Julie Nielsen. Wardrobe by Statement Boutique. Photo: Chris Emeott
South Washington County Schools superintendent shares what makes the district successful.
It takes a special kind of person to run a school district of more than 19,000 students, and Julie Nielsen fits that mold. As the top administrator of the sixth largest school district in the state, Nielsen is a true champion for South Washington County Schools (SoWashCo Schools) District 833 and public education. She has the passion and drive to make the school district grow and thrive. “I absolutely love what I do,” she says.
SoWashCo Schools is home to 16 elementary schools, four middle schools, three comprehensive high schools, an online high school, an alternative school, Early Childhood programs, young adult programming (18–22) and more. “Our staff provides programming from the point of a child being born, perhaps with a disability, all the way up to people getting their GEDs at age 80,” she says.
And while Nielsen is used to the large size of the district she has been with for 28 years, her roots start small.
Julie Nielsen visits with a community member this fall during a senior activities program at the District Program Center. Photos: SoWashCo Schools
Humble Beginnings
Growing up on a dairy farm in Fountain City, Wisconsin, a small town of less than 2,000 people, Nielsen was one of six children and one of 21 cousins who all went to school together. Everyone knew everyone by name, and it didn’t matter which side of the street you drove down. “I came from a tight-knit community,” she says.
After graduating high school, she attended Winona State University where she was presented with a plethora of opportunities through both athletics and academics—including playing women’s basketball for four years and serving as team captain. “I could not have asked for better teachers,” Nielsen says. She graduated with a degree in elementary physical education, developmentally adapted physical education and a coaching licensure.
Next Chapters
With her educational journey taking shape, Nielsen’s next step was student teaching. She had a choice: Teach in a small town like the one she grew up in or go to Grey Cloud Elementary within SoWashCo Schools. “I was a little uncomfortable, but I wanted to hit the big city and see what it was all about,” she says.
Nielsen’s trajectory continued upward. After student teaching at Grey Cloud Elementary and Oltman Junior High, she was hired as a girls’ basketball coach at Park High School and Woodbury High School and a physical education specialist at Middleton Elementary, where she eventually moved into an assistant principal role.
From left to right: Holly Hins, Julie Nielsen, Sara Hjelmeland, Katie Moeller and Kristin Esboldt during the 2023–24 Staff Welcome Back. Nielsen worked closely with these teachers while she was the principal at Middleton Elementary School.
Nielsen admits that, due to her love of sports and being an athlete, she always saw herself as an athletic director at the university level. That plan changed once she got into the schools and loved working with younger students. She went on to receive a master’s degree and administrative licensure (principal and superintendent) from St. Mary’s University of Minnesota in Winona.
Between 2001 and 2005, Nielsen left the district, serving as principal at Northfield County Schools. “I felt it was time to move on, and there were no principal openings at [SoWashCo Schools] at the time,” she says.
While she admits it was unfortunate to be leaving the district that shaped her, going to Northfield was a fork in the road that Nielsen says really changed her as a leader. “I got to do everything except really drive the school bus,” she says. “There were so many different roles to play as a principal.”
When a principal position became available at Middleton Elementary, Nielsen returned to SoWashCo Schools and served in that role for eight years. She then became an assistant superintendent for six years prior to her current role, which she has held since September 2020. “I really had a natural progression in my journey, which I’m grateful for,” Nielsen says.
From left to right: Assistant superintendent Kristine Schaefer, Julie Nielsen, East Ridge High School (ERHS) principal James Smokrovich, assistant superintendents Kelly Jansen and Tyrone Brookins at the ERHS 2023 graduation ceremony.
Growth Mode
Spending three decades in the district, Nielsen has seen it experience tremendous growth from 11,500 students during her student teaching days to more than the 19,000 today. What makes the district stand out as desirable for families?
Remember, early on in Nielsen’s story, she shared about her roots in a tight-knit community where everyone knows everyone by name. Well, it’s a practice she works to instill in SoWashCo Schools’ culture. Knowing someone by name, as well as their family and community connections, is important to Nielsen and something she encourages in district staff.
“In so many ways, if we can get to know our students, our staff and the people who surround us … It gives us a higher level of compassion and empathy,” Nielsen says. “I think, in our world, those are two traits and qualities we can use more of. Many times, if I connect with someone and share a story, I will remember who they are because they’re meaningful to me.”
SoWashCo Schools Youth Ambassadors with Julie Nielsen, Kristine Schaefer, Kelly Jansen and Tyrone Brookins.
The district’s annual theme for the 2024–25 school year is: Be Amazing! Building Our Story. When people take the time to pause, listen and understand someone’s story—even among the chaos—Nielsen says it allows them to recognize the unique outlook of each person, their joys and their sorrows.
“That theme was one [that] our students voiced, and we really believe in the power of our student voices,” Nielsen says. “We want to make sure our schools take time to share stories of students from other cultures. We want to make sure that whatever we’re doing is reflective of the students we’re serving.”
In addition, the theme also touches on two areas of focus: building and story. Building applies to the $200 million in construction happening within the district over the next three years. Construction includes remodels, additions and increased safety measures at school entrances. Story focuses on literacy and the intense focus on training all staff to be teachers of literacy. Nielsen says statewide and nationwide literacy scores need additional work. SoWashCo Schools staff members are engaged in professional development and professional learning around the science of reading.
“That is for elementary, middle and high school teachers,” Nielsen says. “We have a lot of work to do with literacy, and we’ll continue to focus on that.”
After the Bell Rings
At the end of the day, after the bell rings for the final time, who is Nielsen when she flips the lights off in her office? She says most of her day actually happens before school. She prides herself in getting up at 4:10 a.m., five days a week, to work out at 5 a.m. at Orange Theory Fitness.
“I work out with parents, people in the community, and many times they don’t know who I am,” Nielsen says with a laugh. “In the way of fitness, being active and fit provides me a therapy session. I believe that movement provides me what I need for the day.”
Julie Nielsen. Photo: Chris Emeott
Nielsen says she also enjoys spending time with her husband, Greg, and two grown sons, Parker, who is completing his extended degree in nursing, and Keegan, a fifth grade teacher.
South Washington County Schools
7362 E. Point Douglas Road S., Cottage Grove; 651.425.6300
Facebook: South Washington County Schools
Instagram: @sowashcoschools
