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Walking through the halls at Bellwood-Antis High school, you can often see Principal Rick Schreier talking to students and faculty, complimenting students on how well they did in their game the night before, or moving busily through the halls to get things done.

Students know Mr. Schreier as the High School Principal, but many  also know him as an eighth grade science teacher.

Now in his current eighteenth year of education, Mr. Schreier says that as a student he always enjoyed school.

“I did not intend on becoming a teacher when I enrolled in Juniata, but my first class was Foundations of Education and I loved it. I also loved the idea of working with students,” Mr. Schreier said.

He graduated from Juniata College with a s B.S. in 1998. Mr. Schreier received his M. Ed. in 2001 from Wilkes University for , and he completed his Principal Certificate in 2007 at St. Francis University.

Mr. Schreier began his career at Montoursville and Huntington Area until he moved to Bellwood for his fifth year of teaching. He has been at Bellwood-Antis ever since, for a total of thirteen years.

While he taught in the middle school he was an eighth grade science teacher, and also taught history.

“I learned a lot of things from having Mr. Schreier’s class. Many things I still remember even today, like the symbols for the periodic table. He was a good teacher and it shows as Principal,” senior Christina Kowalski said.

Mr. Schreier became the new High School Principal last year after Mrs. Lisa Hartsock took a position at the Tyrone Elementary School. He says that being a teacher before becoming a principal has definitely helped him.

“I believe that teaching experience is a key aspect to being an effective building principal. Even though I do not have many years of experience as a principal, my experience as a teacher gives me a better perspective about how change affects teachers and students,” Mr. Schreier said.

He says that the transition from teacher to principal was as smooth as he could have hoped. Even with the many learning experiences, he was pleased with his first school year as principal. He says he was very fortunate to enter a great situation with many veteran teachers, high achieving students, and a supportive community.

Mr. Schreier also said he has had his eyes opened to the world of administration. He says he expected a challenge, but there are numerous parts of the position that surprised him.

No matter what the job, there are always some hardships that are a part of the work.

“The biggest challenge, and often times the most frustrating part of this job, is developing a plan for success for students, and then not getting all of the people involved to follow through with the plan,” he said.

With this being his second school year as principal, Mr. Schreier says he is still working on his “firsts” as a building principal, but he is also encountering events and situations for the second time, so he says that he is making adaptations as needed.

When asked about what goals he has for himself as principal he said:

“My goals are focused on making Bellwood-Antis the best high school in the state. I want to lead our school into the future by creating a great learning environment where students are empowered to succeed and achieve their best.”