Photo courtesy of Oshkosh West High School Facebook

The results are in! The 2023 district-wide employee of the year awards have been given out, and two Wildcats were recognized for their accomplishments. Spanish teacher Justin Hable won secondary teacher of the year and Activities Coordinator Brad Jodarski was named administrator of the year.

The award process has been in place for the past several years, according to Principal Erin Kohl.

“Every year there are several people that get an employee of the year award,” she said. “There is one administrator of the year, two secondary teachers of the year, two elementary teachers of the year, two support staff of the year, and then one new teacher of the year.”

The nomination and vetting process involves a number of steps.

“Staff, students, or parents can nominate people and there is a form that gets sent out where people can be nominated,” Kohl said. “Then there is a committee from the district that is led by Dr. [Andy] Jones, the executive director of administration, and this committee goes through the nominations and chooses who the winners are.”

Hable had many mixed emotions when he was given his award.

“I was very surprised, humbled, and very thankful,” he said.

Jodarski shared similar emotions with Hable, feeling grateful for the recognition.

“I was very humbled; I work with a lot of really good people that make my job easier,” he said. “So I’m very appreciative.”

Although Hable was surprised, he believes his flexibility in instruction may have led to this achievement.

“There are a couple different areas where I was possibly nominated,” he said. “I try to not just stick to the mold of teaching, instead I create new experiences, especially with Spanish. Since learning a language is a skill, you can’t just sit there and be talked to, you have to use the language, so I try to think of creative ways to do that.”

Hable values keeping his students involved, and he thinks that starts with showing how much he cares about the subject of study.

“I find it important to show my passion for the culture and the language and I try to tap into the students’ interests,” he said.

Spanish teacher Jennifer Olivares sees the environment that Hable creates for his students.

“I know he forms really close connections with students, present and past,” she said. “There are still students who have graduated that are in close contact with him.”

Hable’s students feel the work that he puts in to make a family-like environment. Sophomore Abigail Krueger experiences the instructor’s kindness every day in class.

“He always has a smile on his face, and he cares about students and their best interests,” she said.

Sophomore Quenten Prickett agrees with Krueger and loves how the culture feels during each class.

“He makes the learning environment very enjoyable and is a fun-loving person who cares about his students’ education,” he said. “He makes handshakes with his students and he talks to them as if they are his equals, which is a nice change of pace because most teachers treat students like children.”

Kohl believes that Hable’s list of accomplishments speak for themselves, and his resume proves his merit.

“Hable is one of those great teachers who is always striving to do what is best for his students; he has great relationships with them and is always working to improve what he does in his classroom,” she said. “Beyond the school, he is the department chair for World Languages in the district and he is a really positive, supportive chair; we hear such great things about him from the other World Language teachers in the district.”

Olivares believes that some of Hable’s strengths arise from his long-term commitment to his school.

“I am very happy for him, he is a West graduate and I think that his heart and soul has always been at West,” she said. “He goes above and beyond and helps with many things like the distinguished alumni and the West is Best group.”

Hable agrees with this assessment.

“I went to West so people always say that I bleed the blue and white, so I try to do a lot of different activities in the school,” he said. “I care about this school a lot and I want to give back to the place that educated me.”

Jodarski is also full of Wildcat pride, and Kohl recognizes this trait.

“Jodarski bleeds blue,” she said. “He loves Oshkosh West and he’s so passionate about all the athletics and activities.”

His devotion to the school and his hard work are what gave Jodarski the opportunity to receive such an award.

“I always try to give one hundred percent to staff, students, parents, and the district,” he said. “I am not a teacher who works in a class every day, so my job is very different from what most staff do, but I try to provide a positive and meaningful experience for the students that I work with.”

Kohl commends Jodarski for the work that he puts into his job as his dedication is obvious as he juggles responsibilities commonly requiring two or even three administrators.

“As the Activities Coordinator he does a lot of everything, he oversees all of our sports, clubs, and activities,” she said. “His job is extremely demanding. He is working during the day along with late nights and weekends. Whether it is collecting paperwork and making sure that all of our athletes are eligible, doing meetings with students and coaches, arranging for transportation for athletic events, arranging for our umpires and referees to get paid, and just supervising everything.”

Sports fall under the umbrella of Jodarski’s work, and one of those is swimming, which senior Shayla Soper participates in. She has seen firsthand how much of a help Jodarski has been.

“When I was on the swim team, we needed new lane lines because the ones that we had were ripping,” she said. “Jodarski got them for us immediately, and I don’t think any other person would have done that so quickly.”

Not only does Jodarski help students, he also helps staff, like art teacher Chelsea Schinker.

“Jodarski was really helpful with me when I was starting photography club,” she said. “We started it this year and he was the one who helped put it all together. He was very supportive of the idea and it has been really successful throughout the year--which wouldn’t have happened if it wasn't for him.”

Jodarski’s experience in the school has taught him so many lessons over the years.

“As I’ve gotten older, one of the things that I have learned is that it is better to listen,” he said. “The kids are the ones who are out doing things every day, so I think we need to listen to our stakeholders because they are why we exist.”

Overall, Kohl couldn’t be more proud of Hable and Jodarski for their achievements.

“I was elated when I found out that they won,” she said. “I can’t think of two people more deserving of these awards.”

by Fareeha Ahmad

Published April 24, 2023

Oshkosh West Index Volume 119 Issue VII

Hable, Jodarski recognized for excellence through district Employee of the Year awards