Come July 1, there will be a new captain steering the ship at Kingsbury Country Day School (5000 Hosner Rd.) in Addison Township.

David Poirier was named the new head of school.

“We chose from a pool of extremely qualified candidates. We had, I think, 64 applications for the job,” said Oxford attorney Christine Stephens, president of the charter school’s board of directors. “He was our top choice and we were fortunate that he accepted.”

Poirier is currently the principal of the K-2 lower campus at the American Montessori Academy in Livonia. He’s been there for two years.

“He’s extremely intelligent,” Stephens said. “His academic career was stellar. He is very well spoken. Although he’s young, he has a really good track record at his prior academy dealing with some challenges.”

Tom Mecsey, who has served as head of school since 2008, is leaving Kingsbury (see story left).

Poirier, a 2006 graduate of Belleville High School, said he was “drawn” to Kingsbury’s 100-acre campus and the fact that the outdoors plays a pivotal role in the students’ education, from the nationally-acclaimed environmental science program to physical fitness.

In today’s world, kids are “constantly inundated with technology,” he said. Being outdoors, gives them a break from all the screens and exposes them to a “calmer, slower environment.”

He’s a big believer in providing students with plenty of opportunities to experience and explore “the natural world.”

That’s because Poirier grew up on a horse farm.

“From a young age, I was always outside,” he said.

That connection to the outdoors was strengthened when he spent a summer studying in the Swiss Alps.

Poirier’s career in education began in 2007 with Okemos Public Schools. At the time, he was a student studying at Michigan State University (MSU).

He went on to work for Detroit Public Schools at the Bates Academy, a gifted and talented magnet school, then continued in Detroit with the Allen Academy, a charter school that’s now closed.

Poirier has a bachelor’s degree in biology from MSU (2010) and a master’s degree in educational leadership, K-12 administration, from Eastern Michigan University (2014).

He wants Kingsbury’s students and parents to know he firmly believes in putting them first and making sure the school is serving their needs and meeting their expectations at all times. He believes the school’s “vision and mission” must always match “the reality.”

As for the staff, Poirier wants them to know while some may view the head of school as a “lofty” position, he sees himself as part of a team working toward a common goal.

“It takes everyone’s effort to make sure that a school is moving forward and moving in the right direction,” he said.

Poirier will be living on the Kingsbury campus with his wife of seven years, Ashley, and three children – Harper, 6; Hazel, 3; and Jonah, 1. Harper will be attending Kingsbury as a second-grader in the fall.

Stephens believes Poirier “is going to be the next Dick Halsey.”

Halsey served as Kingsbury’s head of school from 1971-98.

“(Poirier is) going to be a long-term (presence) and take the school to the next level,” Stephens said.

Kingsbury Country Day School was founded in 1953 with just 13 students. It operated as a private, independent school until 2013 when it became a tuition-free, charter public school for K-8 students.

Kingsbury currently has an enrollment of 260 students.