NEW PALESTINE — The new assistant principal at New Palestine Junior High School has a calming presence, principal Keith Fessler said. That type of demeanor is one of the reason’s Fessler selected Jon Amones to be his second in command at the district’s junior high where the two work with seventh- and eighth-grade students and staff.
“He’s calm and he exudes leadership,” Fessler said. “You can tell he’s a leader and he’s done it before.”
Amones says he moved into the administrative side of education several years ago to impact more students and teachers.
“It boils down to the fact I love leading people and doing what is right for kids,” Amones said. “You want to impact both staff and students towards being good people making good decisions.”
Amones has an impressive resume in school administration. After working 17 years in the Warren Township school district as an educator and administrator as well as working in athletics, he went to the Hamilton South Eastern school district for three years before going to the Perry Township school district for four years.
He’d been looking to come to the Southern Hancock school district for years because he and his family live in New Palestine.
“It was great getting that opportunity to come home,” Amones said. “We know so many people here and our kids went through and are going through the system her,e so being a part of it now is great.”
Amones is the husband of last year’s Southern Hancock Educator of the Year, Erin Amones. Due to her husband taking the job with NPJHS, Erin Amones, who used to work at NPJHS, switched over to New Palestine High School to help resource and special education students who are in the general population.
“This is my first time teaching at the high school level and after a few short days, I’m loving every minute of it,” Erin Amones said. “I have truly loved each teaching assignment I’ve had.”
She admits New Pal Junior High will always have a special place in her heart. She and her husband however both noted they are grateful to be in the same district with their two youngest daughters.
“This decision works out best for our family as a whole and for me it means less of a commute and because of my wife working here for so long, I was already familiar with most of the staff here at the junior high,” Jon Amones said. “We know this is an awesome place to be, and the opportunity to come home was most appealing.”
For Fessler, he said it’s been great having a new person in the building with a fresh set of eyes and whole new perspective to help the staff and students grow.
“We’re off to a great start this year and he’s been a big part of that,” Fessler said.
Fessler noted there is a great deal of trust between himself and Jon Amones, knowing they are both going to react the same way in situations because they both have the same mindset of putting students and staff first.
“That relationship is actually coming along a lot quicker than I thought it might,” Fessler said. “We’ve meshed very well in my opinion and the staff is happy so I feel like we got the right guy.”
Fessler also likes the fact his second in command is well liked by the students and said it’s because he takes the time to get to know them and is pretty good at making small talk.
For Jon Amones, he’s kind of amazed he gets a paycheck to do what he loves most and he’s certain he was meant to be in education.
“For some people, there are just things they are meant to do, and for me and Erin, who I think I can speak for a little bit, we are meant to be here in this district for the sake of helping and impacting kids and the staff,” he said. “I know I feel like this is my purpose and I don’t ever say I’m going to work, I say I’m going to school.”
Jon Amones loves being able to go into the community to church and the store, being out with his wife who he said always knows everyone and now he’s looking forward to that same type of community relationship.
“We were in church last week and I said, ‘I get it now, we’re connected to so many people here that I see,’” he said. “It’s all about those connections.”
The long-term goal in working with Fessler is to create a special atmosphere at NPJHS, to make students and staff feel like they are in a safe, creative and special space.
“For me that’s all based on the relationships you build,” he said. “We’re off to a great start in doing that.”
