Cary-Grove would not be the place it is today without our amazing principal, Mr. Sargeant.  Now, after spending 10 years at CG, Sarg has decided it’s time to say goodbye to the students and staff.

Mr. Sargeant started out as a math teacher for Central, and after 10 years, moved into administration.  He worked as a dean at South for two years before returning to Central for five years as a Vice Principal.  And now, Mr. Sargeant has decided to go back into teaching.

“It was a tough decision to leave the classroom in the first place,” he admitted.  Mr. Sargeant was always very fond of the special day-to-day connection teachers got with students that he couldn’t get as an administrator.

However, Mr. Sargeant has made a huge effort to get to know the students at Cary-Grove.

“I’ve been very fortunate here,” he said about getting to know students.  As many students will attest, Mr. Sargeant is at every sporting event he can get to and is often seen throughout the day chatting with students in the hallways.  He said he always loved how the students seemed to love talking with him and would often call out to him while he stood in the halls.

Now, we’ve all heard before that CG is a special place, but sometimes the students don’t really believe it.  In fact, Mr. Sargeant didn’t at first, either.

“When I first started here, on day one, Mr. Kelly came into my office and said to me ‘You’re gonna find out in a hurry that this is a special place.’”

Mr. Sargeant said he laughed at this at first, but realized that his colleague was right.

“Our kids are different.”

Mr. Sargeant attributes this different atmosphere to the small-town community feel that CG has, despite being the largest of the D155 schools.

“We are the focal point of Fox River Grove and Cary,” he said.  He thinks that this makes our school one that the whole community cares about, and it transfers down into the very students who attend it.

Mr. Sargeant said he feels blessed to have been around such phenomenal students for 10 years.  The supportive and nurturing community that our students and staff created has deeply affected him.

“I am, without question, a better person than I was when I started here,” he said.

Now, as Mr. Sargeant leaves to teach math at Prairie Ridge, all the students and staff give him a tearful goodbye and the honor he deserves for being such a fantastic leader.