Jon's Bio

Hello, and welcome to PlanetEd!

My wife and I certainly hope you find our thoughts and insights helpful in your professional journey in the most noble field of education. I started in the education field in the fall of 2011 as a social studies teacher at Merrill High School. Coincidentally, that was the first year in education for my wife as well, and it just so happened to be at the same school! After a few years of working together, I finally mustered the courage to ask her out in the spring of 2013. We've been together ever since. PlanetEd is a joint venture for both of us to showcase our diverse expertise in education in an effort to help anybody with a drive to positively impact our profession, and most importantly, our students.

During my time teaching at Merrill, I did my best to take advantage of as many opportunities as possible. I coached football and softball, supervised the weightroom, taught and eventually served as principal for summer school, volunteered for committees, organized student events, and engrained myself in the world of Advanced Placement. The multitude of experiences I had, along with some pushing from my friend and mentor who prompted me to look into leadership as a possible career move, led me to pursue a Master's in Educational Leadership from Marian University. In May of 2018, I graduated; that June I was hired as the Associate Principal for Pupil Services at Wausau West High School.

In the fall of 2022, I shifted to a different associate principal position at West, which is my current position. I am now the Associate Principal for Programming – overseeing our course offerings, schedule, calendar, departments, hiring, and school improvement efforts. I have found this position to be a strong contrast to pupil services, but not without its own challenges. My current position brings me intimately close to the world of flex mod scheduling and philosophy, greatly impacting my philosophies of education and leadership.

Without going too into the weeds, flex mod focuses on teacher autonomy in creating the master schedule, student autonomy in their daily schedule, and collaboration between students and teachers to make it all happen. I am a believer and proponent of this schedule and its guiding philosophy, so much so that I am pursuing my doctorate in education, with the topic of my dissertation being the relationship between flex mod scheduling and teacher efficacy.

I believe these experiences, both in and out of the classroom, have shaped my perspective on education and will undoubtedly influence the content we share on PlanetEd. When I'm not immersed in the world of education, you'll likely find me engaging in some typical midwestern pursuits. I'm an avid fisherman, a die-hard Green Bay Packers fan, and always looking to stay active. My wife and I cherish our time with our pets, especially our dog Coconut. We also love cheering on my stepdaughter in her school activities and athletics.

We hope you find our ideas, insights, and resources valuable as you navigate your own journey in this noble, impactful, and often challenging yet rewarding, field of education.

My position as a pupil services principal exposed me to the realms of discipline, attendance, and alternative education. Shifting my expertise from the classroom, football field, and Advanced Placement to the world of at-risk students, mental health, truancy law, and alternative education. I worked in this position until 2022, and while it was stressful, challenging, and frustrating, it was by far one of the greatest learning experiences of my career. Anybody looking to go into educational leadership needs to do a tour of duty in discipline, attendance, and alternative education.

I believe these experiences, both in and out of the classroom, have shaped my perspective on education and will undoubtedly influence the content we share on PlanetEd. When I'm not immersed in the world of education, you'll likely find me engaging in some typical midwestern pursuits. I'm an avid fisherman, a die-hard Green Bay Packers fan, and always looking to stay active. My wife and I cherish our time with our pets, especially our dog Coconut. We also love cheering on my stepdaughter in her school activities and athletics.

We hope you find our ideas, insights, and resources valuable as you navigate your own journey in this noble, impactful, and often challenging yet rewarding, field of education.