MFHS Teacher Promoted to Ben Franklin Vice Principal

Mike Mullen started in private business. He even opened his own lawn care service.

But something was missing.

Mullen noticed his favorite part of the corporate world was training and educating. He went back to school for his master’s in science education and became a teacher.

“I wanted to make a difference. I wanted to put my stamp on something. I didn’t get that satisfaction in business,” he said.

Mullen taught for 20 years at Menomonee Falls High School.

“Here, we see the changes we can make in the country. We see the changes we can make in the world,” he said.

This week Mullen has been promoted to assistant principal at Ben Franklin Elementary School, pending School Board approval on July 23.

It’s an age with which he’s already familiar. Mullen served as the district’s elementary science specialist for eight years, working with elementary school teachers.

“I loved it and I loved the age group,” he said.

Now, Mullen is excited to start his new role working in the Ben Franklin family, the district’s largest elementary school.

“I look forward to the Ben Franklin community and meeting and getting to know well a lot of students, a whole new group of teachers and especially the parents,” he said.

The district's interview team liked Mullen’s experience and leadership roles in leading dozens of professional development sessions as curriculum specialist, organizing and leading students as academic decathlon coach, and interviewing and hiring more than 80 employees as branch manager of a lawn care company.

Mullen developed the first professional network of biology teachers in Milwaukee as Bionet Director, serves as an adjunct faculty member for Cardinal Stritch and as an instructor of science seminars at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Mullen has received many awards and accolades for his work, including the Wisconsin Excellence in Science Education Award, the Superintendent’s Award for Child Advocacy and a district technology teaching award. He was a state finalist for the Herb Kohl Fellowship twice.

He is the co-founder of a nonprofit organization called Pivotal Directions that travels to Jamaica to serve children in orphanages and HIV clinics. This month, 45 area students are going with the organization to help.

Education has given Mullen what he was missing in his former career. He remembers getting a hug from a former student at Summerfest this week, who told him she is successful in college because of what Mullen taught her.

“That’s why we do this,” he said. “So students go on to have success and lead meaningful lives.”

Mullen lives in Cedarburg with his wife and two children. His son is a junior and daughter a sophomore in high school.