Taylor, the current principal at Union, is retiring after 34 years at the school, 19 of which she worked as principal.
“Everybody has their own way of doing things, and I’m sure Kalynn will be doing great things,” she said.
As a principal, being personable to students and families alike is a priority for Larsen. Nothing bothers her more than not personally knowing a student who comes to her office, she said.
Her initial focus will be to reintegrate the community back into the school, after COVID limited the number of visitors allowed.
“It’s a sense of pride,” Larsen said of getting the community in the building. “It’s a sense of knowing that these students are doing great things for our community. I grew up in Belleville, I was born and raised here, so I look forward to giving back. It’s important for the community to see the great things students are doing.”
Now more than ever, Larsen said it takes a village to raise a child, and she sees being a principal as an extension of that.
“A principal isn’t the same as what it used to be,” she said. “If you saw the principal, you were scared to death of them. But now the principal is a leader, but also somebody that cares about you too, like your teachers. I think every kid has to have somebody in the school.”
This story was originally published April 1, 2022 at 7:00 AM.
