New Assistant Principal Kugel is “Up for the Challenge”

This upcoming fall, we won’t only be seeing new freshmen. A new assistant principal, Damen Kugel, is filling Mr. Ripperger’s position in the 2023-2024 school year and beyond. 

“I’m very go with the flow and very personable. I want to build good relationships with people,” Kugel said. “I want kids to know that I’m here for them, and I want to understand the position they’re in… I want to get to know them and not just drop the hammer. I like to get to know people before there is an issue.”

Kugel’s previous six years of experience was at Davenport as both a middle school science teacher and K-12 principal. In those previous years, Kugel didn’t have much help because he was the main principal. Because of this, the two assistant and one main principal system at Hastings High is an exciting prospect for Kugel.

“I’m really looking forward to a team to bounce ideas off off,” Kugel said.

According to Kugel, he has positive feelings about the administration he will be working with next year. In the interview process, he met Principal Linden and Assistant Principal Laux. Similar to Linden, Kugel is new to Hastings High. Their similarities make Kugel feel more comfortable with Linden.

“I felt like they [administration] were very relaxed when I initially sat down,” Kugel said. “I thought it would be intimidating but I felt very at ease with Mr. Linden. We had very similar experiences.”

Administration was looking for someone who had experience and who could fit well in the systems within Hastings High. Knowing Kugel’s background, they knew that he was the best candidate.

“We had a lot of really good people that interviewed, and were really good candidates. It came down to a team decision: we felt like with his experiences and the things that he has done in his career, on top of what we have to offer and the systems that we have in place, that he would be a good fit within that system. And so that that’s where it came down to, who was the best fit for Hastings High in our administrative team, and he fit the bill,” Principal Linden said.

Linden believes that Kugel’s previous experience at Davenport makes him the best candidate for the assistant principal position. 

 “And that’s why we hired him. He’s been a head principal, a head principal at a smaller district at Burning, Davenport. So he’s, he’s dealt with some things. He’s done a lot of, you know, like the discipline and working with kids and trying to help kids, he’s got that background,” Linden said.

Kugel’s experience brings an ability to get along with others. According to Laux, this experience can allow him to improve HHS.

“So, you know, kind of our main role as assistant principals is to make sure we have a safe and orderly learning environment. But, you know, being able to form relationships with staff and students, I think he’s gonna be able to do that… I don’t know him that well yet. But just from the interview, and just in speaking with him I think he fits kind of the mold that we’re looking for as an assistant principal, you know, being able to work with one another is key,” Laux said.

Linden feels similarly to Laux. Complimenting Kugel’s seniority, Linden says that he believes that Kugel is ready to deal with what Hastings will throw at him.

“My first impression [was that] I liked his experience. You know, he has a pretty good demeanor. Good to where he’s pretty calm. He seems like someone that will handle stressful situations in a good way,” Linden said. “He’s got some experience… so knowing that he knows how to deescalate situations and things like that [because] he’s been trained to do that on top of having to use it is a good thing just because there’s gonna be a lot of stressful situations here. And you got to be able to handle that.”

Being new at HHS means that Kugel will have to develop new relationships with students and faculty. Linden thinks that this a challenging prospect because he has experienced it as well.

“I know he’s up for a challenge. He’s excited and New Year, so that’s nice,” Linden said. “I could help him grow in his profession. I think that’s going to be a lot of fun, so I look forward to that as well. And Mr. Laux is going to be right there with helping him out and making sure we’re consistent on doing things the tiger way.”

According to the principals, bringing Kugel in is a good opportunity for HHS to have fresh ideas while also maintaining experience. Although the hirting process looked at what Kugel would bring to HHS, there are also some things at HHS Kugel is excited about. He has found many opportunities here, from the diversity to the wrestling team.

“[I’m excited about] the different opportunities and extracurriculars,” Kugel said. “College and job opportunities [for example]. Just getting involved in different activities I enjoy. Like we don’t have a wrestling team. I loved wrestling in high school. Overall it’s just change. It’s different things that excite me.”