Alyssa Rooks
Asst. Features Editor

With two school full of great sports teams, it’s no surprise that the Glenbrook High School District 225 is led by a superintendent who was a varsity three-sport athlete and star quarterback in his high school days. Dr. Mike Riggle, Glenbrook’s new superintendent, has a surprising history that has played into his success at the Glenbrooks.

Riggle grew up in Bedford, Indiana, a town about half the size of Glenview, and went to the county high school about the size of Glenbrook North. Riggle describes himself as “a pretty normal student, but I was a very involved student.”

Riggle said, “Actually, [high school] was a lot of fun. I was the quarterback of the football team-I played two years on varsity as the quarterback.”

Riggle also played basketball in thewinter, and in the spring he played baseball for his first two years and ran track for the last two years.

Not only was Riggle involved in athletics, but he was also an Eagle Scout, the highest rank of Boy Scouts.

Other than its size, his high school was very different from GBS and GBN. Only 65% of students at Bedford North Lawrence High School went on to college, Riggle being one of them. Riggle
went to Hanover College in Indiana. He received a B.A. in Chemistry, but instead of going into a career in science, he chose education. Riggle was offered a scholarship for basketball, but he turned it down.

Riggle said that he initially wanted to be a coach, but then decided he wanted to be a P.E. teacher. However, his dad had different plans for him.

“My dad told me that if I was going to go into physical education, he wouldn’t pay for it,” said Riggle.

He got his first teaching job at Seymour High school in Indiana. Seymour, which
had about 1,300 students, is the alma mater of John Mellencamp.

“I was a chemistry and physics teacher, and I coached basketball and track,” said Riggle. “After three years I got an offer to move to Bloomington South High School in southern Indiana to build up their chemistry program.”

There, he taught the same subjects he did at Seymour but added coaching boys’ golf to his resume. After two years, he became chairman of the Science Department. He held that position for four years before becoming an associate principal at age 30.

After his first year as associate principal, a new opportunity presented itself. Three days before the beginning of the school year, the principal resigned to take an offer at a different school, which made Riggle the new principal after only one year in an administrative position. The committee chose to keep him as the principal the following school year instead of searching for someone else to fill in that role.

“I was only 31 when I started while the other administators were all around 55,”
Riggle said.

Despite his age, Riggle led the school to be a leader in education and athletics in the area for eight years. He then started thinking about challenging himself with a new job. He talked to a college professor about different job opportunities, and finally found a flyer for Glenbrook
North High School. GBN made an offer and Riggle accepted. He moved
to Northbrook, even though he had his then girlfriend (now wife), Stephanie, in
Bloomington.

In February of his first year as GBN principal, after a GBN/GBS basketball game (Riggle says GBS won), he proposed to Stephanie.

After former superintendent Dr. David Hales retired last year, Riggle took his position. Many students know Hales as a very personable and active superintendent. Riggle says that they are very alike, and also very different.

“We have a lot of shared goals of our philosophies are very similar,” Hales said.

Riggle has many goals for the district, and “one of the primary goals is to have the best high school atmosphere possible. We want to maximize learning and potential and help [students] realize their dreams.”

It may seem that the GBN principal of 10 years may have Spartan tendencies, but Riggle is supportive of both schools.

“I find [the transition] kind of exciting. I have many friends at GBN and I feel like I have established a base there…. I understand what it’s like to be a Spartan, and I am now learning what it is like to be a Titan,” Riggle said.

Riggle has already made connections with GBS, recently through the South student government. On Monday, Sept. 15, Riggle met and talked to the GBS student council.

Riggle realizes the importance of establishing connections with staff and students alike.

“Staff are our most important resource, and our students are our most prized entity”, said Riggle.
“Our students are what we work for.”

It is not only up to the administration to make connections, however.

“Building relationships is important…. building relationships with other students and also their teachers,” said Riggle.

“[Others] can bring so much to [your] life if [you] simply recognize what other people can do. And high school is not only a time for growth when we are forced to learn about ourselves- we also
can enjoy ourselves.”