Meet our Principal

Michael Elston

I am honored to serve as the 6-12 principal at AUS. This will be my first year at AUS, and I am thrilled for the opportunity to be part of such an amazing school. As an educational leader, I have a passion for engaging youth and teachers around deep and meaningful learning. I believe in leveraging the power of community to create optimal environments where youth are provided opportunities to pursue their passions, be challenged, and to develop their strengths. I believe in the power of collaboration. I believe that together, we have the ability to overcome challenges and to see possibilities in the problems that come our way.  

I believe that building and maintaining a supportive, nurturing, challenging, and fun environment is the key to engaging students and staff around the shared vision of AUS. The recent pandemic has proven to the world that relevant learning for the 22nd century truly can happen anytime and anywhere. I am ready to collaborate, listen, and lead as AUS continues to build on its success, and move closer to the definition of what school “ought to be”… a place where all students understand who they are, what they are good at, and where their passions, interests, and talents line up with the world. 

Education has been a calling for me, and I have been fortunate to be able to pursue my passion for the past 20 years as an educator and school leader. I have served as a history and world cultures teacher at both the middle and high school level. I have had the opportunity to serve in numerous leadership capacities at both the school and district level, as a Partnership and Community Relations specialist, a District Program Facilitator, and most recently as an Assistant Principal at a 1,200 student high school in Minnesota. 

 

Degree(s):

• Education Specialist Degree: Minnesota K-12 Principal License, Minnesota State University, Mankato
• Masters of Arts in Educational Leadership, Concordia University, St. Paul
• Bachelors of Arts, Social Studies Education, Minnesota State University, Mankato