School Leadership

Ms. Ruhsam was born and raised in Appleton where she attended Huntley and Ferber Elementary, Einstein Middle, and Appleton North High School. She went on to Winona State University where she played four years of soccer and earned a degree in K-12 Physical Education with Adaptive P.E. and a coaching minor. Upon return to the Fox Valley, she attended UW - Oshkosh to obtain a teaching license in Special Education and eventually earned a Masters Degree in Special Education, Educational Leadership, and Curriculum and Instruction.

She began her teaching career in the Appleton Area School District teaching students with Emotional and Behavioral Disabilities at Roosevelt (now Kaleidoscope) Middle School in 2007. She then moved over to Appleton West where she spent the majority of her teaching career. From there Ms. Ruhsam went on to teach cross-categorical special education at Kimberly High School for 2 years and most recently had been an Assistant Principal at Fond du Lac High School for the last 3 years. Ms. Ruhsam has always taken great pride in her ability to advocate for underserved and traditionally marginalized populations of students. She has a passion for classroom practices to create a more equitable learning environment for all students to be able to achieve at high levels.

She has served on various leadership teams focusing on equity, community relationships, and student behavior and looks forward to the success, challenges, and opportunities for growth that the new school year will bring in her first year at Wilson Middle School.

When she is not at school, you can usually find Ms. Ruhsam at a sporting event either watching her children or coaching. In her free time, she continues to enjoy playing soccer, running, and doing yoga. She currently lives in Appleton with her husband Adam and three children Carson, Gretta, and Reagan who all attend Appleton Area Schools. 

Jared Stanley is an Associate Principal at Wilson Middle School. He was born and raised in Appleton and attended Wilson and West. He earned his undergrad degree in Broadfield Social Studies and Secondary Education at UW-Oshkosh, and his master's degree in Adolescent Literacy through Concordia University.

He spent time teaching at Washington Junior High in Manitowoc before moving to Appleton West High School to teach social studies. He eventually took over the Alternative Education program and worked to help students who had fallen behind to find relevance in school and earn their diploma. In 2020, he transitioned out to Rawhide Youth Services in New London where he worked with at-risk youth from around the state.

Jared believes that all kids belong in the Wilson community and are capable of learning and growing. He views families as partners in education, and believes it takes our whole community working together to set up young people for success both today and in the future.  

Jared lives with his wife and four young boys nearby Wilson. When he is not at school, Jared coaches his boys' baseball teams and spends time outdoors. He is excited to be back working in his home community and is looking forward to building relationships with and supporting students at Wilson!