SM North Principal Dr. Jeremy Higgins announced his departure from North on Tuesday morning, and his plans to move up as Director of Secondary Human Resources for the Shawnee Mission School District effective July 1 of this year.

“While I am excited about this opportunity, I can’t begin to tell you how much I will miss being at Shawnee Mission North on a daily basis,” Higgins said in an email announcement to SMN parents and students. “Shawnee Mission North is a special place; it is a special place because of the people within the Brickhouse and within the community. It truly has been an honor to have been part of this time-honored building and this wonderful community.” 

Higgins has been a part of the district for roughly 15 years, first as a chemistry teacher and later as associate principal at SM East as well as associate principal at SM West. In addition to that, he also coached football and baseball during his time at East. However Higgins emphasized that he’s always had ambitions and goals of eventually moving up.

“You know I’ve always had aspirations of being a superintendent,” he said. “And I think back to even when I was in college, I’ve always wanted to be a principal, so I’ve always kinda had those aspirations.”

Having served as SM North principal for nearly three years, Higgins was first named principal at the beginning of the 2018-19 school year following the departure of former principal David Tappan.No job listing was posted for the principal position at North; instead, district administrators wanted to find a candidate who was already a district employee.

“Honestly it comes down to the people that are here, North is a really special place,” he said. “The students, the families, the community, the teachers have all been amazing,”

Higgins says his biggest hope is to have left SM North a little bit better than when he first started out, and that it will continue that way for the years to come.

“The three years that I’ve been able to serve in this role and in this building have been some of the most memorable years of my career,” Higgins said.

SMSD district administration will begin the process of selecting the next principal immediately, and Higgins says that he is confident that they will identify a candidate who will continue the tradition of excellence at Shawnee Mission North. 

“If it were up to me, it would happen really quickly,” Higgins said.  “Because the sooner that we’re able to do that, the sooner we’re able to start planning and the sooner I can help that person transition into that role.”