SCOTT C. KNOLL SCHOLARSHIP FUND
Our founder Mr. Scott C. Knoll
Few educators have demonstrated the lifelong dedication to and impact on secondary education in LaPorte County, Indiana then Mr.Scott C. Knoll. His career, spanning more than six decades, epitomizes excellence in and commitment to public education. Mr. Knoll was born in Cunot, Indiana, on March 28, 1888, to John and Emma (Kroy) Knoll. He was married on August 20, 1910, to Rose Kollmeyer. They had four children: Mrs. Harold (Virginia) Reed, Mrs. William (Rosalie) Cass, John Carleton Knoll, and Scott Knoll Jr. Mr. Knoll died May 8, 1967. Mr. Knoll began his career as an educator in 1905, selected to serve as an assistant teacher at the one-teacher schoolhouse (grades 1 through 8) in Cloverdale, Indiana. He had just completed 8th grade. While serving as a student teacher, he enrolled at Valparaiso University where he graduated in 1910 with teaching certificates in mathematics, biology, chemistry, physics, Latin and other subjects.
Following his graduation, he began his professional teaching career at Westville High School where, min 1914, he became principal of WHS. He served in this position until 1929 when he was elevated to the position of superintendent of the La Porte County Schools System. Following 16 successful years as a school administrator, Mr. Knoll returned to the classroom, this time teaching at Washington Township School for the 1946 – 1947 school year and the LaPorte Tenth Street School from 1947 until 1951. He returned to Westville as principal in the fall of 1951 and continued that position until 1956 when he returned to the classroom to teach a third generation of Westville School students until his 1961 retirement. Apparently, even retirement could not keep Mr. Knoll from the classroom as he was persuaded by the school to come out of retirement and teach from 1963 until the final end of his education career in 1966. Mr. Knoll founded the Westville High School Alumni Association in 1915 and remained a staunch supporter of education and the school community until his retirement. It is in his honor we honor award annual education grants to promising graduates of Westville High School.