Paul Humpa, the principal at Prairie Ridge High School for twelve years is now stepping down to work at Crystal Lake Central, where he started his District 155 career in education as a math teacher.
Like most students in high school, Mr. Humpa found himself feeling indecisive. “When I went to college I was really unsure what I wanted to do.” However he found out he wanted to teach when he realized he was always “helping out [his] classmates with math” and enjoyed the “good feeling from helping somebody understand something.” He realized that “teaching just matched my passion.”
Now Mr. Humpa is going back to the classroom.
“I’m really excited to try some of the new technologies and try some of the new instructional strategies that quite frankly I’ve asked our staff to do, but I’ve never tried myself.”
Describing his time as principal, Mr. Humpa said, “I was part of something very special. There were a lot of us who worked together to create a place that is a very special, high-achieving and fun place to learn.”
Speaking of fun, seniors are sharing their embarrassing moments in the newspaper and so Wolf Prints asked Mr. Humpa for his. Students might remember this, actually. Right before winter break this year he was on the intercom making an announcement. Mr. Humpa recalled, “It was one of those days where my brain and mouth were not connected, and I wished everybody a great spring break in December.”
When asked what his favorite memories are of this school, Mr. Humpa said that he had too many! However, he always loves graduation. “Graduation is a special day for seniors, so it’s always nice to send more than four hundred students out on their journey. That’s fun.”
Unfortunately Mr. Humpa himself is graduating in a way from Prairie Ridge High School with the seniors of 2013. All of the staff and students will miss him dearly. “It’s a wonderful place, and it has been a part of my life for twelve years,” Mr. Humpa said. “It will be hard to walk out the door.”
