First-year teacher Jayden Stietz, a former Blackhawk Warrior, is now a Chieftain. Stietz graduated from Blackhawk in 2019. He then furthered his education at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville. While in college he student taught in Cuba City. After graduating from UWP in 2024, he had the challenge of finding a job. He applied to the following schools: Potosi, Seneca, McFarland, and Montello, and he figured Potosi was the best choice for him.
Mr. Stietz was encouraged to be a teacher by his former high school teachers in different ways. Each teacher showed him some things he did and didn't want to do while teaching. One of his teachers, whom he looked up to, would give every student a nickname.
Before coming to Potosi he saw the school as having “good sports programs and good organizations.” Growing up at a rival school, he never thought he would become a Chieftain. But, during college, he became friends with some Potosi alumni and he planned to be in a rural district not too far from home, so Potosi was a good match for him.
“My goal as a teacher is to give my students good foundational knowledge which they can continuously build upon in the future, both inside and outside of my classroom.” Stietz says his goal is to set up a safe, positive, and inclusive learning environment in his classroom. “My goal is to give students essential life skills they will use for the rest of their lives.”
In high school, he played football, basketball, and baseball. Blackhawk went to state in football in his junior and senior years, losing in 2017 and winning in 2018. Mr. Stietz stated he talked to Coach Siegert over the summer to see if he could help coach the PC team. He realized that he would have limited time due to being a new teacher. Stietz did talk about possibly helping with spring sports if the opportunity presented itself.