Mrs. Schipper takes on new role as HS principal

By Chloe Nash, Editor-in-Chief

September 24, 2024

ROCKLAND- On July 1, former Rockland Middle School principal, Ms. Cheryl Schipper, stepped up and took the role of the new Rockland High School principal. 

Ms. Schipper was a high school science teacher and a dean before transferring to the middle school and working there for 14 years as assistant principal and principal. 

Ms. Schipper lived in an orphanage for a time before being adopted at a young age and has two younger brothers. 

She grew up in Chicopee, MA and graduated from Chicopee High School in 1990 and then went to UMASS Lowell for her undergraduate where she majored in physics.

Before moving to eastern Massachusetts, she did her first year of teaching in Springfield. She never moved back to Chicopee after marrying a Rockland graduate and having two daughters who are both in college.

Ms. Schipper loves to cook and run and she is currently training to run her fifth marathon. 

Coming back to the high school, the biggest difference for her has been the age difference in students and maturity level. For example, she no longer has to open mustard packets for middle school students. 

“In the high school you want to be supportive and make sure kids are getting what they need but it’s different things like their mental health is being taken care of and educational needs are being met,” Ms. Schipper said.

Although only being here for a few weeks, she has set her own goal to listen, learn, and get to know more people. Ms. Schipper plans to spot areas that may need to be improved on while also taking it slowly. 

Something she has noticed throughout teaching and as well as her adult life is that the busier a student is the better they tend to do. She loves to see students who are engaged and involved and she hopes to be able to get all students involved in something at some point.

“I learn that in my adult life, the busier I am the more I get done. When I have a million things to do, they all get done, but when I have some free time, I might be slouchy,” Ms. Schipper added. 

From working in Rockland for so long, Ms. Schipper has seen the community work together and students coming together to be there for one another. 

“In Rockland we look out for each other and at the end of the day I think the relationships we have with each other are the most important thing” Ms. Schipper pointed out. 

Being best friends with Ms. Schipper for more than 20 years, English teacher Ms. Amanda McDonough said she is thrilled to be working with her and see her succeed. 

Ms. McDonough and Ms. Schipper became friends through a group of teachers when working together in 2000 and became each other's supporters while getting familiar with the teaching profession. 

Now that Ms. Schipper is no longer a teacher with Ms. McDonough but the principal, Ms. McDonough still supports her through every move.

Ms. McDonough said, “I’ve seen how hard she’s worked to get to this place and I think she is gonna be awesome.. Sometimes it can take a long time to do that but it is encouraging to me to see someone succeed when I know that they deserve it.”