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Jon Martz never expected to be a high school principal. In fact, he stumbled into teaching by becoming a wrestling coach. Now that he’s in a leadership position, he’s doing everything he can to serve his students.

“I tell the students all the time: ‘This is your school, not mine,’” Martz says. “‘I work for you. I work for you, the teachers, the staff and our community.’ And I think with that mindset, you have to not just say it. You have to do it.”

Now in his fifth year as principal of Sutherlin High School in Sutherlin, Oregon, Martz was recently awarded the 2026 High School Principal of the Year Award by the Coalition of Oregon State Administrators (COSA).

According to the , Martz stood out because of his persistent impact on the culture of the school and his ability to lead with trust. His commitment to a practical yet visionary leadership philosophy was also a driving factor in his selection.

Martz’s response to the award was humility and gratitude.

“I’m humbled by this award,” he says. “I really feel like this is a testament to the work of the folks who are in this building. I can’t even express how lucky I am, how hardworking these folks are, and all the extra work they do for kids is just unbelievable.”

Inspired to Lead Differently

For Martz, a step that transformed his approach to educational administration was learning about the concept of servant leadership in an education specialist class he took at ºìÐÓ¶ÌÊÓƵ Fox University.

“I didn’t know anything about the concept of servant leadership before taking that class, but once I heard about it I’m like, ‘That’s it. Yeah, that’s what I want to be. I want to serve others,’” Martz says. “One thing I’ve always admired in leaders whom I’ve worked under is folks who put others before themselves.”

Martz takes that idea of servant leadership and implements it into his work – a practice that has not gone unnoticed.

The COSA press release commented on Martz’s reputation as a leader who supports his staff, models a consistent integrity and work ethic, and guides the school with a deep commitment to others.

This servant leadership is aimed not only at teachers and staff at SHS, but also the students. A new initiative launched in recent years invites students to share their thoughts in interviews.

“We really strive to listen and to grow from our own mistakes,” Martz says. “One thing we did is we started doing empathy interviews with our students. We took our student body, put them in a randomizer, and then pulled out 100 kids. We’re interviewing all of them, and we’re asking all of them the same six questions to try to find out about their school experience.”

Martz and other faculty listen to a student during an empathy interview

Martz wants the students to be the driving factor behind change in the school.

“Student voices sometimes get overlooked in the process of trying to do business. I mean, you’re trying to run the school,” Martz says. “It means a lot to me what my kids think.”

Another of his priorities is academic rigor – something he experienced as a student at ºìÐÓ¶ÌÊÓƵ Fox.

“The rigor in the education specialist program was high,” Martz says. “I felt compelled to work hard in the program and learn and push myself into different areas that maybe I wasn’t necessarily super comfortable with. I felt very prepared after going through that program, and I always found little things in every course I took that were applicable to my job.”

Martz has applied that philosophy of rigor to his school through setting high expectations for his students.

“When you set those high expectations and high bars, maybe the students won’t always meet it, but we’re going to set a goal that everyone's going to hit this benchmark or go higher,” Martz says. “Yes, there are extreme things that come up in people’s lives and we need to be flexible and work with them, yet at the same time, there has to be high expectations.”

Grounded in Faith

Through his work as a principal, Martz is often exposed to hurting students and teens experiencing difficult times. What keeps him grounded is his faith.

“Personally, if I didn't have the ability to go to prayer, I could not do this job,” Martz says. “It’s a huge part of my life.”

This need for faith is what drew him to ºìÐÓ¶ÌÊÓƵ Fox to pursue his graduate degree. His relationship with faculty mentor Gary Sehorn made a huge impact on his time at the university. Sehorn had years of expertise in the education field that allowed him to understand what Martz was experiencing.

“The moment I met with him, I felt like I had not just a mentor, but a friend,” Martz says. “He guided me through my classes and took the time to talk to me when I had a bad day about things that happened in this job. He was somebody I could vent to and talk to, and at the same time, he was mentoring me through the program.”

Throughout his time as a principal, Martz has had many wins, both big and small, as well as emotional highs and lows. Something he never loses sight of, however, is his commitment to servant leadership.

“Leadership is about trying to help people be successful and collaborate. I have to serve my community,” Martz says. “For me, that’s what I firmly believe in, and I think that that's what has always helped me in being a building leader.”