After 25 years in the fifth-grade classroom, Troy Schaefer joins the Sevastopol staff as a middle and high school principal.

In addition to his years spent in the classroom are his experiences on the field as a baseball coach that inspired his teaching career. 

“When I went to college, in my freshman year, I majored in business and marketing,” Schaefer said. “When I was 19, I ended up coaching baseball. They [the players] were sixteen years old. So I was a 19-year-old leading a bunch of 16-year-olds as a coach. We ended up going undefeated and winning a national title.” 

Following this monumental achievement as a young adult, Schaefer returned to the University of Oshkosh, where he switched his major to elementary education. This change was pivotal in his future career as a teacher. 

When questioned further about his decision to change from an elementary teacher to a principal, Schaefer hands me a worn notecard filled front and back with his expectations of himself. 

“I want to be passionate and loving, and I have a great sense of humility as a principal.” Schaefer writes. “I value myself enough to give 100% to everything that I do, and I do that because I want to serve the students first and foremost.” 

As well to those daily motivational quotes, Schaefer elaborates further on his passion for teaching. 

“Every day I get up, I’m so excited to come here, and that’s not fake. I love coming here because of the students,” Schaefer said.

Since Sevastopol is a small school, a new principal is no trivial matter. The principal wears many hats at a school this size. 

Schaefer had many offers and interviews in his first attempt at a principal position, but there was something about Sevastopol that stuck out to him. 

“There are a couple of things that drew me to this school,” Schaefer said. “Number one is academic excellence because I am huge on character development and academic excellence and performance and being a complete person. So I felt like this was a great fit for that.” 

Schaefer looks forward to creating a community between staff and students. He hopes to begin this long-term goal this year.