After ten years of Michael Mukai, there is a new principal of West Springfield High School. This new face is none other than Dr. Jim Patrick, the man who strives to not only maintain tradition, but uplift WSHS in as many ways he can.

Having grown up in FCPS, Patrick has long admired the strength of the WSHS community. After serving as the director of student activities at several other FCPS high schools, he served as principal of Longfellow Middle School for five years. Although Patrick enjoyed his time at Longfellow, he is enthusiastic in his new role.

“I guess I’m energized. Opening the school is a lot for anybody. It’s a change, but the change is good for me,” said Patrick. “I enjoy being back in a high school. I’m excited that the students are back, and to see all the good work here at WSHS.”

Part of what Patrick missed about working in a high school was the ways in which students can discover their passions.

“[At WSHS] students get to dive a lot deeper into their passions and get ready for that next piece. I really miss those aspects [of a high school] so being able to come back was great and just taking on a new challenge,” said Patrick.

Upon entering WSHS, Patrick immediately respected the students’ adaptability and willingness to challenge themselves.

“I think we have a great student body. We have students who are proud to go to our school, and they enjoy being here. There’s been change that we’ve had to manage, and I think students have been great in that,” said Patrick.

Patrick’s objective for the 2025-2026 school year is to enhance what makes WSHS a strong school through listening to student and faculty input and implementing it.

“I think WSHS is generally a very high achieving school. I think coming in and seeing all those things myself is what makes it special and maintaining those pieces is my first priority,” said Patrick. “My biggest priority this year is really getting to know the staff and students and being visible to hear their perspective and know that I’m here to support them.”

On the topic of changes, the introduction of a new principal coincided with drastic changes coming from the state and county level, such as the new cell phone policy and weapons detection system. Patrick is working to balance his role as the enforcer of these policies while still supporting students in the transition.

“I really do believe it’s the students’ school,” said Patrick. “I understand that I have to implement the cell phone policy and weapons detection policy. But it’s your school and your experience so I value that, and maybe we aren’t always going to see everything the same way.”

However, there are some changes occurring at the school level driven by previous years’ data and staff perspectives, to include paper hall passes.

“I think anytime we want to make any change, we want to think through what are all of the potential obstacles, how can we solve them, and then what are our data points and check points for that,” said Patrick. “It is definitely reasonable to say the quarter is a nice time to stop and take a look at it and say ‘is this meeting our needs?’ and ‘what are the ways to make it more efficient?’”

Another of Patrick’s administration’s prospective changes is to implement tardy stations. Yet, Patrick has a flexible mindset and plan regarding student tardies.

“We want to communicate up front and we want to make sure everyone knows what the expectation is and understand what they’re supposed to do. Then, we’ll see if it’s solving the problem or not. If it’s not, then I think in some regards, if the problem doesn’t exist, we don’t need to solve it,” said Patrick.

Having now served as principal in both a middle and high school, Patrick acknowledges the differences in his objective.

“There’s just more moving parts to manage,” said Patrick. “In middle school, we’re transitioning [students] from elementary and getting them ready for high school, and [in high school] we’re transitioning students and getting them ready for life, the secondary piece. So that mission is a little bit different.”

The rumors are confirmed. Patrick dreamed of learning to ride a motorcycle for many years, and finally did so as an adult. When Patrick left Longfellow, the community’s parting gift to him was a bobblehead of him riding a motorcycle, an item he proudly displays in his office.

“So yeah, I ride a motorcycle, but not as much as I would like,” said Patrick. “I try to ride it when I can. I used to ride it a little bit more. I didn’t do it until I was an adult, and I always wanted to do it.

I was at Fair Oaks Mall and they have a class right there. All you have to do is take a class, so I took the class.”

Aside from learning how to ride a motorcycle, Patrick is open-minded in allowing the WSHS community to guide him with their perspectives as he continues to grow in his role as principal.

“I value and understand all of the traditions at WSHS and I’m just looking to add to that and see where I can maintain and also lift up in different places. I’m just excited to be here, and I really value [student and staff] input always, but especially this first year being visible. I do want the input from our families, from our students and from our staff because I think people really care,” said Patrick. “I feel like I’m joining this community and I’m just excited for that opportunity and really want to hear everybody’s feedback and see all the pieces that people feel make [WSHS] special.”

At the end of his time at WSHS, Patrick hopes to be remembered as a figure that was truly there for all students.

“Especially when you come into a school like WSHS, it’s very strong, and I want to make sure to the best of my ability that every student has that maximum experience here,” said Patrick. “If I could leave knowing that we’re supporting all students and all of their needs, that’s my goal.”