Mr. John North…a subject many writers have pained over in their quest for the perfect description. Mr. North is a Pennsylvania born American, who lists his family, education, and his partner as the most important facets of his life. A veteran educator, after completing his Bachelor of Science in Secondary Education at Pennsylvania State University (WE ARE PENN STATE!) Mr. North spent the first seven years of his career teaching social sciences in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, including subjects such as geography, law studies, and various AP courses. He then followed a lifelong dream to see the world and moved to Vietnam. Settling in Hanoi, Mr. North first worked as an itinerant English teacher across the Hanoi metropolitan area. He was then hired on by SPASH to teach 5th grade. He immediately fell in love with the amazing community he found there. The next year he was shifted up to the middle and high school where he taught 8th and 9th grade social studies. Recognizing an opportunity for expanding our school’s programming, Mr. North was requested to start a drama program. Splitting his time between drama and social studies, Mr. North oversaw the expansion of the program from a single section of high school drama to two sections, one each for middle and high school. It is one of his dreams and goals to see this program grow and thrive with the addition of new courses. Recognizing a desire for a new challenge and a way to grow as a professional, Mr. North completed his Master’s Degree through Ball State University, earning his MS in education with a focus on Educational Administration and Supervision. While completing his masters, Mr. North partnered with two of his now former colleagues, Leslie Lovejoy and David Coley to establish St. Paul English Academy for Kids, or SPEAK, a program which provides our high school students with a fantastic service learning opportunity by placing them in the role of teacher, planning and delivering English language lessons to the children of our local Vietnamese staff. This year he proudly returns to SPEAK as temporary sponsor. After five years in the classroom at SPASH, he was promoted to the role of deputy principal for the middle and high schools. In 2021 he was promoted once again, this time to the position of middle school principal, to oversee the gradual division of the middle and high school into more independent entities. In this role, Mr. North has sought to ensure SPASH’s beloved middle school students received the specific attention and consideration necessitated by their unique developmental stage. He has proudly worked alongside the expert professionals of the middle school team as they navigated the uncertain waters of the COVID pandemic. As the SPASH community emerges with the rest of the world from the trying times of the past few years, Mr. North has tremendous optimism and excitement for the future of SPASH, especially in the middle school. He is confident that together the middle school will strive every day to live the mission of preparing students to be engaged, educated, and empowered global citizens. GO EAGLES!