Appel Retires as Horicon School District Superintendent

In June, Rich Appel concluded his successful career in education, retiring as the superintendent of the Horicon School District, a position he held for nine years.
While Appel may be remembered most for what he has done over the last nine years in the community, he has left a lasting impression on many, from Wisconsin to Iowa, where his career started.
Appel started teaching in Tipton, Iowa. He taught there for seven years as an elementary and middle school physical education and health teacher. He also coached varsity football and baseball, and different levels of basketball.
It was here that he found one of his mentors, the elementary school principal at the time, who, in addition to Appel’s father, who was a superintendent for 36 years at his high school in Eldora, Iowa, inspired him to pursue greater opportunities to create positive change in education.
Appel made the decision to return to the University of Iowa, where he received his undergraduate degree, to earn his Master’s degree.

At the same time, Appel had already begun his career in the United States Army. He completed a year and a half of military training before beginning his teaching career, attended airborne school, was in the infantry, and was then selected to go through officer candidate school in Fort Benning, Ga., Federal OCS, which Appel says was a “big life changer.”
He proceeded to climb the ranks within the military and retired as a Lieutenant Colonel, and would go on two deployments to Iraq and the northern horn of Africa.
As Appel wrapped up his Master’s program in 1995, he accepted a position as the elementary school principal in Chilton. He simultaneously served as the special education and transportation directors.
He was the elementary principal for 12 years before moving on to become the middle school principal for the next nine years.
In 2014, Appel was named middle school principal of the year. He commented on the award, saying, “The accolades of being principal of the year, it’s great to be recognized for something like that, but I wouldn’t say that’s probably one of my top five highlights.”
Other leadership opportunities that helped prepare Appel to be superintendent were being the president of the Association of Wisconsin School Administrators from 2007 to 2008 and the president of the Wisconsin School Music Association for two years.
In 2016, Appel moved to and accepted the position of superintendent here in Horicon.
Appel arrived at a critical time for the district as the board tasked him with “stopping the bleed,” referring to their open enrollment issue at the time.
“My first year, I really analyzed…things. I talked to a lot of people… I met with a lot of leaders in the community. I asked them, ‘What are you looking for? What’s going on?’ It…became evident to me that we needed to improve some physical structures. We also needed to revive the proud-to-be-a-Marshman feeling within the community and school,” said Appel. “I think there has always been a pride to be from Horicon, but I think we needed to improve our image and improve our messaging.”
Appel added, academics and scores also needed improving.
After assessing the Van Brunt building, it was determined that new construction would be the way to go. This led to the proposal of the referendum that passed in 2018 and allowed for the recreation of the former high school into one campus for all students, which was completed in 2020.
“I think this really changed the way our kids looked at how they were a Marshman, and our staff and it has improved [in] all areas, from academics to the retention of kids. That’s when our numbers started turning around. Our numbers have increased greatly since we’ve come to a new campus. We’ve retained more and more of our students that used to open enroll out, and we’ve had an increase in students who have chosen to come to Horicon,” Appel said. “Our staff retention is excellent… I’m the only person retiring this year… And for the last two years, we’ve been selected as [one of] the top 100 workplaces in Southeast Wisconsin.”
Appel understands people will most likely remember him for the part he played in creating the new campus, but said, “I hope that my legacy is more about my connection to kids and staff, and they know that I’m a caring man and tried to carry that over into the culture of our buildings.”
In addition to the 10 common sense rules Appel received from his father, a philosophy Appel learned from Marine General James Mattis, a former Secretary of Defense, and has tried to live by is “do no harm.”
“I’ve always kind of emphasized that to our staff and to our students in holding yourself accountable, through your behavior, through your actions,” said Appel. “We’ve really tried to do what’s best to always represent our school district and our community in the best way.”
He later shared, “I’m very proud of the way our kids act and handle themselves around others. They’re very empathetic and caring.”
Over the years, Appel has emphasized his faith in the future of today’s children.
“I think our kids are going to be outstanding adults. They will lead things differently. They will look at things differently. And that’s okay. Our country has to evolve a little bit that way. I think that they still understand and care for one another better than when I was in school,” Appel said. “It is going to be really good.”
Another thing Appel has full confidence in is Katie Schwartz, who has taken over as superintendent.
“She understands this community. She grew up here. She bleeds orange and black. She loves this school district. She loves the kids and the staff that’s here,” Appel said. “She’s going to do great things here.”
Schwartz will also be in good hands with the current Board of Education, which Appel praised, saying, “I want to mention just how appreciative I’ve been of our school board. They worked well together. They’re very student-focused [and] non-confrontational. They don’t waste time on management things. They allow their leaders… to lead… [and] make sure that [our] decision-making is in the best interest of the kids in the district. And they don’t micromanage and get into that…Ours has been so supportive, and the community has been pleased.”
Appel planned to share similar words of wisdom with Schwartz as his father did with him throughout his educational career, as well as her own set of common-sense rules, as she takes his place.
His main advice for Schwartz is to “Listen to people, include kids. Connect to kids, connect to your community.”
Appel continued, “Every family member wants the best for their kids. So, when they come in and they’re angry, they’re upset, try and listen, find out where that’s from. There’s got to be some fire behind that smoke.”
“Thirty-seven years ago, as a new teacher, you think you maybe don’t know anything, and then some things you think this is the way it’s going to be, and you learn to adjust and adapt so that you can connect to kids, families, and staff members because ultimately everybody wants to feel valued,” Appel concluded.
One way Appel tried to do this every day was by greeting students and parents as he performed his duty as crossing guard in the mornings.
“I think it’s important that I’m there,” Appel said. “They get to see me. They get to say hello… It’s just a way for me to check in with kids and stay connected, because in this role as a superintendent, you can become very disconnected, I think, if you allow yourself to be, and I’m proud that I never let myself be like that.”
Appel’s other memories throughout his career include coaching teams to state-level competition, directing elementary school musicals in Chilton, where participation grew from 30 to over 170 kids, seeing Horicon become a Blue Ribbon school, and watching the Marshmen make it to the fourth round of playoffs in football this fall while performing on Sword Field.
As a member and now officer of the Horicon American Legion Post 157, one other highlight of Appel’s career was starting the Veterans Day program and seeing the students connect with the veterans in their community.
“The partnership that we’ve had with the American Legion here and Pat Bulman and his group has really brought a bond, I think, from our kids and our veterans in town,” Appel said. “Our veterans program has only grown every year, and it has really been amazing to see.”
And while Appel and his wife, Tammy, who is also retiring from the Mayville School District, will remain in the area, saying “We love the people, we love the location, and this is our forever home,” and continue to be involved at the Legion, in their church, and with the Marshmen Foundation, the couple is ready to enjoy their time together.
Between future travel and enjoying their shared hobbies, Appel said, “We have five kids between us. We’re hoping to be able to spend some more time being available for them, because being in education, I missed a lot of my kids’ events, and you know, in the military, I’ve missed a lot of birthdays and a lot of things because I was deployed. And now, I’m done with owing time to everybody else. Now, it’s my time and Tammy’s time, and we’re gonna make ourselves available for kids and for each other.”