Familiar faces take on new roles with start of school year
Justin Hraby is hoping that when it comes time to write the history books on Medford Area Middle School the transition from Al Leonard to him will be favorably compared to Brett Favre passing the torch to Aaron Rodgers on the Green Bay Packers.
While busy getting ready for his first day as the new building principal, Hraby thought back on his start as an educator at Medford Area Public Schools.
In late summer 2001, Justin Hraby got a phone call offering him a position teaching social studies and English at Medford Area Middle School.
He notes that the call came just two weeks before the start of the school year and that both he and current RVA administrator Charlie Heckel were hired for teaching positions on the same day.
Hraby taught social students at MAMs for 12 years before moving up to the high school where he worked as attendance officer and then took over from Bob Wiinamaki as dean of students and athletic director. After three years as assistant principal at the high school, Hraby came back to the classroom and taught sixth grade math for a year before taking the assistant principal position at the middle school when Heckel went to full time as RVA administrator. For the past five years he worked as assistant principal under Leonard.
“I worked with some really good administrators over the years,” Hraby said, praising Leonard and John Penn before him. “They really inspired me to keep the torch burning. Hraby gives a lot of credit to the leadership of Leonard who helped him be ready to take the next step and become principal at the school.
This has been especially challenging in the past few years as the school has had to deal with a variety of issues including a global pandemic. “We did a pretty good job weathering those storms,” Hraby said, noting that he hopes the worst is past.
“The worst is behind us, I do see it getting better,” he said, praising the resiliency of the staff.
Hraby is a native of Medford who graduated from MASH in 1996 and received his undergraduate degree at UW-Stevens Point and his Masters Degree at Marian University.
Hraby said his main hobbies are being tangled up with his children’s activities and their sports. His son, Tanner is a junior at MASH and his daughters Rylee and Laney are starting their freshman year at MASH. He noted that it times out perfectly with his children not having to have their dad as a principal. “Not that they minded me as assistant principal,” he said.
“My kids keep me pretty busy,” Hraby said, noting that he is fortunate that his parents and grandmother are also still around the area, allowing them to do things as a family.
In addition, Hraby continues to have a passion for coaching and said he is fortunate to continue to be able to do that. Hraby says that he has found his home at MAMS. “I am pretty sure that this is where my home will be when it is all said and done here,” Hraby said, praising the support he has received from staff and administration.
“I can’t wait until September. That is when you know it is real,” he said.
Jodi Butler
Jodi Butler is looking forward to a new position in a new school district, Butler is the new assistant principal at MAMS. Prior to coming to Medford she had a 22-year career teaching fifth and sixth grade at Owen-Withee school district. While there she also coached their seven and eighth grade volleyball and JV softball in addition to organizing their summer school program.
Butler brings that wealth of experience to her new position at Medford Area Public Schools.
“Learning can never stop,” she said, noting there will always be new changes coming around the corner.
It is this mindset that led her to make the leap from being in the classroom into administration.
“I cried when I left the classroom,” Butler said, noting she loved every part of her time teaching. However in the past five to seven years she found herself taking on more leadership activities. She noted that she loved doing things like staff mentoring and working to develop new teachers. “It was really invigorating,” she said, noting it allowed her to come into the profession with fresh eyes.
Butler takes her job as assistant principal seriously. She noted that building administrators serve as the first line of support for the staff as they deal with challenges and being there for them as they support the students. With all the things middle school students are going through both physically and mentally as they transition from children to young adults, she said having that level of support is important.
She said in Medford she feels a sense of love and support and that she feels she made the right choice in coming here.
Butler is a native of Bonduel who received her undergraduate and Masters degrees from UW-LaCrosse and her Educational Administration K-12 Principal Certification from Viterbo.
She and her husband James have a stepson who will be a senior at Chippewa Falls this year. Butler lives in Withee, noting with her husband working in Eau Claire, it is about a half-hour commute for both of them. She said she doesn’t mind the commute time because it gives her an opportunity to decompress and get her thoughts together.
When not at school she is a sports fan and likes to golf. “Every Sunday is football Sunday,” she said. She said she enjoys cooking and kayaking and loves to travel.
“The people have been so nice and supportive,” Butler said of the transition to Medford. She said she can tell that the people she has come into contact with love being part of the school and the family that is MAMS.
“When everybody is working toward the same goals it is amazing what you can accomplish as a team,” Butler said.
Richelle Crank-Woller
Shelly Crank-Woller is assuming a new position as assistant principal for the district’s elementary schools.
She started her career in Medford 30 years ago as a special education teacher. Twelve years ago, she became the Behavior Interventionist in which she implemented the Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports system in our elementary schools.
“I have been in that position up to this year. I now transitioned to the Assistant Principal role for MAES/ SES,” she said.
“After being in the Medford School district for the last 30 years I was ready to use my educational background to transition into a leadership position,” she said.
“It was the right next step in my career. My transition to assistant principal will expand my opportunities to impact more students, parents, and staff. I am excited to see what our Principal Dan Miller and I are able to accomplish working together in both of our elementary schools. We are excited to be a part of both buildings,” she said.
Her role as assistant principal will provide her the opportunity to work at both MAES/SES. Having spent the last 30 years working primarily at MAES she said she is excited to be able to now be a part of SES as well.
“Our principal, Dan Miller and I will be working closely to run both of our elementary schools to provide a welcoming environment for all staff, students, and parents. We will work to develop more efficient systems allowing for more effective results. With this new role I am excited to be working with the parents and students in both locations creating an open door policy in which all people feel welcome to stop in at any time. I will strive to facilitate a culture that is trauma sensitive, caring, respectful, hard working and fun to be in,” she said.
The past few years have been challenging for educators and families, but Crank-Woller says it is time to move forward and look to the future.
“With having the past few years behind us we will use what we have learned as we move forward. As a community, we need to continue to support and promote education with the teacher shortages we are seeing. We need to continue to encourage people to go into education, come to Medford to work and then encourage them to stay working in our community,” Crank-Woller said.
Crank-Woller is a native of Holcombe. She went to UW-Stout and earned her bachelor’s degree in Vocational Rehabilitation/Special Education. She then went on to UW-Stout for her Masters in Guidance Counseling. In 2015 she continued on with her education to earn her Principal license.
She is married to Scott Woller, 3rd grade teacher at MAES. She has two children, Callie who is attending UW-Stout and Jason who is a sophomore at MASH.
Middle School Assistant Principal Jodi Butler
Elementary Assistant Principal Richelle Crank-Woller
