Welcome to the Prairie Knolls Middle School Principal’s Page!
Matt Newquist was named Prairie Knolls Middle School Principal to start the 2022-2023 school year after serving a year as an assistant principal at PKMS. This upcoming school year will be his 15th year in education. Prior to coming to Central 301, Newquist served as the assistant principal at Sherrard High School, located just outside the Quad Cities. Newquist spent the bulk of his teaching career at Rock Island High School where he taught Health and Physical Education. In addition to teaching, he coached baseball, basketball, and football for the Rocks.
Born and raised in Naperville, Newquist is a graduate of Neuqua Valley High School where he was a member of the baseball, basketball, and football programs. He was fortunate enough to earn a baseball scholarship to Western Illinois University where he played for the Leathernecks for 4 years. While at WIU, he earned his BA in Kinesiology. He also has his MA in Educational Leadership from the University of St. Francis. Newquist lives in Naperville with his wife Lauren who teaches Adapted Physical Education at the middle school level in Bolingbrook. The Newquist’s have three young children; Claire, Jack, and Ellie.