It’s down to two
Athens school board says it may name superintendent on Monday
The Athens Board of Education hopes to announce a new schools superintendent to replace Jeff Mastin at its meeting this Monday, May 17, 6 p.m. in the high school commons.
Thirty people including of Athens School District residents, staff and school board members gathered in the Athens High School gym last Wednesday night to hear the top top two candidates for the schools superintendent job. They are Dennis Kaczor, Mosinee, and Andrea Sheridan, Wausau, answer school board president Tim Krueger’s interview questions.
The school board met in closed session in the high school library last Wednesday night, following the interviews, to review district administrator assessment forms people in the audience filled out while listening to the candidates speak. School board members then chose one of the two candidates to be their new school superintendent.
Krueger said Monday the school board has given an offer to one of the candidates and is waiting to see whether it is accepted. He’s hoping the school board can announce a new schools superintendent at Monday’s meeting.
The following are the top two candidates for the Athens schools superintendent job:
Dennis Kaczor
Kaczor grew up in Neillsville and graduated from Neillsville High School in 1989. He earned a degree in business and marketing management in 1993, while using a U.S. Army ROTC scholarship at the University of Tampa in Florida. Kaczor eared his master’s degree in business and marketing education in 2000 at UW-Whitewater. He earned his certificate in educational administration in 2006 from Marian University in Fond du Lac. Kaczor earned a doctorate’s degree of philosophy, educational leadership and administration in 2020 from Marian Univer- sity in Fond du Lac.
His 25-year career in Wisconsin education includes teaching two years in the Prairie du Chien School District, 15 years as a business teacher and associate principal at Mosinee High School, one year as principal at Hilbert High School, two years as principal at Adams-Friendship Middle School, four years as schools superintendent in the Herman-Neosho-Rubicon School District in southeast Wisconsin and one year as principal at Hillcrest Elementary School in the Chippewa Falls Area United School District.
Kaczor told the audience during his interview he has experience working as a teacher, principal and schools superintendent from 4K through 12th grade in Wisconsin schools, which makes him an ideal candidate for the Athens schools superintendent job. He said he is ready to settle down in Athens and work there until he retires from education in possibly 10 years.
“My mother just moved from Neillsville to the Lake DuBay area, my inlaws are moving from Appleton to Stevens Point this fall and my oldest daughter is getting married to a man she met in high school whose parents are from Edgar and Marathon,” Kaczor said. “Everything that I have that’s important to me in life is in this area, so why shouldn’t my work also be in this area? From a personal standpoint, that’s why this position is very attractive to me.”
He also wants to use his background in business and accounting to help the Athens School District remain financially sustainable in the future.
“I love the tagline, ‘One Town, One Team, One Dream’ because it’s catchy and it works,” Kaczor said. “I want collective efficacy, meaning everyone coming together to make sure every kid in the Athens School District will find a way to success.”
Andrea Sheridan
Sheridan grew up on a 20-acre farm in eastern Iowa and she told the audience during her interview the rolling hills and farm fields in the Athens area remind her of home. She earned a bachelor of science degree in elementary education in 1991 at the University of Iowa. Sheridan then earned her master of science degree in educational leadership and administration in 1999 at UW-Milwaukee. She also obtained both her director of curriculum and instruction and masters in educational leadership and supervision certifi cations at UW-Milwaukee.
She has worked at Wausau School District for the past 15 years; she’s spent the past 10 years working as director of teaching, learning and leadership integration. She told the audience she was excited to talk with Shawn Steinke, Athens middle/high school technology education teacher, before the interview about his non-traditional path to becoming a teacher. Steinke worked in the private manufacturing industry before he started teaching in Athens. Sheridan liked hearing from Steinke the Athens School District has received a grant from the state to fund a new fabrication lab in the technology education department.
“What spoke to me was your belief statement, ‘One Town, One Team, One Dream’ because I think that is such a wonderful example of creating an allaround student,” Sheridan said. “The opportunity for the Athens School District to have the new charter school (Maple Grove Elementary School) and to embrace a future Fab Lab is appealing to me.”
She wants to help Athens School District build upon the existing partnerships it has with local businesses. She’s anxious to meet more Athens School District residents.
“One of the things I love about life is getting to know about people; I would envision a superintendent having listening sessions in the school district,” Sheridan said. “I want to engage people in conversation so I can listen and learn from them, and recognize what the vision is for the school district and what we need to do to get there together.”
Dennis Kaczor
