SYRACUSE - Wawasee Community School Corporation Board of Trustees met Tuesday to review staffing changes, celebrate end-of-year accomplishments and approve financial and operational measures heading into summer.
Superintendent Dr. Steven Troyer opened the meeting with recognition of several student and staff achievements, including recent academic and athletic accomplishments.
“This has been one of my favorite board meetings of the year,” Troyer said. He expressed appreciation for the staff’s work in a “busy and successful year.”
The board approved several personnel recommendations, including new Wawasee Middle School Principal Jaime Nathaniel; transfers of Director of Tech Wade Wirebaugh to director of operations; and Syracuse Elementary School kindergarten teacher Jason Worrell to director of transportation.
“This is like Christmas for me,” Worrell said. “I’m very excited to take on this responsibility.”
Multiple resignations were also accepted, including from elementary, high school and special education staff, most of which are effective at the end of the academic year May 30.
Winners of the 2024-25 Turn Around Award were announced, which recognizes one student from each school in grades five, eight and 12, who has made positive choices about his or her educational future. The schools’ principals and staff members select the deserving student, with a “turnaround” in behavior, attitude, attendance, or academics.
The year’s winners were fifth-graders Brantley Henderson, Milford Elementary; Brantley Stewart, North Webster Elementary; Liam Crance, Syracuse Elementary; Wawasee Middle School eighth-grader Shelby Delgado; and Wawasee High School 12th-grader William Mast.
Troyer also updated the board on the results of a districtwide survey held in February for current and former students, families and faculty members. The survey asked respondents why they attended Wawasee Schools, what motivated them to stay and, in the case of former attendees and staff, what compelled them to leave.
“We received 287 responses from current families,” Troyer said. “Of those, 70% said their decision to attend Wawasee was primarily based on proximity; however, families overwhelmingly credited their decisions to stay with the positive relationships they formed with caring teachers and staff.”
Concerns with the district included “student behavior and inconsistent discipline,” with families also pointing to “academic rigor” and a “decline in the culture and competitiveness of school athletics,” according to Troyer.
These concerns were mostly reflected in past and current staff, with an overall desire to meet the needs of high-performance students and inconsistent leadership.
“Some even reported their children were behind after transfers,” Troyer explained. “Some expressed concerns about favoritism toward wealthier families, or students with staff connections.”
Troyer concluded the report by maintaining families and teachers still believed in current leadership and wanted to see Wawasee thrive. He spoke to several conversations he’d personally had with community members, saying plans addressing the concerns would be brought to the board as soon as next month.
“So it’s been really beneficial,” he said. “It has also been challenging, and sometimes it’s tough to hear that, ‘hey, you didn’t do this right,’ or ‘this didn’t go the way that we expected,’ but that’s okay. That’s part of the growing process.”
In other business, board members also voted to allow the refunding of bonds issued for the construction of Syracuse Elementary School in 2015, renewal of continued disclosure to the public, and reapproval of the Wawasee High School Building Corporation.
The Wawasee School Board will meet next at 5:30 p.m. June 10.