After a tenure of over 16 years in the district, Spring-Ford House Principal Doug Reigner announced his retirement this fall, and in his place came longtime educator Gavin Lawler.

Starting in the middle of the school year may be difficult for some, but for Lawler that is just the situation he had to take on.

“Knowing the transition to Spring-Ford mid-year was going to have its challenges, I tried to learn as much about the position and district prior to starting and leaned on my previous administrative experiences,” Lawler said. “Once I began, I focused on building relationships, asking questions, and getting involved to better understand the culture and nuances of the building and district.

Lawler received his bachelor’s degree from Penn State  and his masters in education from Immaculata as a teacher before moving into a principal position at a charter school. After that, he moved to be an assistant principal in the Pottstown School District before accepting a role at Spring-Ford.

When asked what his favorite thing about being a principal — in general and at Spring-Ford was — Lawler replied that he loved the different types of interactions he gets to have with all members of the community, students, staff, and those on the School Board.

At Spring-Ford, specifically, Lawler noted that he loves the amount of school pride students have as well as the fact that there are so many different types of kids throughout the school.

Lawler said the greatest challenge of his role was how he must adapt to the new culture of the school. He also commented he was getting to know everyone he worked with, and that being able to build those personal relationships was very important.

In particular, Lawler emphasized the importance of getting to know how the school works before beginning to improve and create changes to the school. He stressed the importance of not trying to force changes.