'Everyone wants to be here at school'
Wapakoneta Board of Education hears about the start of the new school year.
For all intents and purposes the message was the same: “Everyone wants to be here at school.”
Wapakoneta High School Principal Scott Minnig was just one of the Wapakoneta City School district’s administrators who shared pretty much the same message — it took a lot of work, but at the end of the day teachers and students want to be in school.
Wapakoneta City Schools Board of Education members spent 25 of their 35-minute meeting Tuesday listening to building and district administrators talk about the start of the school year.
Criderville Elementary Principal Jason Woelke pointed out there are different types of teaching taking place in his building, with technology used daily to keep students up-todate. Google classrooms help communicate with parents as well as students, he said, when it comes to retrieving materials.
Woelke also thanked the administration for the addition of Cori Fields to the district. As the social skills teacher, Fields has been able to impact 13 families at Cridersville, providing resources they need.
“She’s changing the game,” he said.
The pandemic, he said, has visibily affected students.
“Kids do want to be in the building,” Woelke said. "It’s obvious. Our behavior problems? They’re gone.”
Wapakoneta Elementary Principal Nikki Sutton agreed both teachers and students were “excited to be back.”
She said they’ve adapted their procedures — including arriving to the building, social distancing in classrooms and the cafeteria — which have been accepted seamlessly. She said the addition of hand cleaners and sanitizers throughout the building “have put us in a much better spot because now it’s become part of what we do.”
That’s a similar situation at Wapakoneta Middle School. Principal Will Snyder said, “Our kids are the cleanest they’ve ever been. Our teachers are the cleanest they’ve ever been.” That attention to hand washing should also help as flu season gears up, he said.
WMS teachers adapted to every proposed plan administrators put in front of them to allow the buildings to stay open to students,
Snyder said. Every square inch of the classroom is being used and “the energy is great” in the building.
“Our teachers have done an amazing job,” Minnig said. Using Google classroom is ensuring students aren’t falling behind if they must miss school, and teachers are doing a great job of creating lesson plans to include those on the on-line option.
“I’m proud of everyone in our building,” he said.
Mike Watt, director of operations, thanked his staff as well. He also told board members he was working on a five-year facility plan, pointing out growth within the city will translate to growth for the school district.
“I’m super proud” of district administrators, teachers and staff, Supt. Aaron Rex said, pointing out they all put in many hours to prepare for the start of the school year. And while the start may have been rocky, with COVID-19 cases and quarantines disrupting the first days, Rex said seeing pre-school students through 12th graders wearing masks just proves “they want to be here.”
IN PERSONNEL ACTION ITEMS, the board:
* Accepted the resignation of Maria Sanchez, effective Aug. 26;
* Accepted the retirement of Michele Stinebaugh effective July 31, 2021;
* Approved employee leave for Kathan Koeller, Sept. 10-18; and extended leave for Katie Stephens through Nov. 2;
* Employed Kathy Stanley as a cafeteria assistant manager at WHS at $14.66/hour;
* Employed the following as substitutes: Ashely Kill, Kimberly Kirkendall, Linda Pelger, Rebecca Mongold, Michelle Bates, Olivia Jones, Cristina Miguel, Melissa Hamblin, and Taylor Huffer;
* Employed Grant Bauer and Jackson Courter as athletic workers;
* Rescinded the supplemental contract for Tim Folger and employed Laura Folger on a supplemental as an online tutor;
* Approved Brady Erb as a high school football volunteer;
* Increased the supplemental salary for virtual tutors to $3,000 per tutor per nine weeks: Carrie Knoch, Kaitlyn Hemmert, Karen Hutt, Drew Golden, Andrea Zwiebel, Dakota Brown, Kelli Benshoff, David People, Nikki Barber and Amber Johns.
* Set a public hearing regarding the retirement and rehiring of bus driver Cheryl Erb for Oct. 27 at 7 p.m. (the next board meeting) at Cridersville Elementary School. There were no public comments during Tuesday’s meeting regarding the rehiring of retiree bus driver John Zwez.
IN OTHER ACTION ITEMS, the board:
* Approved new federal grants for fiscal year 2021, including LSTA CARES Act federal grant at $3,000, Coronavirus Relief Fund at $157,929.97; and Expanding Opportunities at $7,677;
* Accepted $500 from Ken and Nancy Fisher for the athletic department; $2,200 from the Wapakoneta Chamber of Commerce for masks; and $12,788.41 in donations from football season ticket holders who donated their ticket payment instead of requesting a refund;
* Approved field trips for the softball team to travel to Florida March 31-April 5, 2021 at no cost to the board;
* Approved membership in the ATC Consortium at a cost of $900;
* And Approved temporary appropriations modifications.