Nativity Jesuit Academy Sees Continued Growth from Within

Nativity Jesuit Academy is pleased to announce that our current Director of Operations, Jon Nowak, will be stepping into a new role as School Principal. Nowak brings a wealth of experience in education and academic leadership into this role. “Over the past several years Nativity has grown from an all-boy middle school to a full K4-8 academy. Now it is exciting to see leadership growth from within as Nowak will join recent principal and incoming president Vanessa Solis in leading this next chapter for the school,” remarks Andrea Scrobel, Nativity’s Board Vice Chair and Senior Manager of Projects for JLL. “It is a testament to the high caliber, mission-driven leaders who serve at Nativity.”

Nowak has served the school well over the past three years in the Director of Operations role. He has managed our school expansion and renovation, improved school safety, provided key leadership around the challenges of the pandemic all while serving the daily needs of Nativity students and teachers.

Nowak has the heart of a teacher and that is where he began his career. Nowak has his undergraduate degree in English from UW-Madison and received his teaching certification from Teach for America. He taught eighth grade mathematics, algebra and social studies in an urban charter school in New Orleans before returning to southeastern Wisconsin to serve as Director of Operations at another Milwaukee Choice school.

Nowak completed his MBA in Educational Leadership from the Milwaukee School of Engineering. While studying at MSOE, Nowak was one of fourteen individuals selected to be a Woodrow Wilson Fellow, where he participated in a program which blended clinical practice in school with innovative business school coursework to enable graduates to guide schools in a changing education environment.

“It has been an honor to help expand and grow not only our enrollment and building over the years, but also our mission,” says Nowak. “As we have grown, I found myself missing the level of interaction with students and parents that I previously had as a teacher. As principal, I look forward to supporting our incredible faculty as we continue to meet the ever-changing needs of our students and families.”

“I am excited to work closely with Jon in the next school year. I admire the many ways that Jon helped keep our students safe and learning during the challenges of the pandemic. During the last year, he has set up systems to open our school building again, leading to over 93% of students learning in-person for four days a week,” says incoming President Vanessa Solis. “I know that Jon’s intentionality and care, alongside the wealth of experiences he brings, will help us to build on Nativity’s success into the future. I can’t wait to see what together we accomplish for our students and their families.”

About Nativity Jesuit Academy:

Located on the Southside of Milwaukee, Nativity Jesuit Academy is a K4-8 co-ed Catholic, Jesuit, urban school serving young men and women. For the past 27 years, Nativity has worked in partnership with families to prepare students for lives of Christian leadership and service. Nativity Jesuit Academy serves 258 K4-8th graders. 100% of Nativity students are Latino and 97% of our students qualify for the Choice program.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.