THIS SECTION WILL BE CONTINUALLY UPDATED
Childhood
John Patzwald grew up in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Education
BA - Gustavus Adolphus College (Minneapolis, MN)
Masters, Education - Trinity University (San Antonio, TX)
PhD, Education - Iowa State University (Ames, IA)
Athletic Accomplishments
John B. Patzwald (class of '56) lettered four years in basketball. The 5'9" guard was named All-Conference in '54, '55, and '56. He was also named to the 2nd team NAIA All-America in 1954 and the NAIA All-America first team in 1955, as well as being named to numerous All-Tournament teams. The '53 team finished second in the conference and followed up that performance with conference championships in '54, '55, and '56. The latter three teams were Region 13 representatives in the NAIA Kansas City tournaments where they went to the quarterfinals in '55 and '56.
John was known for his all-around play because he was an outstanding dribbler with great defensive ability while also maintaining a scoring average of 12.8 per game. He was recipient of the Sponberg basketball award in '56; John was also a regular baseball outfielder on the '53 and '54 teams.
He was drafted by the Minneapolis Lakers with the 86th overall pick in 1956. Believe it or not, he was drafted before Elgin Baylor!
In 1981, he was elected to the Gustavus Athletic Hall of Fame.
Following graduation he taught for one year in Monticello before spending the next two years with the U.S. Army at Ft. Sam Houston in San Antonio. In 1959 he was selected as the Most Valuable Player of the 4th Army Team.
Professional Career
Following graduation, from Gustavus, he taught for one year in Monticello before spending the next two years with the U.S. Army at Ft. Sam Houston in San Antonio.
In 1959 he was selected as the Most Valuable Player of the 4th Army Team. He then taught in Cleveland, Faribault, and Wells before becoming assistant principal at Mason City High School in 1964. He then served as principal at Mason City High from 1967-76.
In 1976, John was moved to the Chicago area to become Associate Superintendent for New Trier Township Schools in Winnetka/Northfield, Illinois. In 1981, he helped manage the consolidation of the East and West schools into a single entity.
After New Trier, John served as Superintendent of these school districts:
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Casa Grande School District (Arizona)
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Dekalb School District (Illinois)
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Lyons Township High School (Illinois)
Forest Hills School District
In 1992, John became Superintendent of Forest Hills School District in Cincinnati, Ohio, a position he held until his retirement in 2010. He had a lasting impact in this role.
FHSD, under the guidance of Dr. Patzwald, received the State of Ohio’s highest rating of “Excellent” for seven consecutive years. The motto he developed and lived by, “Success for All Students,” is still a guiding principle of our district to this day.
Awards & Recognition
In 1969 he was selected by the State of Iowa Jaycees for its annual Outstanding Young Educator Award