By ANNA GILGOFF

Special to The Press

When Matt Givler returned to Northwestern Lehigh in the role of assistant principal, it was like coming home again.

The 2003 graduate was hired to fill the high school administrative position vacated by Don Allen.

“I was actually hired in September but in the state of Pennsylvania, the administration of the home district can hold you for up to 60 days, so I started months later,” he explained.

In his new role, Givler has a variety of responsibilities.

“I’ve got specific jobs and duties including any disciplinary matters but they are far and few between,” he said.

These days discipline has gone down to almost zero, amounting to little more than holding students responsible for signing into school late, he explained.

Givler credits his teachers at Northwestern for inspiring him to take up the profession.

“Mr. [Michael] Haberern lit the flame on my path,” Givler said. “Content is content, but it was his excitement for social studies that did it.

“He came every day excited about the students and the content.

“His excitement sparked my excitement that became my new path.”

That path led him to a teaching stint in Las Vegas, Nev. of all places.

“Vegas was in such a dire need for teachers that they were looking all over the country,” Givler said.

With his wife serving in the Air Force, life’s puzzle pieces began falling into place.

In Las Vegas, Givler worked at a behavior school.

“Students would come for a minimum of nine weeks for behavior modification and academic remediation,” he explained. “I think that is one of the best experiences a young teacher could have.

“You come out of there knowing if teaching was really what you wanted to do.”

“It was a great experience at a comprehensive high school, one of 14 high schools in the county, with about 2,400 students.

“That was my first regular experience in education.”

Givler said he really ran the gamut in what he did in Las Vegas.

“Those learning experiences really laid the foundation for where I am today and prepared me more than any undergrad degree,” he explained.

Givler described the population in Las Vegas as being particularly urban.

“You would see students sitting next to one another where one student’s father was a casino executive and the other student’s father was a constructions worker,” Givler said. “That school is one of top 500 schools in the country and is noted for what they do there.

“At the same time, dreamers would confide in us.”

Givler lived about 20 miles north of the strip in Las Vegas.

“I could look out 20 miles away and see the strip because Las Vegas is in a valley and is like a giant bowl,” he explained.

“It is truly a metropolitan community out there, but there are no high risers.

“You have a global tourist attraction in the middle of nowhere.

“I enjoyed my time out there, plus my grandfather was born in northern Nevada.”

Givler said his service in Las Vegas prepared him for his work.

“Then my wife and I made the decision to move home,” Givler said. “We wanted to raise a family with family close by.

“I went from a tech ed class at Allen High School to one of the assistant principals at Dieruff for 14 months.”

Givler majored in history and secondary education at Wilkes University where he met his wife.

“Ironically, this private school is the one that gave me the best deal,” he said. “They gave me the most money.

“My early inclination was not in education but in marine biology and moving to Florida.”

Givler was even working on earning a scuba diving certification.

The icing on his educational cake came years later when he attended Lehigh University’s Urban Principals Academy for Leadership.

“It was a natural fit,” he said. “It is not a traditional program by any means. This program sets the bar.

“It was the best money I’ve ever spent on formal education to prepare me.”

The COVID-19 pandemic took everyone by surprise, but Givler remains optimistic.

“In one way it’s very difficult to find a silver lining in this environment, but the focus now has shifted to academics,” he said. “It’s a welcome symptom because the focus is 100 percent on learning and in a perfect world that is just what you want to do, focusing on what students are learning.”

“Students are being educated. They are receiving a high-quality education. That could be one silver lining although they’re not in the building on a regular basis.”

These days, the 36-year-old lives in the Parkland School District with his wife and two young daughters ages 3 and 5.

“We purchased a home in 2020 before being hired at Northwestern,” Givler said. “I want to give kids the same positive experience I had and with the same positive teachers that I grew up with.

“If I can do that, I feel my time will be a success.

“To be here in this community where I have so many great memories is such a surreal experience.

“I’m just happy to be here, to come back and show my teachers that their work meant something.

“Coming back to Northwestern is like coming home to me and when you’re home, you take better care of it. For me, it’s personal.”