Principal Popadiuk to Leave MHS for New Position with NJSIAA

By Barbara A. Preston l September 16, 2021

Montgomery High School Principal Paul Popadiuk will be leaving his post this fall to become the chief compliance officer of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) in January.

Paul Popadiuk. Photo courtesy of NJSIAA.

As a chief compliance officer, Popadiuk will oversee all compliance-related matters, including those involving eligibility, transfer compliance, controversies and disputes, according to a press release from the NJSIAA.

Popaduik, who lives in Hillsborough, has more than two decades of experience as an educator and has held various volunteer positions with the NJISAA since 2016.

"Paul has been a tremendous resource for NJSIAA over the past five years, and I am very excited to bring his experience and skills to our office," NJSIAA Executive Director. Colleen Maguire said in the press release.

“The time I’ve spent in a volunteer capacity with the NJSIAA has really reinforced for me what an outstanding organization this is," Popadiuk said in the prepared statement. "The level of support it provides to young people, coaches, and everyone else involved in New Jersey high school sports is inspirational. I’m eager to join the NJSIAA team in a full-time role this January.”

Popaduik graduated from Penn State University, and earned master’s degrees from Seton Hall University and Marygrove College. After spending the first four years of his teaching career at Somerville, Popadiuk arrived in Montgomery as a history and psychology teacher in 1996. In addition to being a teacher, he coached football, basketball, softball, and served as a class adviser.

After a decade in the classroom, Popadiuk moved into administration at Montgomery, serving three and a half years as a vice principal. He became principal in January 2010, and has given a commencement address at the MHS graduation every year since then.

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Popadiuk says on the Montgomery school district website that he has "always been very involved in the lives of his students, stressing the need to develop the whole child." He adds that he is "extremely passionate about developing the social and emotional skills of students, as well as developing the capacity of teacher learning teams, which are two of the major initiatives at Montgomery High School."

Popadiuk is married to a 5th-grade teacher, Karen, they have two sons, Matthew and Luke, and a golden-doodle named Barkley.

At the NJSIAA, Popadiuk will replace Kim DeGraw-Cole, who will be scaling back her responsibilities while serving in a consulting capacity for the remainder of the 2021-2022 school year.

"While I look forward to taking things a bit easier, I’m also looking forward to working with Paul to ensure a seamless transition for our member schools and our student-athletes," Cole said in the press release. "Having worked with Paul on various committees, I know he will be a tremendous resource for the NJSIAA and all the scholastic athletes and schools it serves.”

Established in 1918, the NJSIAA is a voluntary, nonprofit organization of 436 accredited public and non-public high schools that conducts tournaments and crowns champions in 33 sports.