Have you been walking the hallways wondering, “Who are all these teachers?” Well, you’re not alone. This year College Park has sixty-one new staff members and chances are you have one of them. 

Whether they’re your new assistant principal or your new math teacher, you should get to know their history. Mr. McKnight has had a long journey to get to where he is. He started out in a place that gets him a lot of grief, our rival, the Woodlands High School. When asked how he ended up at College Park, he said that taking opportunities is one of the key reasons he is where he is today. That and a little bit of “luck”.

The luck worked, because Mr. McKnight started teaching here eleven years ago, ranging from geography, to government, to psychology, and finally he was the tech guy.

He loves how College Park has, “A lot of diversity and unique perspectives come together to make something special”. 

According to Mr. McKnight, “The students are my #1 favorite part of College Park”. Along with the staff’s constant desire to improve. 

Mr. McKnight said he became an assistant principal, because he wanted to, “impact people for the better and was motivated by the opportunity to make a difference”. 

Another new addition to the principal team is Mr. Price. He has had a long journey with some interesting twists. Mr. Price went to one year of college before dropping out. That’s when his dad gave him a choice. Go back to school or get a job and pay rent. He chose to join the Marines. 

Mr. Price has been an assistant principal for eight and a half years. This was after he taught high school for years. He was also a teacher in the prison system for a bit.

“The students at CP are focused on success so I just have to help keep them on the right path.” Mr. Price said. 

That is his favorite thing about College Park. The students aren’t the only ones focused on success though, Mr. Price is currently working on getting his Doctorate.

Mr. Price comes from a family of educators and said, “to use an SAT word, I was Inculcated at an early age.”

Finally as an assistant principal Mr. Price gets to teach students, not just history, but life lessons. He believes that consequences are really just another form of teaching.

Assistant principals aren’t the only new hires this year, we also have loads of new teachers. Ms. Harvey may have thought she would never be back in a College Park classroom when she graduated, but now she’s back on the other side of the desk.

Ms. Harvey is the new assistant director of the Reveliers Drill Team and an Algebra II teacher. After graduating, she went to the University of Arkansas for four years and then immediately returned to CP.

She always knew she wanted to be a teacher, she even used to use her little sister as a student. The thing that came later was her desire to teach math. Growing up she wasn’t a big fan of her math teachers, so she wanted to teach math so that she could make sure her students were able to understand.

The reason she wanted to teach at CP is that she already knew what the environment was like and knew it was the type of place she wanted to be. She wanted to teach highschool, because she loves how she is able to have good conversations with her students.

Finally, Mr. Fredericks, the new social studies teacher, agreed to do an interview. 

“Everybody I talked to said that I needed to fight to get into CP, so I did,” Mr. Fredericks said. 

No wonder we have so many great teachers, they had to fight their way in.

“So I teach social studies. This year it’s US History and AP Comparative Government and Politics, but I’m part of a new program we just started where I help carry the IT, information and technology load for the campus,” said Mr. Fredericks.

Basically he not only teaches two different classes, but he helps keep the tech running smoothly.

          “Being in the classroom with the students. Being able to introduce them to new information and get them to ask questions and see them grapple with the knowledge,” said Mr. Fredericks.

Mr. Frederick’s favorite thing about teaching is basically teaching itself. It’s important to have a teacher who loves most aspects of their work. 

“It is the most well run school I’ve taught at in my career.” Sounds like another raving review of just how good College Park is.

          “When I walked by the robotics lab I thought, I want to go hang out with the robotics kids. And so I’m gonna go help out with Cav Bots,” said Mr. fredericks.

College Park really does have so many new things to experience, and not just for students.

          “I’m a geek.” Mr. Fredericks knows a lot about technology, which is why he was chosen to help with IT. I mean who better than someone who took programming and high school and built his own computer.

           This year we have gotten so many great, new additions to the staff. If you have one of these new staff members, feel free to ask them questions and get to know them, because chances are they are happy to share.