Last year at LHS, students were left mid-year to wonder who would fill the shoes of Mr. Mitchell, our former assistant principal. After witnessing several administrators come and go, the student body prayed for someone who would make it seem like Mitchell never really left. His affable temperament and ability to connect with the kids worked well in the high school, and students didn’t want to lose our fun-loving assistant principal.
Mr. Michael Reagan is filling that role nicely.
The Cub sat down with Mr. Reagan to hear his story.
Originally from New Jersey, Mr. Reagan attended the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, where he initially studied journalism before switching to English. Not fully satisfied, he ultimately switched to economics.
“And I did graduate on time, for the record,” he quipped.
After graduating from college, Reagan stayed in Western Massachusetts with his wife and got a job as a para-professional at Holyoke High School. When a math teacher quit during the first month of school, he stepped up to teach math for the district. He knew that he had always enjoyed working with kids, and he had coached youth tennis programs since he was 17 years old, so he was prepared to teach students in a classroom setting.
Once he started teaching math, he knew he had found his passion. “It’s just funny how life works that way,” he said, referring to how fortunate it was for him to be in the “right place at the right time.”
He taught math for 10 years before coming to Ludlow: three years in Holyoke and seven at Chicopee Comp. There, he eventually became the math supervisor and the district content specialist for math. He saw an opportunity to expand his administrative responsibilities at Ludlow High School.
He accepted the position at Ludlow because of the “good vibes” he felt throughout the interview process. “When I interviewed here and met many of the staff, it just felt right. Like you could just feel the energy in the room, and it felt like it was a place that could be a home for me,” he said.
The career switch from being a math teacher to an assistant principal was a big change, but he has no regrets. He enjoys the variety of tasks, saying, “There’s a little bit of everything, which was important to me.” Because of his background in teaching, he was very interested in working with the math and science departments, where he evaluates teachers, but is also excited to work beyond his previous field.
Although he isn’t a fan of having to discipline students, he believes it’s important to “have the conversation to try to get people on the right path.” Being in a position of leadership and giving guidance to students was important to him because he wanted to make an impact on students and on our school.
Moving to a new district can be a tough transition, but fortunately, Ludlow has been very welcoming so far. Coming from Chicopee Comp, he needs to learn a whole new set of students and faculty, which, admittedly, is a challenge for him because he hasn’t had any of Ludlow’s students in class before this year. That being said, he feels as though the students and staff have been very welcoming.
“They wanted to get to know me [which was surprising] because usually teachers look at admin like they are this evil force,” he said.
This preconceived notion that he would be disliked by faculty quickly evaporated as teachers went out of their way to introduce themselves and welcome him to the district.
“He is a perfect fit at LHS,” said English teacher Mr. Cangemi. “It didn’t take long for him to get to know teachers and students, and he has adapted well to our culture. Overall, he is just a great guy.”
Students feel the same way. Senior Maddie Mathias said he has helped her with her math class: “Every morning he asks me how the class is going and even stops in my AP Calculus class from time to time to help students.”
His goals for this year involved “making connections.” His first major goal is to simply understand how our school functions. Between spirit day norms, conduct rules, and class involvement, our school differs from his previous districts, so it’s all about knowing what to expect out of the school this year. Besides that, he wants to create that bond with students where he knows most, if not all, of the students in the building.
Since the year has just begun, he’s still acclimating to being an assistant principal, but he wants to eventually make his way back into classrooms. “I feel like I’m on the outskirts of real learning, which is weird and kind of a bummer,” he said. His goal is to be in classrooms and help students, but adjusting to his new position has been his main focus so far.
Outside of school, he lives a full life. He and his wife, Julie, have two boys: a soon-to-be four-year-old and a 10-month-old. He was very proud to say that they are “pretty much [his] life now.”
Outside of his family life, he is very involved in sports. He plays a lot of tennis, which he has been passionate about throughout his life, from coaching youth programs and high school teams to playing recreationally.
Revealing his obvious New Jersey upbringing, Reagan also remarked that he is “obsessed with the Jets and the Yankees.”
He is very excited to see what this new chapter holds for him and is determined to spend his time working towards having a safe, unified, and exciting school community.