“It’s been a journey,” said D’Wayne Bates, Glenbard East’s Assistant Principal of Athletics for the last 10 years. Next year, Mr. Bates will be leaving East to take a similar position at Stevenson High School.

Before he came to East, the school saw 5 consecutive years of new Athletic Directors.

“I wanted to establish stability and implement a new vision and mission for Athletics at Glenbard East,” he said. According to Mr. Bates, the department needed a lot of improvement right away. The administration supported Bates by providing ample support in his endeavors.

“The purpose of being an adult at East is to help the students have an enjoyable experience,” he said. The focus is really on the student body, and as Mr. Bates puts it, “To ensure our students and athletes have a memorable experience.”

He notes, “It’s not always about winning, not always about losing, even if you don’t want to lose, regardless, it’s important to develop people and see them gain lifelong skills beyond their high school years.” 

For him, being at Glenbard East has been an amazing experience, and, “The 10 best years of my life.” 

He sees Stevenson High School as the next chapter in his journey to being a leader in athletics. He states “I’m very comfortable with what [we’ve] built here; I’m very proud to pass it on to East’s next assistant principal of athletics.”

To transition from Glenbard East Athletic Director to Stevenson High School Athletic Director was a tough decision. He recounts that he is grateful that the person previously in charge leaves a wonderful blueprint at Stevenson for himself as he pursues his new role.

“I hope I can leave a good blueprint for the system to successfully keep Glenbard East’s athletics at its highest potential,” Mr. Bates adds. 

“Tradition never graduates,” he says. “I’ve been blessed to be a part of [East] tradition wherever it goes. I enjoyed being an educator here.”