ARLINGTON — One wouldn’t expect the incoming principal of an American school to say that he got some of his best preparation from serving as deputy director of an international school in Latvia, but for Highland Christian School Principal Kevin Reimer, the two communities have a lot in common and, more importantly for him, his mission at both was the same in the most basic ways.

“We’re here for the kids,” said Reimer, who recently returned to his home in Camano Island after he and his family spent four years overseas in Jurmala, Latvia. “Besides my parents, whom I love dearly, the most influential people in my life have been teachers and coaches, and many of them had a Christian faith in common.”

Reimer’s early college years in the 1980s were spent trying to find his niche in business and accounting, but it wasn’t until he transferred from the University of Washington to the University of Puget Sound, and switched his major to education, that “I found my passion.” Reimer progressed from being a student to being a coach at the University of Puget Sound, and when a fellow coach offered him the opportunity to “never teach a day in your life,” Reimer told him that teaching was what he most wanted to do.

“I’ve been going to school since I was five years old,” Reimer laughed. “It’s been such a positive experience that I didn’t want to give it up, although being in admin means that I spend more time interacting with parents than with kids now. I’m still impacting the kids’ lives, but just on a different level.”

Reimer feels strongly about the fact that Highland Christian School offers “a Christ-centered education,” which he sees as fully compatible with offering “the best education possible.” Reimer believes that self-improvement is a key trait in both education and Christianity, and he expressed confidence that Highland Christian School’s academic standards provide students the opportunity to enter “top colleges and universities, if they so choose.”

As an alternative school with smaller class sizes, Reimer cited Highland Christian School’s ability to provide a more individualized focus on its students, creating an atmosphere of learning that he feels is similar to that of the international school in Latvia, where he dealt with a student population of approximately 220, much the same size as that of Highland Christian School, ranging from preschoolers to high schoolers.

“I got to see the whole spectrum,” Reimer said. “I knew all the families, and even though we had 27 different countries represented, our school community felt like a family. In a way, it’s the same here at Highland since we have our high school students reading to our first-graders, and we have a number of different denominations of churches represented.”

Reimer reassured parents and staff alike that he does not believe in change for the sake of change, but will instead speak with them, rather than taking any drastic action. The existing staff and spirit of the school are among Reimer’s reasons for accepting the job in the first place. He went on to promise that he would try to be as accessible to parents and students as possible.

“I like to be out in the halls,” Reimer said. “Leaders don’t just sit behind desks. They get out into the world. I want these students to continue to be stewards of their community, because the town of Arlington has been gracious enough to have this school as its guest, so we owe it to the community to give back.”