Bonduel principal calls it a career

As a regional school administrator based in Gillett during the 1990s, Peggy Jones longed for an opportunity to settle down and focus her work at one school district.

She got that opportunity in Bonduel.

Now, as she prepares to retire after more than three decades in education, Jones looks back on her years as Bonduel Elementary School principal with pride and deep affection.

Jones is stepping down this summer after 16 years in a job that she knows will be difficult to leave behind.

“With the kids, every day is new,” she said. “They always have something to say. They sure can make you smile.”

Since taking the principal job in 2001, Jones has helped guide the district through significant changes, including introduction of 4-year-old kindergarten, the start-up of a summer school program, and the closure of two elementary school buildings.

One of her proudest moments came last fall when the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction recognized Bonduel Elementary School with a report card score of 86.5, which propelled Jones and her staff into the category of “significantly exceeds expectations” for student achievement and excellence.

School District Administrator Patrick Rau said the continual improvement necessary within the elementary school to achieve the report card distinction is Jones’ biggest accomplishment as principal.

“Peggy’s contributions have been and will be the foundation of which student success is built,” Rau said. “Her leadership has created a great school where students and staff thrive.”

Born in the suburbs of Milwaukee, Jones later moved to the Minneapolis area and graduated from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls. She subsequently earned a master’s degree from UW-Oshkosh and a principal’s certificate from UW-Milwaukee.

She landed in Bonduel first as a teacher in 1980, but left three years later to work at the regional organization known as CESA, Cooperative Educational Service Agency. While the new job allowed her to impact several school districts in the region, it left her feeling somewhat disconnected from students and classrooms.

So she returned to Bonduel as the elementary school principal in 2001, succeeding Montee Huntington, who had been principal for four years.

“To come back to one district, one building was nice,” she said.

The school today includes more than 300 students in pre-kindergarten through fifth grade, and a staff of 23 teachers.

Kylee Richter, a teacher for the past 15 years, said Jones has become a mentor who demonstrates that education is about people more than it is about politics or money. Richter said the principal has always shown compassion and concern for those around her, and is always willing to listen to new ideas.

“She’s been such an inspiration,” Richter said. “Most times I don’t feel like she is my boss. She gives more guidance than bossing me around.”

Jones, who earns $102,960 a year as principal, said she is proud of the work she and the school’s staff have done while consolidating from three elementary schools to one, and also while introducing new services and implementing other classroom changes that have raised the quality of education. The recent state report card rating of “significantly exceeds expectations” was a major milestone that represented several years of hard work, she said.

Jones said she will always remember a pep rally held last November to celebrate the report card achievement, complete with a marching band and pom pons. It also came to represent a good crowning achievement, she said, when she later decided to retire at the end of this year’s summer school.

“It felt right,” she said. “The time is right.”