Catasauqua High School Principal Adam Schnug announced, “with a heavy heart,” he is leaving at the end of the 2022-23 academic year.

Schnug attended Wickliffe High School, which he said was a small district similar to CHS. He then attended Youngstown State University.

Schnug credited his career in education to his mother, who convinced him to change his major in college to education. He noted his mother is a family and consumer science teacher who is retiring this year.

“She told me I belonged in education, and I believe she was right,” Schnug said.

He spent the first nine years of his education career in North Carolina as a teacher, coach, instructional facilitator and assistant principal for Iredell-Statesville School District. He started teaching seventh-grade social studies at Statesville Middle School in 2007. He also coached football and girls basketball.

In 2009, he moved to a social studies position at Brawley Middle School, where he also served as a head football coach. Three years later, he became an instructional facilitator for the district’s two alternative schools.

“The opportunity to go into administration happened, and I’ve been in administration ever since,” Schnug said.

Schnug came to CHS for the 2016-17 school year as the assistant principal. Following the retirement of former principal David Ascani, Schnug moved into the principal position for the 2018-19 academic year.

“Working at Catasauqua was truly a blessing,” Schnug said. “It’s not often that someone goes into education and has an opportunity to work at a high school that reminds you so much of your own high school.”

Some of his favorite memories at CHS include the annual Thanksgiving pep rallies and Turkey Day games, the lip sync competitions and proms. He noted how proud he has been to watch the marching band increase and start competing at state competitions. Additionally, he noted his excitement watching CHS receive its first Freddy Awards last year and continuing the tradition with two more this year.

He also mentioned the switch to block scheduling, which allowed for 38 new courses for students, was a good choice.

“Unfortunately, my time here was mostly defined by the pandemic,” Schnug said.

He recalled hearing a student ask if the state was really shutting down the schools back in March 2020 and laughing at the idea of it. The very next day, that “joke” became a reality.

“The summer of 2020 was, by far, the most difficult stretch of my professional career,” Schnug remembered. “Planning to reopen a school for the 2020-21 school year when state rules and guidelines were changing every week was a daunting task.”

He credited the hard work of the faculty and staff, support from the community and cooperation of the students. CHS was one of only three high schools in the Lehigh Valley that offered five-day in-person classes for the 2020-21 school year.

“Even during the pandemic, I am still proud of what we were able to accomplish,” Schnug said. “We not only offered a five-day in-person option in 2020-21, but we were also able to have a summer graduation at Alumni Field for the Class of 2020.”

He added they were able to plan and arrange a spirit day, prom, senior slideshow and graduation within a 24-hour period for the end of the 2020-21 year. That was no easy task, he said.

Schnug said he will miss the students the most.

“They’re the reason I’ve never regretted going into education,” he said. “They are also the reason I enjoy what I do. Having daily interactions with them is a blessing I don’t take for granted. COVID-19 taught me that simple things like saying ‘good morning’ to a student can get taken away unexpectedly. I will miss daily interactions with the students the most.”

Schnug sent a message to the CHS students, telling them he would not be returning. He felt it was important they hear the news from him first, demonstrating how much he respects and cares about them.

He thanked them for the memories, experiences and traditions they have shared. He expressed his pride in watching them grow, achieve and make a positive impact on the school community.

“Throughout the years, we have worked together to create a vibrant and inclusive learning environment, foster a sense of belonging and uphold our shared values of dedication to academic excellence,” Schnug said.

He encouraged the students to finish the year strong and “embrace the opportunities that lie ahead,” while striving for greatness, supporting and uplifting one another, welcoming diversity and inclusion and embodying the “values that define our school community.”

He said even though he won’t be with the students physically next year, he will still be thinking of them and cheering them on in their accomplishments.

He said he is moving forward with a new opportunity that allows him to continue working in education, while giving him more time with his family and aligning with his career goals. He said it was a very difficult decision to leave Catasauqua Area School District.

“Community support, proud traditions and a small school-family atmosphere have been a staple at CHS long before I got here and will be around long after I’m gone,” Schnug said.