Edwards takes helm of Marion School District

Former Shawano principal eager to pursuing his new role as superintendent
By: 
Lee Pulaski
City Editor

Troy Edwards is taking the helm of the Marion School District after James Bena stepped down as the district’s superintendent earlier this year.

Bena served as the superintendent and Marion Elementary School principal for the last eight years and took over July 1 as superintendent for the Port Edwards School District.

Edwards, who has been principal at Hillcrest Primary School in Shawano for 12 years, is not inheriting the principal role in Marion in order to focus full-time on the management of the district, but he’ll have a familiar face manning the elementary school, as Brian Morstad, who had been a dean of students for Hillcrest, was hired to fill that role. Edwards said he is looking forward to planning the future of an entire school district instead of just one school.

“It’s going to definitely be a wider scope to be overseeing,” Edwards said. “It’s a very exciting change.”

Even though most of the students he’s had contact with in the last decade were 7 or 8 years old, Edwards has had plenty of experience in his 28-year career dealing with students of all grade levels. Prior to taking the helm of the newly built Hillcrest in 2010, Edwards was an associate principal at Shawano Community Middle School for four years. He also has experience teaching English as a second language for what was then a joint school district for Shawano and Gresham.

“I had kids at every grade level,” Edwards said.

With students on summer break for a little longer, Edwards has spent much of his first few weeks in listening mode, noting that looking at education through a kindergarten through 12th grade lens is different. He’s conversed with teachers, members of the community, school board members and more to get a feel for where they want to see Marion’s schools go in the future.

“Once that’s established, there will be planning on how to lead,” Edwards said. “I want to make sure we’re all on the same page. I’ve met a few students, but once school starts up, I’ll get to meet more.”

The Edwards name should be familiar to longtime residents in Marion, Pella and Caroline, as his uncle, Jerry Edwards, served as superintendent long ago. Troy Edwards also has other relatives who are school administrators.

“I always looked up to them, and I wanted to be a teacher and work with kids, but I always wanted to work my way up to being a superintendent,” Edwards said.

Being in Marion will be a different ball game for Edwards. He noted that his time in the Shawano School District helped him to know all the ins and outs of the system, but he will be turning to the longtime staff members in Marion for guidance on this new venture.

“It’s a lot of time learning the new system, learning where things are at, looking at opportunities for growth and knowing that we all want to work together to move things forward,” Edwards said. “In a way, it’s kind of a refreshing opportunity to take a new look at things.”

Edwards likes the small feel of the district, which boasts about 480 students across all grade levels. He said it creates a “family atmosphere” that larger school districts don’t always have.

“It’s a very tight-knit community and tight-knit district,” Edwards said. “For a smaller school, it has a lot of opportunities for our students. All of those things attracted me to the Marion School District.”

The Marion School Board has given Edwards the liberty to try different things in order to see what will help students learn the best, he said. He said he prefers a team approach, instead of being one to issue directives.

“I’m a systems thinker,” Edwards said. “I’m a very collaborative person and want shared decision making. (The board) wants me to utilize the time freed up from being an elementary principal to spend time and be more available at the high school. I plan to spend more time talking to teachers and listening to teachers, finding out ways I can support them so they can do their jobs better and feel supported and listened to.”


lpulaski@newmedia-wi.com