Jordan Lefler has jumped into the Oakdale Joint Unified School District administration pool with both feet and he couldn’t be happier.

The recently appointed Vice Principal of Oakdale Junior High School is getting accustomed to his new “office job,” following 11 years in the classroom as a special education teacher.

“Oakdale’s always played a big part in my life,” Lefler shared. “I was fortunate to get on here at the high school, a few years ago. There was an opening. I went for it and I fell in love with Oakdale.”

Lefler’s previous stint with OJUSD found him teaching special education at Oakdale High School and he also has been working with the OHS wrestling program the past two years. And while he loved everything about his responsibilities at OHS, something about the opportunity at OJHS just appealed to him.

So, in late spring, as the school year came to a close, Lefler reached out to the District Office expressing an interest and if he would be a viable candidate. Learning he could indeed apply as an ‘intern’ and complete his administrative credential while working under this status, he took the leap.

One problem, he’d already planned a trip overseas, but so as not to derail those plans, OJUSD made arrangements with the then-high school teacher to do his interview via Zoom call while he was in Rome.

“I really thought I blew it,” he said of the remote Zoom call, “because the connection kept cutting out. We just had to make the phone call and it rattled me a little bit.”

Much to his surprise, upon his return he was invited to the OJHS campus to further speak with Principal Jeff Aprile.

“I matched up pretty well, with how he wants to run things,” Lefler said of meeting with Aprile in late July. By the end of the meeting, the offer was his and the pivot from OHS teacher to OJHS Vice Principal was in full effect.

“It’s been a change of pace, for sure,” he said of the transition. “Being in the classroom for so many years, being on that set bell schedule. Trying to plan, reset, plan and teach to now; it’s just a completely different pace.”

It’s a pace which he has embraced, additionally sharing his appreciation for the veteran administrative staff and all they have to offer for the novice.

Of the challenges he’s experienced thus far as VP, the one of disciplinary action and when and how to apply it would be at the top of his learning curve. Lefler continues to immerse himself in learning the various areas of the Code of Conduct and the Ed Codes for appropriate behaviors.

“Trying to determine which route we’re going and what certain behaviors qualify and then assigning the correct discipline for that,” he said. “It’s a lot larger than I was expecting, but I feel like I’m doing okay with it. Jeff has been amazing. He knows all of those books by heart.”

As the new VP is settling in and finding his way, he notes his experience with special education as helpful in his current role. Acknowledging the difference in maturity from the high school to the junior high, as well as the seriousness in which class time is taken.

“It’s been a great experience here and I just want to continue my career here,” he shared of working for OJUSD. “For years I was looking for home and I think I finally found it, in Oakdale.”

As a Waterford High alum, Lefler enjoys the tightness of community, as well as the familiarity with students. He said often times knowing a student’s parent or family member fosters a bond which helps with student relationships.

“I don’t know, it just feels like home and I love it,” Lefler said of his place now within the district. “And I feel accepted. When I came in, it felt very accepting and inviting.”