Funding from a Lilly Endowment grant will pay for the new position of “social emotional learning coordinator” at Warsaw Community Schools, and the school board approved Gina Courtois for the job Monday night.

Courtois, a teacher at Madison Elementary School, will move into the position for the remainder of the school year, officially assuming her role this summer.

According to a news release from the school district issued at the board meeting, “the SEL position is critical for the successful implementation of districtwide K-12 curriculum, methodology and instructional practices to increase student and educator learning as part of the Lilly Endowment Grant. Courtois will work to build and deepen a positive school climate and culture by training on how to understand and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals and feelings and show empathy for others.”

Courtois also will be responsible for the direct support to school staff on SEL programming including standards, staff development, curriculum and assessment.

WCS Superintendent Dr. David Hoffert told the board, “We have a lot of students that are in crisis. We have over 7,000 students here at Warsaw Community Schools, and there are a lot of needs that are out there. ... We really see this as a game changer in social emotional learning.”



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Hiring Courtois in the new position funded by Lilly is a big step forward, he said. The grant – which WCS received in 2017 for over $700,000 – will pay for the coordinator for the next 3-1/2 years, among other items. After that, he said WCS will have to evaluate what the needs are, if they are different and if the position will be continued forward, transform or come to an end.

“Only time will tell,” he said.

Courtois attended Indiana Wesleyan University where she earned her bachelor’s degree in elementary education with an endorsement in kindergarten instruction. She completed her master’s program in education at Olivet Nazarene University, according to he news release.

After graduating, she spent the last 17 years teaching elementary students at Madison. She’s also served as the Response to Intervention chair, a member of the learning crew mentoring first- and second-year kindergarten teachers, a building-level mentor for new teachers and a Professional Leadership Team member.

She has completed trainings and has experience writing grants, which provided over $10,000 for Madison throughout her tenure there.

In the news release, Hoffert is quoted as saying that WCS “is extremely excited to welcome Courtois into this new position enriching the lives of others. Her years of experience and expertise working with both WCS teachers and students will be a great strength in the social emotional learning coordinator position. We look forward to working alongside Courtois to develop and expand social emotional wellness inside of all of our buildings.”

A second news release issued at the school board meeting was on school start time survey data.

“This last semester we asked people to fill out (a survey). Again, there were a lot of passionate people on both ends of this. We were able to read a lot of those comments, but we were very thankful for the individuals taking the time to fill out the survey,” Hoffert told the board.

The release states that through the process, WCS has identified gaps in before-school and after-school programming which need to be addressed prior to making adjustments to the current start time.

During the 2018-19 school year, WCS?will continue using the current schedule.

“The district will continue to research programs and practices to best meet the needs of students, parents, community and staff,” according to the release.

Hoffert reiterated that, “So, again, what we’re sharing is that next year there will not be a change inside the school start time. We will continue to look at this.”