After 18 years at Aragon and five years as an administrator, assistant principal Nicole Elenz-Martin will take a leave of absence next school year in order to spend more time with her family. Aragon’s administration is in the process of locating a suitable candidate to fill her position and hopes to welcome a new member to the team before the 2023-24 school year begins.
“I’m so thankful for the support that I’ve always received from my family to be able to dedicate as much as I can to my job,” Elenz-Martin said. “As much as I love the relationships and the connections and the work that I do here … I’m realizing that there’s a wonderful opportunity for me to spend time with my kids as they’re growing up. I want to be able to focus on that.”
Before joining the administrative team in the 2018-19 school year, Elenz-Martin was a Spanish and Advancement
Via Individual Determination teacher, in addition to serving as the Instructional Technology Coordinator, Instructional Coach and World Languages Department Head at various times throughout her tenure. As an assistant principal, she has overseen school counseling, master scheduling, course programming, Tiers 2 and 3 support services, dual and concurrent enrollment and graduation.
“She’s been my mentor this year,” said assistant principal Andrew Hartig. “Especially through things like Advanced Placement testing. She’s always willing to help, always willing to be there.”
During the COVID-19 lockdowns and distance learning, Elenz-Martin worked with her colleagues to create and coordinate an unprecedented distribution effort to supply students with the resources they needed to successfully learn at home. Many staff members who have worked with Elenz-Martin are quick to acknowledge her outstanding leadership.
“She’s a fabulous listener,” said science teacher Katherine Ward. “She’s an incredibly astute observer, uber-organized… and she’s really good at recognizing how to build a team. [She knows] how to encourage everyone’s participation and how to help all of us value each other’s contributions.”
The news of her departure has been met with understanding and support in addition to bittersweet feelings.
“[At first], I was sad for myself, and I was sad for our school,” said English and Agency and Social Justice teacher Lindsay Bussey. “But I was happy for her because I feel like she’s doing what she needs to do for her and her family. She works harder than any of us, and I’m happy for her to be able to get rest and reconnect with herself, her passions and her dreams.”
For staff members who have grown close to Elenz-Martin, her departure draws back recollections of not only a professional relationship, but also a personal one.
“There are all kinds of [memories],” math teacher Cheri Dartnell said. “Retirement celebrations, practical joking, ideas just between colleagues, [holiday gatherings], end-of-year celebrations … many of us having kids in the same time period and going through those life changes together [were] all very, very special.”
As for her future plans, Elenz-Martin is undecided but remains open-minded.
“I’m not sure where I’ll be in a year and what I’ll be doing, but I’m very thankful for the opportunity to take the leave and to be able to come back [to the district] in a year,” Elenz-Martin said. “I love Aragon [and] I’ve been here for a long time. I love this community, but I’m also very open to other opportunities.”
Elenz-Martin’s leave will begin over the summer, and the administrative team is currently in the process of finding a suitable candidate that will complement the team.
“We’re waiting to see who will be able to step into her shoes,” Hartig said. “All administrative teams have to play to their strengths and figure out who’s on the team and what [a new member] can bring to the table. Certainly, it’s going to be hard to replicate everything that Ms. Elenz-Martin does, but a lot of it will just depend on what the new person is able to bring to the team.”
Currently, the standard recruitment procedure is underway. A job posting has been released to hopeful applicants. Prospective candidates will first go through a paper screening and afterward may be selected to interview in person. A panel expects to select Elenz-Martin’s successor well before the start of the 2023-24 school year.
