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NEWS
Appleton, Wisconsin June 2017 Volume XXII
Issue VIII
Page 3
North’s Mr. Huggins to be district assistant superintendent
Current North Principal and future AASD Assistant Superinten-
dent Mr. James Huggins reflects upon his 17 years as a North
faculty member.
Photo by Salma Abdel-Azim.
By Salma Abdel-Azim
North High School Principal
Mr. James Huggins announced
on Wednesday, May 17, that he
accepted the position of assis-
tant superintendent for school
services/student services of the
West Cluster Schools for the
Appleton Area School District.
Huggins will be assuming this
position this coming July 1,
in place of Dr. Judy Baseman,
who is to become the new su-
perintendent of the district.
Mr. Huggins has been an ed-
ucator for 22 years, 17 of those
years at North, 9 of which as
principal. It all started when he
was in college working at the
Bob Hope Hughen handicap
school in Port Arthur, Texas.
“It interested me and I fell in
love with it… I got really con-
nected and close with those
students.” After his time there,
Mr. Huggins joined the Marine
Corps for 4 years, during which
he enjoyed working with the
young adults as a leader. Out
of the Marine Corps, he served
as principal of Einstein Middle
School for 5 years and be-
came a teacher at North, rising
through the ranks to become
principal. “Being a teacher in
this building since it opened in
1995 to me has been very spe-
cial,” Huggins said.
Mr. Huggins says the accom-
plishment he’s most proud of in
his time as principal has been
building relationships. “Having
previous students come back to
be teachers and parents is really
cool to see.”
Mr. Ben Vogel, the assistant
superintendent of the North
Cluster, who has worked with
Mr. Huggins as a colleague
and has supported him in his
role of assistant superintendent,
describes Mr. Huggins as, “...a
hands on principal, cares about
all kids, wants to do everything
he can to help all kids succeed.”
Huggins says his hardest
challenge he has encountered
in his current position has been
the loss of loved ones. “The
loss of loved ones, includ-
ing students, staff, and family
members are the hardest chal-
lenges I have faced. I won’t say
I’ve overcame them, but you
persevere,” Huggins said.
The new role of assistant
superintendent is a leadership
position focused on the district
level. It is broader in scope than
Huggins’ current position as
principal with more responsi-
bilities, geared toward the West
Cluster schools; however, what
the position actually entails is
yet to be determined. “How we
do this is we look to see who
we hire and then we look to
see how we can best use that
person’s abilities.. We (assis-
tant superintendents) all have
unique responsibilities across
the district,” Vogel said.
Mr. Huggins is most excited
to work with new people in a
new setting, while Mr. Vogel is
most excited about, “all the dif-
ferent experiences he has had...
he has a great work ethic.”
Mr. Vogel says the biggest
challenge in this position is
“...to continue to attract the
best possible people to educa-
tion.” Having the best people
as teachers and staff with a de-
sire and passion to go into edu-
cation ensures success at the
highest level for every student.
“We want to make sure that
there’s a place for everyone,”
Vogel said.
Mr. Huggins is worried about
the state and overwhelming us-
age of social media. “I really
have seen such an explosion in
the past 5 to 10 years in the use
of social media, and how info is
used and shared is not all good.
I don’t think technology or so-
cial media is negative, but it’s
irresponsible usage that I am
worried about.”
Mr. Huggins will most miss
his staff and students at North
and “...watching the students
going from freshmen to shak-
ing their hands and giving them
their diplomas.”
Over the next month, Mr.
Huggins will transition into his
new position, while Appleton
North obtains a new principal.
According to Mr. Vogel, the
district intends to find someone
within the district, and they are
open to the input from parents,
staff, and students to find a suit-
able candidate for the position.
North will have a new principal
for the next school year, but the
district will take the necessary
time and consideration to find
the best person for the job.
“I really do care deeply about
this school. It’s been a sig-
nificant part of my career...I’m
still going to be vested in this
school in the years to come,”
Mr. Huggins said.
tons. When one is pushed down,
the other is pushed up. It makes
it really hard to find medication
for one that doesn’t set the other
off.” Ashour eventually went
through five different medica-
tions over the following years,
looking to balance anxiety and
depression.
Ashour explains she is in a
much better place now. “I can
still have bad days, but the
people I surround myself with
are really understanding and
positive. You just need to insert
yourself in a positive environ-
ment.”
