Olathe West to open with principal who offers students a healthy dose of respect

Olathe Northwest High School Principal Gwen Poss likes to give credit where credit is due. And when she walks the halls of her school and sees the professionally designed “Raven Pride” signs adorning the walls, she can’t help but think of assistant principal and athletic director Jay Novacek, who designed the signs to build school spirit.

Soon, Novacek will be building school spirit at another school. At the end of this year, Novacek will leave Olathe Northwest and begin preparing for his job as principal of Olathe West High School, which will open in 2017.

For Poss and Novacek, it will also be the end of a working relationship that has lasted 19 years. The two first worked together when Poss was principal of Olathe South High School, where Novacek taught English. When Poss opened Olathe Northwest as principal, Novacek followed as a teacher.

Over the years she’s seen him move into administration and handle the many demands of being both an assistant principal and athletic director. She’s confident his wide range of skills will make him an excellent principal at Olathe West.

“He’s really good at juggling a lot of balls at once,” Poss said. “He has good common sense and he really understands people.”

Putting people first, especially his students, is at the heart of Novacek’s educational philosophy.

“If you truly have the goal in mind of doing what is best for your students, you will be led down the right path,” Novacek said. “Kids will appreciate that and know that they are being cared for by their principal. I want them to live, breathe and love their school.”

For 41-year-old Novacek, the chance to open a new school as a principal is the opportunity of a lifetime. Novacek began teaching in 1997 and holds a bachelor’s degree in education from Emporia State University and a master’s in administration from Baker University.

His current job as athletic director and assistant principal is a big one. He works with the senior class and the school’s e-Communications Program, which is part of the school district’s 21st Century Program. That’s in addition to overseeing an athletic department with 23 varsity teams.

But Novacek knows the job he is getting ready to take on will be even bigger. He’s confident his diverse past experience has prepared him well for this new challenge.

“Every piece of what I’ve done, from teaching English at Olathe South and Olathe Northwest, to being an assistant principal and athletic director have shaped me into the position I’m in today,” Novacek said. “Hopefully I am well-rounded enough and have worked in so many different areas that I am ready to take on this position.”

With his new role of principal, he’ll now have the additional challenge of learning to effectively communicate with multiple groups at once including students, parents and teachers. He said he’ll do that by relying on one of his guiding principles.

“You have to develop that respect,” Novacek said. “My belief is that you treat everyone with respect and you create that respect both ways and you find common ground and go from there.”

Poss, who’s had the opportunity to supervise his work for nearly two decades, is certain he has what it takes to handle that part of the job.

“His people skills are great,” Poss said. “He is very good with our kids, our coaches and our parents and he’s really good at involving the community.”

Building a proud and thriving school community on the west side of town is something that is really exciting for Novacek. He’s looking forward to offering students more project-based learning thanks to the innovative design of Olathe West. He believes multi-functional classrooms housed in the three-story building will lend itself to exciting learning opportunities for students who today have constant access to technology.

“I think it’s really important for us as educators to find new ways to teach the material,” Novacek said. “Standing up in class and lecturing for 60-90 minutes in 2016 is not going to be the best way. We have to ask how do we make it interactive and hands-on for them.”

Novacek has many goals for his new school when it comes to achieving success in both academics and athletics. And one that is pretty straightforward.

“I want to build a school that kids love to be a part of,” Novacek said.

This story was originally published March 22, 2016 at 4:57 PM with the headline "Olathe West to open with principal who offers students a healthy dose of respect."