LifeChanger of the Year Nominee Profile

Justin Heinold was nominated by his colleague, Angela Allen.

If you smile when you hear the name, 'Justin Heinold,' then you must have met him. Consider yourself lucky! Mr. Heinold came to New Prairie Middle School with contagious positivity and enthusiasm. As vice principal, he's responsible for discipline and working with students who need to make different life choices in order to reach their potential. At least, that is how he would describe it.

Mr. Heinold spends most of his days working with middle school students who struggle with fitting into the "norms" of expected school behaviors. It can be unsettling when a student has behavioral challenges, but Mr. Heinold never passes judgment on these students. Instead, he uses these instances as teachable moments that are handled with compassion, genuine care, and hope.

"My classroom sits directly across the hall from his office. Students usually enter his domain with scowls, frowns, and unhappiness," said Allen. "After meeting with students, most of them leave with smiles, heads held high, and a renewed spirit. HIs secret? He looks to help students stay out of trouble, and he guides them on how to make things right. Many students are used to a punitive process, not a restorative one. He leads from the top, teaching teachers on how to reform undesired behavior. Personally, I have mimicked his philosophy in my classroom. I cannot put into words how it has transformed the entire learning environment."

"Today, I see missing assignments, verbal outbursts, and physical aggression as opportunities to reach students and offer guidance on how to get to the root of the problem," said Allen. "It's easy to forget that students carry many pounds of emotional baggage when I am expected to ensure learning targets are met. Justin helps us reach out and have genuine conversations with students. These conversations leads to deeper understanding between student and teacher, which in turn, can lead to better classroom performance. My relationships with students have been one of my strengths as a teacher. Because of working with Mr. Heinold, my relationships are even stronger and more effective. I get the privilege of watching personal failures turn into unbelievable successes."

This is not to stay students are not held accountable. Consequences are used to teach a specific lesson. Consequences are given in kindness and reasoning. Mr. Heinold has modeled that giving up on troubled students simply leaves them troubled. Through constantly reshaping, reworking, and repeating life lessons, students can discover hope. The transformation of students has been nothing short of miraculous. His unwavering faith and positivity is contagious to all.

Many students who have been suspended, fail in coursework, or have no home support have now found refuge at school. Students who normally would use fists use words instead. Students who would skip school voluntarily stay after school to build community resources and projects. Many students who felt so sad and had given up on life, are now mentoring younger students in order to find purpose. Those who struggle academically and feel the sting of frequent failure look to find purpose by working with other school personnel to build small successes throughout the day. The transformation, with just one act of kindness at a time, has been life-changing for the students, school, and community-at-large.

The ironic part of all of this? Mr. Heinold's humility prohibits him from seeing how much of an impact he has on everyone he meets. He juggles it all: husband, father, mentor, educator, and friend. It is not unusual to see the smiles of his wife and children in the hallways. His lovely wife, a NICU nurse, has spent time with 8th graders interested in the career of nursing. His young children connect with middle school students on a regular basis!

"Personally, he has taught me how to have patience with struggling students," said Allen. "He has pushed me to be innovative and kind. He has pushed me to have faith in our students and in myself. This has been my most rewarding year of teaching, mostly due to his mentorship. I have developed programs inspired by his philosophies that are creating avenues for even the most troubled preteen/teenager. Just yesterday, a student expressed that school felt like a vacation from home problems. Here, at New Prairie Middle School, this child feels free to succeed and not feel the sting of home neglect and abuse. This is the culture Mr. Heinold builds."

Each Monday, Mr. Heinold sends out a positive email to all staff to help them gear up for the week! He pushes his team to be kind to one another, and he challenges them to bond together to find the support they need to be the best teachers they can be! He will do almost anything to bond with and make connections with both teachers and students: an impromptu basketball game in the gym, listening to students' concerns for hours, popping in a classroom to be blindfolded and complete an obstacle course to practice listening skills, mentoring students, creating individual goal charts, and so much more. Mr. Heinold is a LifeChanger!