Substitute Shortage Prompts Wawasee To Relax Requirements
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Kathy [email protected]
Learning that there is a shortage of substitutes, they agreed to relax the educational requirements.
Superintendent Tom Edington told board members, “We pay well. Our pay is the highest in the area.” He suggested that the economy is a little better, and said there are days the corporation hasn’t had enough substitutes.
Since substitutes are hard to find, the board agreed to reduce the requirement for two years of college experience or 60 credit hours down to one year of experience or 30 credit hours. The pay likewise will be reduced $5 from $85.08 per day to $80.08.
Other requirements, including a background check, remain in force.
The board also unanimously approved the purchase of five new buses from Kerlin Motor Co., Silver Lake, for $466,455 with trade-ins. The price is within the amount budgeted, said Jim Evans, financial chief.
In further business, the board approved two new courses to be added to the “Lead the Way” program at the high school. Anatomy and physiology will be offered as fourth-year studies in the program. They get added to other bio-medical courses starting in the freshman year, including the first one in the course, Principles of Biomedical Science.
Edington said he hopes that these courses help develop an interest in medical studies which, in turn, will encourage students to return to this area after college, it being the “orthopedic capital of the world.”
In other business, the board:
• Viewed a video presentation by high-ability students coordinator Lisa Ernsberger, who explained the methods for and results from teaching high-ability sixth-grade students. The program, based on Daniel Defoe’s book “Robinson Crusoe,” demonstrated the students’ abilities to read at a higher level and present their information in various media. The program, developed through a Department of Education curriculum, will be expanded into fifth through eighth grades this year.
Board member Mary Lou Dixon expressed the importance of teaching grammar and spelling as part of the program.
• Congratulated the girls golf team, which recently participated at the state tournament.
• Heard statistics on test performances from Dr. Bob Cockburn, who said he was pleased to see more teachers requesting performance data from him, not only on their classes but also on individual students.
• Accepted a $5,700 donation from the Milford PTO that will be used in the library. Principal Cindy Kaiser said some of the money would be used to purchase “a cool couch like the one at North Webster.” The library is used by kindergarten through eighth-grade students, so Kaiser is trying to arrange the room to be comfortable for all ages.
• Accepted a staging platform built by Alan Tehan which will be used for the high school choral program. They also accepted a donation of $500 from Grant and Mary Kroes, $250 of which will go toward the Boomerang Backpack program and the rest to the high school’s culinary arts program.
• Set Dec. 9, the date of the next regular board meeting, as time for a public hearing on the proposed Syracuse school building project.
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Learning that there is a shortage of substitutes, they agreed to relax the educational requirements.
Superintendent Tom Edington told board members, “We pay well. Our pay is the highest in the area.” He suggested that the economy is a little better, and said there are days the corporation hasn’t had enough substitutes.
Since substitutes are hard to find, the board agreed to reduce the requirement for two years of college experience or 60 credit hours down to one year of experience or 30 credit hours. The pay likewise will be reduced $5 from $85.08 per day to $80.08.
Other requirements, including a background check, remain in force.
The board also unanimously approved the purchase of five new buses from Kerlin Motor Co., Silver Lake, for $466,455 with trade-ins. The price is within the amount budgeted, said Jim Evans, financial chief.
In further business, the board approved two new courses to be added to the “Lead the Way” program at the high school. Anatomy and physiology will be offered as fourth-year studies in the program. They get added to other bio-medical courses starting in the freshman year, including the first one in the course, Principles of Biomedical Science.
Edington said he hopes that these courses help develop an interest in medical studies which, in turn, will encourage students to return to this area after college, it being the “orthopedic capital of the world.”
In other business, the board:
• Viewed a video presentation by high-ability students coordinator Lisa Ernsberger, who explained the methods for and results from teaching high-ability sixth-grade students. The program, based on Daniel Defoe’s book “Robinson Crusoe,” demonstrated the students’ abilities to read at a higher level and present their information in various media. The program, developed through a Department of Education curriculum, will be expanded into fifth through eighth grades this year.
Board member Mary Lou Dixon expressed the importance of teaching grammar and spelling as part of the program.
• Congratulated the girls golf team, which recently participated at the state tournament.
• Heard statistics on test performances from Dr. Bob Cockburn, who said he was pleased to see more teachers requesting performance data from him, not only on their classes but also on individual students.
• Accepted a $5,700 donation from the Milford PTO that will be used in the library. Principal Cindy Kaiser said some of the money would be used to purchase “a cool couch like the one at North Webster.” The library is used by kindergarten through eighth-grade students, so Kaiser is trying to arrange the room to be comfortable for all ages.
• Accepted a staging platform built by Alan Tehan which will be used for the high school choral program. They also accepted a donation of $500 from Grant and Mary Kroes, $250 of which will go toward the Boomerang Backpack program and the rest to the high school’s culinary arts program.
• Set Dec. 9, the date of the next regular board meeting, as time for a public hearing on the proposed Syracuse school building project.
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