Guidance Counselor John Bly retires after more than 30 years in the district

Guidance counselor John Bly has worked in the Greendale School District for many years at both the elementary, middle and high school levels and at the end of this year he will retire and move on to different aspirations. 

“I will miss the people the most; they are what makes the job interesting. Watching kids go from lost freshmen to confident seniors is a great part of the job I will miss,” Bly said. 

Bly has lifted so many spirits in this high school setting, including both students and other staff members. “He’s the jokester in the Guidance Office, always ready to help students any way he can. I’ll miss his jovial personality and making fun of him,” guidance counselor Christopher Muench said. 

Muench has worked with Bly since 1999 and he said, “20 years goes by faster than you could ever believe.”

Bly mentions that his favorite parts of being a guidance counselor were being able to serve the students and see the impact that he had on future generations. Even though there were so many parts he liked of this job, there were things that were difficult for him. “[It’s hard] watching kids make poor decisions and suffer needlessly because of them…to see kids be limited by the choices of other people who negatively impact their futures,” he said. 

He has noticed some changes over the past few years. “More students are having more struggles than in the past,” Bly said.

 From the beginning of working in the district until now, he explains how his job is “more difficult (but more necessary) than ever.” He sympathizes with the students. “[We have such an] increasingly complex society,” he said, “some is technology related, and some is because of misguided parenting that believed kids should never have to struggle.”

Although done working at Greendale, Bly will continue working elsewhere. He plans to teach graduate school at Mount Mary University to help train the next counselors. Alongside his home remodeling business, he will also continue to seek volunteer opportunities. “[I am looking into] helping rehabilitate homes in the city of Milwaukee and addressing racial reconciliation issues,” he said.

Besides working, Bly has many grandkids that he’ll be spending a ton of his time with; maybe most of his time. “Best of all, I have 5 small humans who call me Papa and I intend to spoil [them] rotten,” he said.  

As Bly enters this brand new chapter of his life, he reflects back on his time at GHS. “All in all, I think it was a good run, and I’m happy to be leaving while I still can do the job well and look forward to new adventures,” he said.