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Meet Mrs. Nygra: Assistant Principal

August 02, 2022
By Sloan Mahoney

We are pleased to announce the hiring of Jessica Nygra as Andrean High School's new Assistant Principal! Mrs. Nygra comes to us after one year as Assistant Principal of Westville High School and ten years as a respected instructor and emerging leader of Chesterton High School. She brings a strong foundation of academic excellence in promoting data-driven education, instructional coaching, and student advocacy. She came on board with Andrean over the summer and is prepared to dive into the academic year.

 

“I believe that she will be a great asset to the Andrean Family and am excited to continue working with her,” says Principal Knazur. “I'm confident she will be a great fit and am grateful for her willingness to serve.” 

 

We conducted an interview with Mrs. Nygra in order to get to know her better: 

 
Q: Welcome to Andrean! Can you tell us a little bit about your background in education? 


A: Thank you! It’s so great to be here. I spent the vast majority (nine years) of my ten-year teaching career working at Chesterton High School where I taught 11th and 12th grade English, English Honors, and Advanced Composition. I knew pretty early on that after accomplishing goals within my own classroom, I wanted to end up in administration, and in May of 2015, I graduated with a Master’s Degree in Administration and Educational Leadership from Indiana State University. That enabled me to start regularly filling in for assistant principals in the building as needed, which really solidified the thought that administration was where I wanted to be. I became Chesterton’s school improvement chair in 2018, and in 2021 I left CHS to take a position as an Assistant Principal. Those experiences brought me here, and I couldn’t be happier.

 

Q: What drew you to Andrean? What do you like the most about our school so far? 


A: I knew that in coming to Andrean, I’d be joining a family; I love that. The loyalty, the high standards for academic success, the family and community involvement…all of these things are what make me proud to be with Andrean. We are student-centered here, and that’s important to me.

 

Q: What are your main priorities and goals for Academics? 
 

A: I have a strong background in curriculum and coaching, so I’m looking forward to helping teachers use data effectively to reach their classroom goals, developing quality formative and summative assessments, maximizing student engagement, and providing personalized instructional coaching as needed in order to keep up with and improve on our standards for academic achievement. I’m also going to focus on motivating students who may be struggling in (or out) of the classroom. 
 

Q: What are you most looking forward to in the new school year? 
 

A: I’m excited to build relationships with people here: the students, the staff, the families. I want to get to know them, and I want them to get to know me, too. I’m looking forward to being able to really be a visible part of the day-to-day and educational process. And, being a volleyball player myself, I can’t wait to watch the girls' volleyball team take home another state championship. GO NINERS!

 

Q: What else can you tell us about yourself?
 

A: My husband Vince and I have been together since we were 19 years old; we have two absolutely wonderful daughters: Sophia (15) and Grey (5). And I can’t forget to mention our sweet (and spoiled) toy Goldendoodle, Banks. We love to travel when we can, and during the summer you can usually find us out on our boat or camping in our free time. My husband is an exceptionally great cook, and I love good food, so that works out well for me! If we’re not eating at home, though, Stacks is by far my favorite place for dinner around here. And while it’s a tough call (because summer is great), fall is my favorite season. I love that time of year when the holidays are just around the corner and you’re anxiously awaiting the day you can decorate the house for Christmas. Windows are open, candles are lit, and football is on. For me, fall just feels…special.