When it comes to being an assistant school principal, Jason Clemensen of Northeast High School, Arma, is the best in the area. He’s even got an award to prove it.
He recently received the District II Assistant Principal of the Year Award from the Kansas Association of Secondary School Principals. District II covers 15 southeast Kansas counties.
“It really surprised me to get nominated my first year here,” Clemensen said.
He added that he was especially pleased to be nominated by Northeast principal Alan Roberts.
In addition to his duties as assistant principal, he’s also Northeast athletic director, head baseball coach and girls basketball coach.
Clemensen is originally from San Diego, Calif., and attended San Diego State University for two years on a baseball scholarship before transferring to Pittsburg State University. This area is a lot different from California, and he liked that.
“I fell in love with PSU and southeast Kansas,” Clemensen said. “I love the small town aspect, and not having to stop at 25 stop lights to drive two miles. I love to hunt and fish, and it’s a lot easier to do that here than in San Diego.”
He pitched for two years at PSU before becoming the pitching coach for two years. He earned his bachelor’s degree in physical education and a master’s degree in educational leadership, both from PSU.
Clemensen’s first teaching position was in Liberal, Mo., teaching middle school and high school social studies. He was also head varsity baseball coach all of his three years at Liberal, as well as assistant varsity boys basketball coach during his first year there and head coach for the remaining two years.
He said he was happy and excited about his job at Northeast, and loves working at small schools.
“There were 600 kids in my high school graduating class,” he said. “Our principal at high school, we never saw her. We didn’t even know who our superintendent of schools was. Here you get to know the staff and every one of the kids. To me, the relationship with the kids is the best part of teaching.”
He’s currently working on his specialist degree in district leadership at PSU.
“Mr. Roberts is working me into some principal things, for when I take that next step in my career, and eventually I hope to become a superintendent,” Clemensen said.
He really enjoys being a school administrator.
“Every day is different,” he said. “As a principal, you have to be quick on your toes. That makes every day a challenge, but it’s fun as well. You know, when most people think about school, they think of Friday night, but sports is just a small part of it.”
When he leaves school, he goes home to wife, Pamela, a Frontenac High School graduate who teaches science at Liberal High School.
“She was a Barton County Educator of the Year last year, so I kind of had to keep up with her,” Clemensen said.
There are also two sons in the home.
“Cameron Peak will be 5 in December, and he keeps us busy around the house,” Clemensen said. “In August we had a baby boy, Landon.”
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When it comes to being an assistant school principal, Jason Clemensen of Northeast High School, Arma, is the best in the area. He’s even got an award to prove it.
He recently received the District II Assistant Principal of the Year Award from the Kansas Association of Secondary School Principals. District II covers 15 southeast Kansas counties.
“It really surprised me to get nominated my first year here,” Clemensen said.
He added that he was especially pleased to be nominated by Northeast principal Alan Roberts.
In addition to his duties as assistant principal, he’s also Northeast athletic director, head baseball coach and girls basketball coach.
Clemensen is originally from San Diego, Calif., and attended San Diego State University for two years on a baseball scholarship before transferring to Pittsburg State University. This area is a lot different from California, and he liked that.
“I fell in love with PSU and southeast Kansas,” Clemensen said. “I love the small town aspect, and not having to stop at 25 stop lights to drive two miles. I love to hunt and fish, and it’s a lot easier to do that here than in San Diego.”
He pitched for two years at PSU before becoming the pitching coach for two years. He earned his bachelor’s degree in physical education and a master’s degree in educational leadership, both from PSU.
Clemensen’s first teaching position was in Liberal, Mo., teaching middle school and high school social studies. He was also head varsity baseball coach all of his three years at Liberal, as well as assistant varsity boys basketball coach during his first year there and head coach for the remaining two years.
He said he was happy and excited about his job at Northeast, and loves working at small schools.
“There were 600 kids in my high school graduating class,” he said. “Our principal at high school, we never saw her. We didn’t even know who our superintendent of schools was. Here you get to know the staff and every one of the kids. To me, the relationship with the kids is the best part of teaching.”
He’s currently working on his specialist degree in district leadership at PSU.
“Mr. Roberts is working me into some principal things, for when I take that next step in my career, and eventually I hope to become a superintendent,” Clemensen said.
He really enjoys being a school administrator.
“Every day is different,” he said. “As a principal, you have to be quick on your toes. That makes every day a challenge, but it’s fun as well. You know, when most people think about school, they think of Friday night, but sports is just a small part of it.”
When he leaves school, he goes home to wife, Pamela, a Frontenac High School graduate who teaches science at Liberal High School.
“She was a Barton County Educator of the Year last year, so I kind of had to keep up with her,” Clemensen said.
There are also two sons in the home.
“Cameron Peak will be 5 in December, and he keeps us busy around the house,” Clemensen said. “In August we had a baby boy, Landon.”
