Assistant Principal Ray West

Hello Buder Family

My name is Ray West, and I am super excited to be joining Buder Elementary as the Assistant Principal. I look forward to connecting with and learning from you all as we continue to make our school the greatest the world has ever seen.

I began my career as a teacher at the school in which I grew up called Venice Grade School in Venice, Illinois. I taught third grade, first grade, fifth grade, and sixth-eighth grade over my 11 years there. In 2017, I became Assistant Principal at Carondelet Leadership Academy where I served for three years. In 2020, I became the Administrative Intern at Independence Elementary School and I served there for three years as well. This year will be my 18th in education overall and my 7th in administration. I truly love this work. It's a serious passion of mine that I don't take lightly.

In my spare time, I love hanging with my family. My beautiful wife (Deven) and children (Jackson and Avrie) are the loves of my life. They are my universe. I enjoy reading a good book, basketball, watching podcast and reading books about basketball, pretty much anything pertaining to basketball (I LOVE basketball), roller skating, coaching (basketball of course) whenever I can, and writing.

I really cannot begin to tell you how much I look forward to meeting, learning from, and working with our children here at Buder. I once read a quote that said, "While we teach children about life, children teach us what life is all about." I am so excited to connect with all of our families here at Buder. I am here to support you in any capacity that I can to ensure the success of our children. If ever you need to reach out to me, never hesitate to call or email.