West Side Primary Principal Scott Dewar will retire at the end of this school year, and he will leave behind more than three decades of excellent service to the Harrisburg School District. A lifelong resident of Harrisburg, Dewar has served as both teacher and administrator in nearly every building in the district. His story is one of consistency, adaptability, and a steady focus on students.

Dewar graduated from Harrisburg High School in 1988. He went on to Southeastern Illinois College for two years before transferring to Southern Illinois University Carbondale, where he completed his degree in elementary education. After a year of substitute teaching in several southern Illinois districts, he was hired in his hometown. “I taught fifth grade at East Side for 10 years,” he recalled. During that time, he earned his master’s degree in educational administration from Eastern Illinois University through a cohort program held in McLeansboro.

That degree led to a new role. “Once I did that, I landed the job here, and I was West Side principal for 10 years,” he said. When the district faced financial hardship, Dewar was asked to serve as principal of both East and West Side at the same time. “That was probably the hardest job,” he admitted. “When there was a problem here, I was over there, and when there was a problem there, I was here. I was constantly running back and forth.” After a year of managing two schools, he remained at East Side for three years.

When the superintendent left, Dewar stepped in as acting superintendent for about six months until a replacement was found. Then he returned to East Side, later moving to the high school where he served as principal for eight years. When another superintendent transition came, he again filled the role temporarily until Dr. Dixon was hired. “Then the principal left here for another occupation, and I was asked to come back here. And here I am,” he said. In all, his career includes 10 years of teaching and 23 years as an administrator in various capacities, working with virtually every grade level except middle school and BELA.

Partnerships, Dewar emphasized, have been central to his approach. “I am partners not only with our students, but I’m partners with our teachers, our parents, community members—and we all have to work together with the student first in mind,” he said. His philosophy has always been to be fair, consistent, and honest, with every decision guided by what is best for students. “That drives all the decision-making, and that makes those partnerships that much easier to have.”

Dewar has also valued his working relationship with Superintendent Dr. Dixon. “I am so thrilled to end my career working with Dr. Dixon,” he said. “She is very outgoing, community-minded, and student-first. She has taken this district to places I never thought we would get to, curriculum-wise. She’s very big on climate and culture, and we’ve got a lot of good things going our way now. You walk into any of our buildings and it is just a positive atmosphere.”

Outside of his professional life, Dewar is proud of his family. He and his wife Heather, have been married for 31 years. They have two daughters. Taryn, his oldest, is a science teacher in Louisville, Kentucky, now in her 10th year in education. His youngest, Tori, is a nurse in Evansville, Indiana, married to Ryan, a doctor finishing his residency at Deaconess Hospital. Dewar also treasures his role as grandfather to Drew, his year-old grandson.

Faith has been an anchor throughout his career. A Sunday school teacher at Liberty Baptist Church for a decade, Dewar said, “That’s how I get filled up, because I miss teaching. That helps me get that little fix. And I lean on the Lord every day to get through some of the trying times here. I find myself all the time praying for our students and our teachers and everyone involved in education.”

As he looks toward retirement, Dewar doesn’t plan to step away from education completely. “I don’t think I will be good retired,” he admitted. “I may come back as a substitute teacher or fill some other role. Like I’ve done my whole career, wherever there’s a need, I’ll fill that spot.”

The motto on the rug at West Side Primary sums up his philosophy well: “Kids don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” For more than 30 years, Scott Dewar has lived out that truth in classrooms and offices across Harrisburg. As he prepares to close this chapter, the care he has shown will remain his greatest legacy.