Most mornings, you can find magnet coordinator Joseph Jelen at the main entrance, excitedly greeting students with his iconic coffee mug. Whether he offers a quick smile or some encouraging words before first period, he brings an energy that is unrivaled.

Mr. Jelen was first inspired to enter the education field by his mother, who was an English teacher. “She taught high school English so I kind of knew what teaching would be like and working in high school would be like,” Mr. Jelen said. Additionally, his own experiences pushed him to look for work at high schools. “I really loved high school. I had fun,” Mr. Jelen said. “I can remember ninth grade being terrifying and feeling overwhelmed. But I remember having teachers who you kind of established a rapport with and they made it more comfortable.” He said that finding classes that were interesting to him, joining SGA and taking part in different clubs and organizations were all aspects that made his experience enjoyable.

Although highly passionate about education, Mr. Jelen did not always plan on working in this field. His earliest childhood career goals began in preschool, where he dreamed of being a mailman. As he entered elementary school, his dreams shifted to being a paramedic. In high school he wanted to be a lobbyist. In college, he took his first job working as a paralegal. “I did not enjoy that,” Mr. Jelen said. He had coached a swim team when he was younger, and had already known that working with kids was enjoyable for him. That helped push him into the educational field. “I think that I had cool high school teachers too,” he said. “I really enjoyed learning from them. 
They motivated me. They sparked kind of that love of learning and that’s something that I hope to be able to pass on.”

Mr. Jelen earned his undergraduate degree in political science as well as his master’s degree in secondary education and social studies at the University of Maryland. He then began his career as a teacher at Northwood high school, where he taught philosophy, world history, U.S. History and government. From there, he also taught at Springbrook High School, at Connecticut schools in Fairfield and Westport and then at Paint Branch High School.  Then, from 2010 to 2013, he served as an educational consultant at the Connecticut State Department of Education on their social studies standards.  When he returned to MCPS, he was hired as a staff development teacher. This gave him the leadership experience needed to apply for his job now as magnet coordinator.

Today, Mr. Jelen has been working at RM for the past nine years. “I enjoy working at the high school level where I really love the curriculum,” Mr. Jelen said. “I enjoy working with high school students because it’s this last bridge before adulthood, which is kind of a neat bridge to watch happen from middle school, to watch students over the years develop into really polished young adults.”

Supporting teachers, students, the International Baccalaureate program, supervising security, supervising the social studies department and organizing AP and IB testing are just some of Mr. Jelen’s duties here at this school. “What I love about the job is that it’s a little bit of everything,” Jelen said. He is also responsible for building the master schedule at this school. A school master schedule is a strategic blueprint mapping out the entire school day, including the duration of classes, the time of the bells, the location of the classes, teacher assignments and student grouping. He says it is used as an organization tool for optimizing resources to meet educational roles and student needs.

Mr. Jelen starts off his day at the front of the school, greeting students and checking IDs. “It’s a nice way to start the day and see people,” Mr. Jelen said. From there his day consists of meetings with students and teachers and planning sessions. Another responsibility of his is to ensure all students are in class, and he works with the security team to make that happen. In addition, outside of the school day, Mr. Jelen often can be found attending after school student events, such as games or club competitions.

Much of Mr. Jelen’s work, as well as the other administrators, occurs behind the scenes. His job is one that consists of emails coming in any time of the day and problems that extend outside the timeframe of a nine to five. “It has an impact in the evening after work hours,” Mr. Jelen said. “Certainly you take work home, that has to happen.”

According to Mr. Jelen, time is the most challenging part of his work. “Finding time to be in support of students and teachers and to be a part of important conversations and to do planning, all of that is limited by the amount of time that I can dedicate to each of those,” he said.

An important responsibility of Mr. Jelen’s is overseeing hiring, which is a significant component in building up the RM community. He says that when hiring, there are many important traits to look for. “I think one of the important jobs that we have as administrators is the hiring,” Mr. Jelen said. “We sit on interview panels and… make sure that the people that serve students are the best possible people.”

Mr Jelen’s favorite aspect of his job is graduation and seeing where RM students end up. “I look to graduation day as kind of this cool culmination of seeing what students have invested their time and their energy into,” Mr. Jelen said. Graduation day allows him to see how his efforts have paid off. “Talking with students along the way, about what’s interesting, it’s neat to be able to try to solve problems for students, so that problems are just speed bumps—they’re not barriers to what they want to achieve,” he said.

Some of Mr. Jelen’s colleagues in the IB office on the second floor are Amanda Trivers, the Diploma Program coordinator and Samantha Britch, the IB Secretary. “I think I’m really lucky to work with a staff that I have a great respect for,” Mr. Jelen said. His colleagues reciprocate the sentiment, noting the positive energy that he emits throughout their workspace. “He cares a lot about kids, he’s very easy to work with, he’s very personable. He’s been doing this a long time so he’s very knowledgeable in what he’s doing,” Ms. Trivers said. Alongside Ms. Trivers, Ms. Britch monitors the logistics, as well as helping him stay organized. “Him and I work very closely to help make sure some of these important aspects of his job are as well executed as we need them to be,” Ms. Britch said.

Mr. Jelen’s warmth and friendliness are noted by many throughout the RM community. “I think Mr. Jelen is really easy to work with. He’s someone that is able to communicate openly,” Ms. Britch said. “Another great thing about him is that he’s very student focused… He’s always thinking of the student’s best interest and that’s always pleasurable because I have the same philosophy of why we’re here in education.”

“He’s always been pretty happy to help and welcoming if we ever have a problem with testing, or if we have a problem with one of our courses,” junior Saesha Dhote said.

Mr. Jelen believes that RM is truly a stand-out school. RM is home to the IB county-wide magnet program, which was established in 1987 as the first-ever International Baccalaureate program in the county. According to the IBO, the goal of the interdisciplinary curriculum is to develop “inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through education that builds intercultural understanding and respect.” “I love Richard Montgomery High School. It’s such a cool school in that it has students from everywhere and it has students going in lots and lots of different directions,” Mr. Jelen said. “I’m a believer in the International Baccalaureate education. The more that I learn and immerse myself in it, the more it makes sense for how we can kind of best serve students.”

IB graduates often form strong connections, having gone through a similar high school experience. “It fosters this community,” Mr. Jelen said.
”Beyond just RM, it’s neat to be a part of the worldwide IB alumni Network… You’re talking about a very, very small percentage of people who receive the special education in the world and you’re connected to them.” Mr. Jelen says that when he mentions that he works at Richard Montgomery to the people he runs into around the local area, many people share that they once attended the IB program. “They say that with a smile on their face, the say that they are proud and that they had a positive experience,” Mr. Jelen said. “So I hope to continue a program that keeps that positive energy going.”