These experiences have made
Ashour passionate about raising
awareness about mental health.
“I see people struggle and I
want to make it easier for them
and have themunderstand all the
stigmas around mental health. I
want them to know they’re still
capable people,” she said.
Stigmas play a large role in
the fight against mental health
issues. “Since there’s a stigma,
people don’t want to say they
have [a mental illness]. Since
no one wants to talk about it, the
stigma gets stronger,” Eastman
explains.
This stigma led another stu-
dent, Stratton, to believe what
he was feeling when he was
young was normal.
“I’d never learned it wasn’t
normal. I thought everyone else
had these feelings too.” After
an increase in severity, Stratton
finally decided to speak up and
get help, going through nine
different medications and eight
different therapists, and at one
point needing to go to a psychi-
atric hospital.
“Being there isn’t like any
other experience in your life.
You see these people who seem
fine – they are amazing people –
but you know they’re struggling
too... It was a revelation for me.
It was the first way it really oc-
curred to me that I wasn’t the
only one.”
After finally finding a thera-
pist he clicked with and a medi-
cation that worked, Stratton
was able to lead a positive and
healthy life. “The first step is re-
ally letting someone know. The
moment you share with some-
one else, it’s liberating.”
“I think that it’s unfortunate,
but honestly not shocking,”
Stratton said about the statistic
that 19.4 percent of North stu-
dents felt extended signs of de-
pression, according to theYRBS
survey.Additionally, Outagamie
County YRSB results show 24
percent of surveyed students re-
ported extended signs of depres-
sion.
“It’s always an eye opener
to look at these statistics,” said
North Social Worker Mrs. Sue
Davis.
“It’s probably much higher
than that,” Eastman said. “After
a while, we don’t realize what it
means to be healthy. The chaos
doesn’t give us an opportunity to
stop and take care of ourselves.”
“[Stigmas] have created an en-
vironment where people are
fearful of even saying suicide.”
One way North is approach-
ing mental health is Sources of
Strength, a suicide prevention
project that uses peers to change
culture to prevent things like sui-
cide and bullying. With a goal to
create a mindset of getting help,
Sources of Strength approaches
the topic with less focus on the
risks and more on connections
and resources.
North has integrated this new
program with the wheel in the
commons showing where stu-
dents of North find their strength
from, be it family, friends,
healthy living, or many others.
“I think it will be incredibly
beneficial. It will create a con-
versation and won’t hide the is-
sue,” Eastman said.
While May is the official
Mental Health Month, mental
health is something that can af-
fect people at any time, and one
of the first steps to a healthy life
is by telling someone.
“Life is really wonderful,”
Stratton said, “and once you
can live it without the weight of
these negative feelings, it’s the
most amazing feeling.”
Zajkowski
,
mental health,
from page 1
Longtime School Board
member Dr. Mielke resigns
By Maddy Schilling
Dr. John E. Mielke, who has
served as a member on the Ap-
pletonArea Board of Education
for the past 26 years, recently
submitted his letter of resigna-
tion, effective in late June.
“My reason for resigning at
this time is to be able to give
younger people the chance to
serve on this Board,” Mielke
said.
Mielke is an Appleton native
who attended Appleton Senior
High school, where he gradu-
ated in 1951 as a member of the
National Honor Society.
After receiving his B.S. and
M.D. from the University of
Wisconsin, Mr. Mielke served
as a captain for the United
States Army Medical Corps. In
1967, Mielke founded the Fox
Valley Academy of Medicine
and has been in private prac-
tice of internal medicine since
1965.
In the past fifty-two years, he
has also been an active member
of several community orga-
nizations, bearing the titles of
Director for the Mielke Family
Foundation, Elder of the Me-
morial Presbyterian Church,
Director of the Fox Cities
Children Museum, Director of
the Appleton Medical Center
Foundation and Director of the
Appleton Education Founda-
tion.
On Mielke’s dedication to the
Fox Cities community, AASD
Superintendent Lee Allinger
said, “He is an innovative force
-- his ideas have spawned many
great opportunities not only in
our schools, but throughout our
community. While he is step-
ping away from the Board, he
and Sally will continue their ef-
forts in our schools and broader
community.”
Board member John Mielke
resigns after serving on the
Board of Education for 26
years.
Photo courtesy of AASD.