Faculty & Staff
HEADMASTER
Mr. Paloucek realized the possibilities of classical education in high school. A lifelong student of the violin, his first teaching experience came when he seized an opportunity to lead a string program at an independent Catholic school in Wauwatosa, WI. He became reacquainted with his high school headmaster, when he accepted a teaching position at the school he founded in Pewaukee, WI. Mr. Paloucek was teaching there when Providence Founders Jill Marshall and Mary Brennan visited in 2005. He taught a wide array of classes at both the middle and high school levels throughout his 25 year teaching career. He served as the Director of Religious Education at his parish in Sullivan, WI for twelve years. Mr. Paloucek has a BA in Communications from Marquette University. He completed coursework in Classical Education and US Government at Hillsdale College and in Character Development in the Classroom at Concordia University, OR.
Edward Paloucek
Karla Hansen
ADMINISTRATOR
Hannah Falter
ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT
Mary Hendrickson
SPEECH & LANGUAGE
Jenna Imgrund
MARKETING
Katherine Brennan
LOWER SCHOOL SUPPORT
PRE-KINDERGARTEN
An alumna herself, Miss Leis is excited to start her first year teaching at Providence. Miss Leis has completed preliminary coursework at Western Technical College and is currently pursuing her bachelor’s degree online with the University of Saint Mary. She has extensive experience in childcare and is looking forward to teaching a fun, disciplined, and faith-filled class of young students. In her free time, Meaghan enjoys bird watching, writing, singing in choirs, drawing, and playing outside with her nephew, Thomas.
Meaghan Leis
KINDERGARTEN
Miss Pronschinske graduated from Winona State University with a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education, an endorsement in Early Childhood Education, and a minor in Reading Instruction. She is very passionate about teaching and always said she wanted to be a teacher when she grew up. Thus, teaching at such a wonderful, faith-filled school is truly a dream come true for her. Miss Pronschinske’s other interests include reading, theater, singing, swing dancing, and spending time with family and friends.
Irelynn Pronschinske
FIRST GRADE
In high school, Miss Falter began teaching violin to her siblings and directed her church’s choir for Mass. She pursued her love of music and teaching in college. Miss Falter graduated from the University of Mary in Bismarck, ND with a Bachelor of Science in Music Education. While taking Elementary Music Methods in college, she discovered her love of teaching young children. After graduating college, she worked with young children with autism. In her free time, she enjoys swing dancing, reading, and cooking.
Teresa Falter
SECOND GRADE AND LOWER SCHOOL DEAN
Mrs. Tradewell has over 20 years of teaching experience. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Education from the University of Wisconsin - Whitewater. During the past seventeen years, she has taught various grades at Providence Academy in the lower school. Prior to that, she taught in inner city and rural environments. She has continued her education at Viterbo University, focusing on literacy and special needs. She currently resides in the area with her husband and three children.
Jennifer Tradewell
THIRD GRADE
Mrs. Grupe graduated from Minnesota State University-Mankato with a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education and a minor in Early Childhood/Family Education. She holds a Master of Arts in Teaching and Learning from Saint Mary’s University in Winona Minnesota. Mrs. Grupe taught first grade in a Catholic school before stepping down from full time teaching to begin a family. She continued to use her gifts to teach in Early Childhood/ Family Education, substitute teach and teach Confirmation for Faith Formation. For the past eleven years Mrs. Grupe has taught Kindergarten and has been an Interventionist serving Learners in grades kindergarten through third grade. It is with Christian joy that she expresses an appreciation for this opportunity to return and be a part of an authentic Catholic School.
Brenda Grupe
FOURTH GRADE & MIDDLE SCHOOL HISTORY
Miss Bostrom graduated from Ave Maria University with a Bachelor of Arts in Humanities and Liberal Studies and Communications. She grew up on a lake in rural Minnesota and is happy to be back in the Midwest after spending four years in Florida. In her free time, she enjoys reading, baking, exploring nature, playing games, and spending time with her family and friends. She is delighted to have the opportunity of continued learning alongside her students and to be a part of the faithful community Providence Academy offers.
Anna Bostrom
FIFTH GRADE
Miss Wieser holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Wisconsin—Eau Claire and has received teaching certifications in both English education and Learning Disabilities. After graduation, she served as a missionary with FOCUS, the Fellowship of Catholic University Students. She is grateful to be a part of the beautiful and faithful community here at Providence Academy.
Kelsey Wieser
LOWER SCHOOL ART
Mrs. LaVoy grew up right here in La Crosse, WI. After marrying her husband, Michael, they moved to San Angelo, TX, where she earned a Bachelor of Science in Interdisciplinary Child Development and Learning in 2008 from Angelo State University. In addition to her teaching role at Providence Academy, she is a mother to a family of accomplished and budding artists.
Maria LaVoy
Emily Weissing
LOWER SCHOOL SUPPORT
UPPER SCHOOL LITERATURE
Walker Larson, a native of the Minnesota and Wisconsin Driftless Area, holds an Associate of Science degree in Accounting and Networking from Minnesota State College Southeast, a Bachelor of Arts degree in English with an emphasis in writing, and a Master of Arts degree in English literature and language, both from Winona State University. During his time at WSU, he completed and defended a creative thesis entitled “Summer’s Amplitude: And Other Stories” and wrote the first draft of a paper on Ernest Hemingway, which has since been published in The Hemingway Review. His writing has also appeared in the online Catholic journal “One Peter Five”. He is excited to continue sharing with students his love of letters, which includes a special admiration and affection for the works of Shakespeare. When not reading, writing, or teaching, he fills his time with fly-fishing, friends, and family.
