Eric Andersen in his elementary school classroom. (Annie Ropeik/KUCB)

Eagle's View Elementary will have a familiar face in its principal’s office starting this summer.

Longtime teacher Eric Andersen has been tapped to replace outgoing elementary school principal Jeannie Schiaffo.

Schiaffo was principal for two years. District superintendent John Conwell says she’s leaving to pursue opportunities outside the state.

Conwell says they got more than 50 applications for the principal job, mostly from external candidates. But he says Andersen is already well established in town, and that made him the best choice.

"He knows our system, he knows our community, he knows the parents and students, he knows his colleagues that work at the school. He’s a longtime resident, he intends to stay, I hope, a long time, and he will hit the ground running," Conwell says. "There won’t be a very steep learning curve with Mr. Andersen."

Conwell calls Andersen a “master teacher.” But he says it’s always tough to make the jump to administration.

"It’s much different from being a classroom teacher where you’re focused on the children every day as a classroom, and making sure you’re preparing lesson plans and delivering the instruction that is required, to then taking that next step to being the instructional leader for an entire school," Conwell says. "It can be very challenging. I kind of equate it to being a first-year teacher."

Andersen’s had different roles at the elementary school for more than 13 years. He teaches fourth grade right now, and he says it wasn’t always his plan to end up in a higher position.

"It was not a straightforward decision in the beginning," he says. "I’m interested in how children learn and different ways of reaching them. And then I started looking into administrative degrees."

Andersen says he settled on a one-year educational administration program with the University of Alaska Southeast. He’ll finish it in June, just before he takes over as principal.

Already, he says he’s got some clear priorities for next year, including implementing new state-wide curriculum standards. Andersen says the district is bringing in new materials and programs for math and language arts. And he says they’re putting a new staff evaluation system into place across the district.

Of course, he’ll have to make it to summer break first.

"You know, I’m trying to wrap up the year, and make sure the kids are prepared for fifth grade," he says. "The transition into principalship will be very different. There’s a lot of new things to learn. I look forward to seeing and interacting with a broad range of parents instead of just in my classroom, and -- so, I’m very excited to move into the principalship."

The school board approved Andersen’s one-year contract at their meeting last week.