Rockland Principal Named Principal of the Year

The Illinois Principals Association, as part of the National Association of Elementary School Principals, honored Rockland Principal Jeff Knapp with the Elementary School Principal of the Year of the Lake Region Award last month at an awards breakfast.

It marks the first time Jeff has been named Principal of the Year, where members vote on candidates who are nominated by their peers. He has already been named Assistant Principal of the Year and has twice been awarded the group's highest award- the Herman Graves Award for dedicated service (the awards can be seen on the wall behind Jeff in his office).

"This is about more than me," a humble administrator said about the award. "This is about the people I work with and the students I work with. I'm lucky enough to have some great supportive people, from students to teachers to administrators. I love working with the students and that's what this is all about. This is more of a team award, than an individual award."

Jeff has been a member of IPA for 11 years and is now state director for the Lake Region of the IPA.