Wawasee School Board Seeks To Fill Multiple Positions, Honors Retirees
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Alaister McFarren-
SYRACUSE – Wawasee Community School Corp. is still seeking replacements for multiple retirees and applicants for open positions, including Wawasee High School Principal Kim Nguyen.
Nguyen will reportedly be moving to a position with Wildman Business Group, where he will be working in a training capacity.
“We will be officially posting that we’re hiring for the principal position tomorrow, June 12,” said Dr. Tom Edington, WCSC superintendent, at school board meeting Tuesday. “Although it is already late in the educational hiring season, we’re confident that we will find someone since we are a good-sized school. We’re very happy for the opportunity Principal Nguyen has been given, but 1,000 students are going to miss him.”
Other open positions include WHS music teacher, vacated by Connie Meadows after 21 years, and building trades instructor, vacated by Ed Waltz after 26 years. The school nurse position, recently vacated by Carol Evans after 3.5 years, is also open.
About the open positions, Edington said, “Teacher shortages are a fact of life now; we have to out and go find people, when they used to find us.”
Among the reasons for the openings were the many retirees honored at the meeting. Aside from Meadows, Waltz and Evans, WSC retirees listed and years of service were: Dr. Sandra Weaver, director of special services (three years), Wawasee Middle School teacher John Blunk (30 years), WMS teacher Michael MacOwan (23 years), WMS Teacher Nancy Rehling (30 years), North Webster Elementary School teacher Keith Bollman (37 years), NWES teacher Charlotte Jessie (35 years), NWES Reading Interventionist Brenda MacOwan (two years), NWES teacher Deb Minear (28 years), NWES teacher Kay Shelton (16 years), WMS cafeteria manager and bookkeeper Darlene Brazel (16 years), NWES, Syracuse Elementary School and WHS custodian Steve Cunnington (23.5 years), NWES custodian Doug Evans (6.5 years) and WMS Cafeteria staffer Lynette Zolman (25.5 years).
Each retiree received a plaque thanking them for their dedication to the school system and lifetime sports passes to Wawasee sporting events.
In other news, a problem-solving strategy for Milford School students was among proposed handbook changes. The strategy, which emphasizes teachers encouraging students to work out their problems among themselves to teach self-control and self-sufficiency, was met with questions by the board.
“As we know, students don’t always manage to work out their problems well,” said Mary Lou Dixon. Edington emphasized that students will always be able to go to their teachers should they not be able to work things out by themselves.
Several other handbook changes were approved.
The board also honored the 2018-19 Turn Around Award winners. The award was given to a fifth-graders Elise Wirebaugh (Milford Elementary), Devon High (NWES), Amara Tinkey (Syracuse Elementary); eighth-graders Jacob McKinney (Milford Middle School) and Brayden Spencer (WMS); and 12th-grader Henderson Pamer (WHS) for turning their grades around, finishing their academic careers at their respective levels of education on a strong note.
In other business:
• The Relay for Life walk, held at Syracuse Elementary School, raised $10,117.29 for the American Cancer Society.
• The board congratulated graduated senior Jared Krugman for concluding his high school swimming career by finishing 21st at the IHSAA Boy’s State Championship.
• The retention pond at WMS, which previously was not draining, is now working properly after a tile outlet was cleaned. Several trees will be removed from the premises to help the school and its neighbors’ yards drain more efficiently in the future.
• 50 percent of the school system’s staff have been given Trauma-Sensitive Schools Training; all newly hired staff members will be given the same training.
• Health services reported that during the 2018-19 school year, 125 students received their required immunizations. The program will be repeated in May.
• Mileage reimbursements will be $0.54 per mile.
• School meal prices will rise by 10 cents for the upcoming school year.
• WMS student Titus Taylor has been nominated as member of the Kosciusko Endowment Youth Services, a youth philanthropy group.
• Dollars for Scholars received $3,084 through payroll deductions.
• National culinary arts competition expenses were covered by a $500 donation from the Korenstra Family Foundation.
• Helmuth Quality Coatings donated powder coating to assist with welding projects.
• The Wawasee Property Owners Association donated $2,000 for a sailing class.
