Among the fresh faces of new staff this year is that of our new principal, Mr. Fred Hessler. He discussed his first impressions of West Milford High School and his plans for this year with “The Highland Echo.”
When asked about his past, Hessler discussed his previous work as an administrator, “I’ve worked as both a Principal and an Assistant Principal before, but it was very different” he said. “It was a walking district with about half the students; West Milford is much bigger.” Previously Hessler worked at Northern Valley Regional High, as both an Assistant Principal and a principal for nine years before coming to West Milford. Hessler also talked about what led him to a career in the field of education. “I worked as a camp counselor when I was younger,” he told “The Echo”, “I think that’s where my interest in an education career started”
Our new principal also briefly talked about his fond memories of past employment. “There were a lot of fun moments,” he reminisced. “The rest of my staff and I used to have a great time watching the students come to school dressed in crazy costumes on the years Halloween fell on a school day. I might dress up for Halloween this year too,” he said. “I want to show students I’m not just a principal; I want to have fun. I’m human too”
Hessler was also asked about his experience with West Milford thus far, “Welcoming,” was the word he used. “The people here have been kind to me, and have helped to make it an easy adjustment.” When asked, Hessler responded why he chose to apply to this job, as prior to working here he was in retirement, “Retirement wasn’t really for me, I can only play so much golf. I knew several people who worked in the district here, so when I heard a position had opened for principal, I knew it was for me.”
Most importantly, we asked Hessler about his plans for this year, and what changes the student body was likely to see, “There were a lot of policies implemented before I came here, and I want to tweak them.” He told us about some of the larger scale changes he wants to implement while he’s here, “Integrity is important. If you copy someone’s homework in the morning, that’s cheating — that’s wrong.” He wants to put more emphasis on integrity in WMHS, and hopes to put programs in place to help stop cheating, “This is something I want to crack down on,” he told us.
Hessler also expressed an interest in working on the school’s cafeteria program, “I want to work with the cafeteria to improve the food, so that more students and teachers take part in our school’s cafeteria program,” something which, undoubtedly, many students and teachers will be happy about. “Capture their hearts through their stomachs,” he joked. He proceeded to hint at some other significantly smaller changes, such as pushing forward the first pep rally.
Our principal seems to have taken an interest in improving our school, through both miniscule and larger scale changes. Though no particular changes are set in stone, Hessler seemed to have a few things in mind that he was confident he could change. “We’ll see,” he bookended the conversation with, “I’m looking forward to this year”.