Advertisement The new principal at Holmen High School, Robert Lecheler, and the new associate principal at Onalaska High School, Jared Schaffner, are two of those new faces and they will be challenged just as much as students and teachers to learn everyone’s name.
Lecheler comes to Holmen High most recently from his position as the principal of the Black River Falls High School and, because Holmen is twice the size of BRF, he has twice as many faces and names to learn.
Prior to BRF, Lecheler had been principal for two years at Pacelli High School, a Catholic school in Stevens Point, Wis. He had also been a director for the diocese to which the Pacelli school belonged.
He has three grown children but has an eighth-grade boy planning to attend Holmen Middle School. Lecheler’s wife is a speech pathologist at Black River Falls. She will commute from their new home in Holmen.
While it’s always intimidating to start over in a new location, Lecheler said he is enthused about being in Holmen. “Whenever you go through a change, it takes some adjusting,” he said. “My son has a positive attitude as does my wife. I’m optimistic about the district in general and the high school in particular,” he said. “I know there will be challenges, but I’m impressed with the attitudes of the staff and community members towards the school district.”
He said when his wife went to register their son at the Holmen Middle School, she was very impressed by how positive everyone was. “I believe people in the Holmen school district work very hard to promote student learning,” Lecheler said.
One of his challenges is some overcrowding issues at the high school. “Where are we going to put everyone?” he asked. He said there were a number of teachers ‘on the cart.’ That means that for the first period they are in a homeroom and the rest of the day, they pack up their materials and cart it around the school to different classrooms, just like students.
“But I’m very impressed with how the staff has been accommodating with one another to make this work,” Lecheler said.
Expectations are there will be 1,050 to 1,100 students enrolled in the high school this year, very close to the school’s capacity of 1,200. “There will be surprises coming in and out of the doors and a lot of mobility with the families,” he said. “We’ll see who shows up. We’ll be packed in nice and cozy.”
Building security is a high priority for Lecheler. He was involved with a crisis management team at BRF and feels comfortable with maintaining order at Holmen.
To combat concern that student tension will increase due to the crowding, Lecheler said they will be vigilant on how students are doing in the halls and classes. If they see problems mounting, they plan to be proactive. “We don’t want students worrying about their safety while they are here. The students come to school and their job is to be students. The adults need to address these issues.”
He has put forth challenges for himself as well. “For myself, my priorities are to come to an understanding of how things have been done in the past,” Lecheler said. “I need to be asking the staff what are the strengths we need to build and maintain and what are the areas needing improvement. And I have to listen to what the staff has to say.”
He also is anxious to get input from students and parents. “If there is any information from public members about issues with particular students or something they see, come to us and raise our awareness so we can be proactive. We need people to know we’re here for the safety of the kids and that issues will be addressed.”
Jared Schaffner
Listening to students’, staff and parents’ input is also important to the new associate principal for Onalaska High School. Jared Schaffner said the staff has shared its welcome as well as its priorities. “The staff has been making me feel comfortable. They’ve been stopping in and telling me what they think is important to know about the school and the community.”
Originally from Fountain City, Schaffner spent the first part of his educational career outside Green Bay. He taught in the Pulaski school district. He graduated from Cochrane-Fountain City High School, then went to the University of Wisconsin-River Falls, then to UW-Milwaukee.
This is his first role as an administrator and he will be focused on discipline with the student body and truancy. His philosophy on discipline is to work on behavior modification.
“Consequences are fine,” he said. “But it doesn’t necessarily change behavior.” He plans to build strong relationships with students and finding out what is important to them and working with them towards more acceptable behaviors.
Schaffner said he is familiar with the new initiative in the Onalaska School District towards professional learning communities. “I worked with that somewhat in Pulaski, so I can share with staff what I’ve learned and what successes can be achieved,” he said.
In addition to his professional commitment, Schaffner intends to become more active in the community. “I believe the relationship between the schools and the city is very strong and I want to be active in the community through various groups.”
Contact Jo Anne Killeen at joanne.killeen@lee.net or 786-6816.
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