Walker Larson
UPPER SCHOOL MATH & ATHLETICS
Mr. Faber has served as Providence’s Upper School Math teacher since 2018 and Athletic Director since 2020. Born and raised in Sandusky, OH, he came to Wisconsin for college. Mr. Faber graduated Summa Cum Laude from Marquette University in 2017 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics and Theology. Although mathematically-inclined, Mr. Faber enjoys reading the Classics frequently, returning to The Confessions of St. Augustine, J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, and Evelyn Waugh’s Brideshead Revisited. He enjoys playing and watching soccer, hiking, studying maps, cooking, traveling, and penning letters to friends. In the summer of 2017, Mr. Faber went on pilgrimage along the Camino to the resting place of the Apostle St. James the Greater at Santiago de Compostela, Spain. It was along “the Way” that Mr. Faber made the Prayer of St. Brendan the Navigator his own: “to journey beyond the familiar and into the unknown…and know that my times, even now, are in Your Hand.” So profound the experience, the Camino continues to bear fruit in his spiritual life even today.
Austin Faber
UPPER SCHOOL THEOLOGY, PHILOSOPHY, AND DEAN
Mr. Wolk is a native of Connecticut. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Medieval and Renaissance Studies from Washington and Lee University in Lexington, VA in 2012. His senior thesis was titled, “Distributism and Medieval English Peasant Life: Testing the Historical Vision of Hilaire Belloc.” On Easter of the same year, he entered the Catholic Church, converting from Protestantism, and before that, atheism. After graduating, he began a Master's in Theology at Franciscan University of Steubenville, which he completed at the Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception at the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, DC in 2015. He successfully defended his Master’s thesis, “How the Philosophical Doctrines of St. Thomas Aquinas and William of Ockham Affect Their Theological Doctrines of Grace and Charity.”
Carl Wolk
UPPER SCHOOL HISTORY
Mrs. McClernon is a former graduate of Providence Academy and delighted be a part of our staff. She graduated from the University of Dallas with a Bachelor of Arts degree in History. Thanks to her liberal arts education, she enjoys many different subjects, such as history, literature, politics, and philosophy. Her main passion is history, particularly American Military History, but she has also come to appreciate and love studying ancient and medieval history. A few of her favorite books are Jane Austen’s Persuasion, Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn, Homer’s Odyssey, Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment, Dereliction of Duty by H.R. McMaster, and A History of the American People by Paul Johnson. When Mrs. McClernon is not teaching history, she enjoys spending time with her husband and five beautiful children.
Amanda McClernon
UPPER SCHOOL SCIENCE
Mrs. Mohr grew up in La Crescent, MN and went to college in Rapid City, SD, where she met her husband and earned a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering with a Biochemical Engineering emphasis. After graduation and marriage, she moved to her husband’s home state of Nebraska, where the bulk of Mrs. Mohr’s engineering career was spent in the power industry, specializing in combustion safety and emission control technology. In 2012, she left the industry to concentrate on family life. Mrs. Mohr came to realize the value of a classical education when homeschooling her children. Returning to Minnesota, she joined the Providence Academy team in 2019. She enjoys teaching at the same school her five children attend. She enjoys spending time with her family, teasing her children, good books, long conversations, hiking, camping, biking, board games, and learning.
Bridget Mohr
UPPER SCHOOL ART
Mr. LaVoy grew up on a hobby farm in Necedah, WI. He served four years active duty in the Air Force, working as a videographer. During his enlistment, he earned a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration from University of Maryland. In addition to his teaching role at Providence, he serves in the Air National Guard and works full-time as a freelance illustrator. His published works include projects for Our Sunday Visitor, TAN Books/St. Benedict Press, Ascension Press, Voyage Comics and Publishing, Marian Catechist Apostolate, and Holy Cross Family Ministries. He is also a father of five children, who all love art as much as he does.
Michael LaVoy
UPPER SCHOOL LATIN
Emily Felsheim
GYM
Mrs. Turner received a Bachelor of Science in Biology at Clarke College in Dubuque, IA and has a Masters in Pastoral Theological Studies from Madonna University in Ann Arbor, MI. She has a passion for fitness and activity. She also serves as a substitute teacher for the school. She founded and directed a non-profit evangelization organization from 2000 – 2010, involving local outreach and public speaking to youth and adults alike regarding the Church’s teaching on matters of purity and the sanctity of life. She is a devoted pro-life sidewalk counselor and mother of two children, who attend Providence.
Mary Turner
MUSIC
Mrs. Wolk graduated from Franciscan University of Steubenville with a Bachelor of Arts in Sacred Music and Theology. She has taught private voice lessons for many years, and is specially trained in both solo and ensemble singing in the sacred and classical music traditions. She teaches music to grades K-12, and directs the Providence Academy Schola.