The end of the 2024–25 school year signals a bittersweet ending for Assistant Principal Jenny Johnson. After 31 years of working, teaching, and coaching at EHS, Johnson is retiring.
Johnson was introduced to Edina Public Schools during her student teaching years while earning her Masters degree from the University of St. Thomas. Johnson was also coaching Junior Varsity Girls’ Basketball for Edina at the time, and when her term came to an end, she didn’t want to say goodbye to all the students she had met. “I was the student teacher that cried when it was over. I loved every second of it, and I loved being in Edina, and because I was coaching, I knew kids in a different way, and everything about it was just where I wanted to be,” Johnson said.
Shortly after she finished student teaching, Johnson began teaching math at EHS before moving on to become the Dean of Students, Activities Director, and finally an Assistant Principal. Johnson was initially hesitant about leaving teaching and stepping into a new role, but ultimately had no regrets about taking on the challenge of her new positions. “I just feel super lucky because the timing of [jobs] just seemed to work out all the time. I was okay with being the Activities Director, but I didn’t love it, and thankfully, the [Assistant Principal] job was available, or I would have ended up in a different district,” she said.
Regardless of Johnson’s position at EHS, building personal relationships with students and their families has been imperative to her. “When I was a teacher and a coach, one of my favorite things was when a player on the team was also in my classroom because then you just had this unique relationship. You know them on the basketball court, you know them as a student, and then you know their family really well, and it was just super fun,” she said.
Johnson is looking forward to the freedom that retirement affords. “I feel like I’m doing the same old cliche of Minnesotans, but I’m going to retire at the cabin and just be outside and not set an alarm,” she said. “There’s only two times in your life where you’re grown and where you have this freedom. One is when you graduate from college… and the next time is when you retire.”
This piece was originally published in Zephyrus’ print edition on May 20, 2025