Principal wants 'the best' for kids

Starting on July 1, Thompson Falls High will be welcoming their new principal, Daniel Schrock. Originally from Michigan, Schrock is currently acting as principal and superintendent in Seeley Lake, Montana.

He went to Northern Michigan University and was the first in his family to graduate. According to Schrock, his father told him, "son, no one wrote me a check so I'm not writing you one." So Schrock worked his way through school. while he was getting his education, he worked nights at the Lakeview Hockey Arena where he resurfaced the ice driving the Zamboni. He talked about how that town was quite the "hockey-community." He told of how closely Zamboni drivers are watched as they clean the ice.

He graduated there in 2004 and taught in Alaska for several years. While there he was also a fishing guide and has guided in Montana as well. To him, fishing is a great passion and he says, "It gets twisted when your passion becomes a dollar sign." Now he says that if he takes you out fishing it is because he likes you, not because he is doing it for money. Eventually he found his way to Montana and "Montana, as they say, gets ahold of your heart," said Schrock.

Schrock went to get his master's in education leadership and superintendent endorsement at Montana State University. He has a daughter in Missoula and is excited to live closer to her, while in Thompson Falls. He also intends to come in as an observer to support the graduating seniors this year.

In his time in Alaska, working at a small school, he had to wear many hats. Through his career he was an athletic director, a bus driver, a football coach and a vice-principal. "I think I understand different perspectives" and as a new teacher or principal "it is your job to acclimate to the environment you come into," says Schrock regarding coming into the Sanders County community. Schrock believes that all his varied and general experience gives him an advantage that he hopes to use for the Thompson Falls school. He also says, "This community wants the best for its kids, and I want to do that."