{"id":6537,"date":"2020-02-28T12:07:26","date_gmt":"2020-02-28T17:07:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/floridanewsline.com\/Clone2\/?p=6537"},"modified":"2020-02-28T12:07:26","modified_gmt":"2020-02-28T17:07:26","slug":"get-to-know-jay-willets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/floridanewsline.com\/Clone2\/creekline-st-johns\/get-to-know-jay-willets\/","title":{"rendered":"Get to Know \u2026 Jay Willets"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Martie Thompson<\/span>
\n<\/span>editor@floridanewsline.com<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Pacetti Bay Middle School Principal Jay Willets is one of the few who have led elementary, middle and high schools in St. Johns County during his 27 year career with the school district. Originally from Umatilla, a small town in Central Florida, he said teaching was in his blood \u2014 his father was a teacher. After high school, he attended Flagler College, where he was on the basketball team. He earned two bachelor\u2019s degrees, one in elementary education and one in specific learning disabilities. Since \u201cthe fishing here was too good to leave,\u201d he began his career teaching students with learning disabilities at Switzerland Point Middle School in 1993. He went on to teach at St. Augustine High School, and after earning his masters in educational leadership at the University of North Florida, went on to become the assistant principal at the Evelyn B. Hamblen Center. Next, a principalship over all of the county\u2019s alternative schools and prisons was followed by the honor of opening the St. Johns Technical High School on the campus ot First Coast Technical College in 2005. He then served seven years at Crookshank Elementary before coming to Pacetti Bay six years ago. Willets\u2019 wife of 22 years is Sonja and they have two teenage daughters.<\/span><\/p>\n

Q: You started out working with students with learning disabilities and then alternative education before moving on to more traditional principalships. Can you comment on this career path?<\/b>
\n<\/span>A: I gravitated towards alternative education because in the classroom I was used to working with students with learning disabilities and I was used to digging in to help the whole child. I like to make a difference and support kids in ways to make them feel successful \u2014 not only kids who are struggling, but also those who need to be pushed. I like to find the unique pathways for each one of my kids.<\/span><\/p>\n

Q: What do you think is the most important part of your job?<\/b>
\n<\/span>A: I think it is important to understand that we\u2019re working with children and each has unique needs. In our county, we see such massive growth. What I\u2019m constantly seeking is to make the large environment smaller. How do we ensure that a student is not just a number? One thing we created at Pacetti Bay is the \u201cI Team,\u201d whereby a team of teachers can focus on just their approximately 120 students that they support. For example, in sixth grade, we have approximately 400 kids and we have three teams of different subject matter teachers. This smaller learning community lets kids feel like they\u2019re part of a specific learning environment \u2014 with teachers focused just on them.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Q: What do you enjoy most about your job?<\/b>
\n<\/span>A: I just love being around kids. I like watching them grow. Kind of like a start of the year beginning band concert, the beginning of a school year is chaotic and loud, but you can recognize the growth at the end of the year \u2014 like when the beginning band comes together and makes a beautiful sound. I like to watch learning happen every day. And no two days are alike.<\/span><\/p>\n

I also enjoy being a part of this community. Parents have prepared their students and appreciate what\u2019s happening with their child\u2019s education. The value that is placed on education is in the forefront of this community.<\/span><\/p>\n

Q: What do you like to do in your spare time?<\/b>
\n<\/span>A: I\u2019m a fisherman at heart and I love to go inshore fishing as much as I can. I also enjoying camping with my family. We always go somewhere that I can fish and near some significant historical site.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Q: If you could be any superhero, who would you be?<\/b>
\n<\/span>A: I\u2019d be Batman. Regardless of what he is facing, he has a tool belt with tools to use in the right situation. Just like being a principal and having to use the right tool for the job.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Photo courtesy Jay Willets<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Jay Willets<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Martie Thompson editor@floridanewsline.com Pacetti Bay Middle School Principal Jay Willets is one of the few who have led elementary, middle and high schools in St. Johns County during his 27 year career with the school district. Originally from Umatilla, a small town in Central Florida, he said teaching was in his blood \u2014 his […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6499,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[10],"class_list":{"0":"post-6537","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-creekline-st-johns","8":"tag-get-to-know"},"yoast_head":"\nGet to Know \u2026 Jay Willets - Florida NewsLine<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"CreekLineBy Martie Thompson editor@floridanewsline.com Pacetti Bay Middle School Principal Jay Willets is one of the few who have led elementary, middle and high\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/floridanewsline.com\/Clone2\/creekline-st-johns\/get-to-know-jay-willets\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Get to Know \u2026 Jay Willets - 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