Lewiston Middle School eighth-grader Destin Jenkins talks with Principal Jake Langlais on Tuesday at lunch. Faculty and students said they’ll miss Langlais when he becomes high school principal this summer. “He connects with kids,” Jenkins said.

LEWISTON — As her students left the Lewiston Middle School auditorium, teacher Sarah Drewal said she wasn’t happy to learn Tuesday that Principal Jake Langlais is transferring to Lewiston High School.

“I was heartbroken,” she said. “I feel like we have a great team that works really well and supports the teachers.”

Langlais has unified the teachers and students, she said. “It really feels like a big family to me.”

The faculty will welcome somebody new, who will be Farwell Elementary Principal Jana Mates, Drewal said.

“But we are certainly going to miss him,” she said.

Langlais, 38, said the decision to become high school principal wasn’t an easy one. He became middle school principal after Shawn Chabot was transferred to the high school two years ago. Before that, he was assistant director of the Lewiston Regional Technical Center, and prior to that, he worked with special needs children.

As middle school principal, “I’m right in love with working here,” Langlais said. “There’s a lot of good staff here. We’ve had some highs and lows, some tragedies and bright spots. I think through all that, you just bond. So on a personal level, it’s a little emotional.”

One low was the death of eighth-grader Jayden Cho-Sargent in November, who was struck while walking to school. Langlais won praise for how he handled the tragedy with students and the school community.

But becoming principal of Lewiston High School — one of the larger schools in Maine with 1,400 students and growing — is a great opportunity, Langlais said.

As Langlais walked down a hall Tuesday, he saw a student stopping to fix a door stop that had come undone. Langlais thanked the boy for taking the time to fix the door.

He greeted students by name. In the cafeteria, he talked to students about what they’re reading.

Students said Langlais is a fair principal.

“He’s a good principal,” said eighth-grader Destin Jenkins. “He listens to kids. He connects with kids.”

As eighth-graders, Anita MacHenry and Kaylee Rhoades said he will be their principal at the high school next year.

“I’m glad,” MacHenry said. “I like him.”

When Rhoades moved to Lewiston last year, Langlais made her feel welcome. “He’s really good,” she said.

Jaden Bucklin said Langlais has made the school safer when it comes to the prevention of bullying.

Assistant Principal Amanda Winslow said she’s happy for Langlais, but was “not impressed” with the news. She, Langlais and Assistant Principal Pamela Butler are a great team, she said, but Jana Mates is “amazing.”

“Jana’s going to be great,” she said.

This week, Langlais is planning to camp out — literally — in front of the middle school as a way of encouraging students to read.

If enough students read 30 minutes a day for a week, if the reading minutes total 120,000, there will be a tent set up outside the middle school.

“I’m going to sleep out front,” Langlais said.

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