Severna Park High School Students Meet Their New Principal

Newly appointed Severna Park High School (SPHS) Principal Nathan Johnson invited members of the SPHS community to join him for open forums on August 5 and 7, when he introduced himself, his administration and his goals.

Johnson comes to SPHS with 14 years of teaching and coaching experience in Anne Arundel County public high schools, including positions at Arundel, Chesapeake, Broadneck, Old Mill and Annapolis. Despite having held several positions with Anne Arundel County Public Schools, he hopes to “be here more than a little bit!” Citing SPHS’ record of high academic achievement, committed staff, inclusive student body, fabulous extracurricular programming and an engaged community, Johnson expressed his excitement to join SPHS.

Johnson described his approach as a leader who “identifies problems and works to solve them,” with a focus on “what we can do better.” Although he is driven by a competitive spirit, he recognizes and cultivates potential in others. As a self-described “developer,” he seeks out signs of improvement and derives satisfaction from progress.

Amy Donegan, mother of rising SPHS senior Tess Donegan, said, “I really like his energy, and I think he is going to do a lot of good things for the school.”

Rising freshman Piper Bowman said, “I’m excited to get to know the new principal and see what he has to offer for SPHS this year.”

After meeting Johnson, Student Government Association president Jenna Augustine called her new principal “personable.”

“I think he has a fresher outlook,” she said, “and I hope he is able to listen to the staff and students' needs.”

Johnson indicated that his focus for the 2024-2025 academic year will be “Soaring Above and Beyond Excellence.” His strategy is three-fold: create a sense of community, support students, and engage students through meaningful instruction. As a first step in reaching these goals, Johnson has sought input from SPHS staff. Staff uniformly agreed that “the students are the best part of my job,” that the staff is “very supportive and knowledgeable,” and that “community support is amazing.”

As his next step, Johnson has also developed a questionnaire, which he hopes parents and families will complete. While people may be concerned that Johnson is the third SPHS principal within three years, he offered assurance, saying, “My first few weeks or months will be spent learning the day and how I can best support the kids and what can I do to get kids more excited to come to school.”

In addition, Johnson has a good reputation with previous students. “He cares a lot about his students and takes his time to get to know everyone and make a fun environment,” said Broadneck junior Olivia Pappas. “He was great when he was here at Broadneck.”