Although the first day of school isn’t until next week, teachers who are coming to the Plymouth Schools for the first year are spending the better part of the next three days in classes to learn about the school system and getting acquainted with the town.
There are 37 new employees coming to the school district.
Several years ago Superintendent Daniel Tyree realized the importance of acclimating newly hired staff to the mission, values, goals and priorities of PCSC and then initiated the introduction training that includes a tour of the each of the seven schools in the system and places of interest in the community.
Since much of the communication with parents and students is done electronically, the teachers are given practice on the use of Canvas LMS, Power School and Google docs.
All Indiana public schools must document evaluations of teachers and administrators and the evaluations must be forwarded to the IDOE (Indiana Department of Education). During the second day of the new teacher’s classes, participants are given an overview of the process of periodic and ongoing evaluations to meet the state standards. Each new teacher is then assigned a teacher mentor in the building where they will be teaching.
A total of six hours of the training is devoted to human resources and school safety.
The school corporation hired a Director of Safety and Security last July. After a thorough inspection all of the school’s properties, several additional safety precautions are now in place. All teachers and classified staff are expected to follow the procedures concerning safety at all times.
Melanie Kujawski, PCSC benefits coordinator, said, “For the past two days our administration staff has been holding multiple meetings with dozens of our new teachers to provide information they need about their health benefits, and our school corporation’s policies and procedures.”
New hires train in their respective buildings on the last day when they meet with the principals to discuss all aspects of the school’s routines.
However, the training doesn’t stop after the first introduction period. They have access to a self-paced module to continue instructions. Then, at the end of each nine-week period throughout the entire school year, they will again meet to discuss classroom management, instructional practices, literacy, and curriculum.
Assistant Superintendent, Dan Funston, said, “We feel it is important to bring our new teachers in early for a few days so that we can discuss the Core Values of our school corporation in addition to preparing them for the first day of school.” He added, “It is our goal to support our new teachers as much as possible, so part of their time during these (training) days is spent getting to know a mentor teacher who will support them throughout the year.”
New corporation employees include:
Albert Hanselman, CTE Director North Central Area Vocational Cooperative.
Sandy Thomas, Administrative Assistant NCAVC
Judi Lykowski, Communications and PR Marketing Specialist /Marketing teacher
Jeff Brooke, Riverside Intermediate School Assistant Principal
Tara Lynn, Michiana Behavioral Health Special Ed (K-6)
Trenton Porter, Riverside Intermediate School 5th grade math and science teacher
Annette Hodges, Webster Elementary Secretary
Katie Richards, Menominee Elementary School Special Education teacher
Jessica Heeron, Menominee Elementary School 2nd grade teacher
Diana Lawson, Menominee and Webster Elementary art teacher
Christa Snyder, Menominee Elementary 4th grade teacher
Jennifer Schoof, Menominee Elementary 1st grade teacher
Rebekkah Peacock, Webster Elementary School head custodian
Kalie Thompson, Webster Elementary School 2nd grade teacher
Curtis Nordmann, Weidner School of Inquiry, social studies facilitator
Lindsay Moore, Weidner School of Inquiry math facilitator
Carl Davis, Weidner School of Inquiry social studies facilitator
Matt Harter, Innovation Academy @ Lincoln Junior High 7th grade math teacher
Lorien Estes, Washington Discovery Academy 3rd grade teacher
Amy Ferguson, Washington Discovery Academy 2nd grade teacher
Katie Straub, Washington Discovery Academy 1st grade teacher
Kayla Vanlue, Washington Discovery Academy 1st grade teacher
Elizabeth Holsopple, Washington Discovery Academy K teacher
Clinton Watts, Plymouth High School & Lincoln Junior High agriculture teacher
Elizabeth Kirk, Plymouth High School F.A.C.S. teacher (9-12)
Kelsey Neilson, Plymouth High School science teacher
Ryan VanAntwerp, Plymouth High School choir teacher (9-12)
Katie Duran, Plymouth High School Jag teacher
Sarah Goodwin, Michiana Behavioral Health Center special ed teacher (7-12)
Brittany Hull, Lincoln Junior High 7th grade science teacher
Amy Walker, Lincoln Junior High 7th and 8th grade ENL English
Chelsea Dowd Lancaster, Lincoln Junior High 8th grade math teacher
Charity Schmidt, Lincoln Junior High 7th and 8th grade PE teacher
Betsy Gardner, Jefferson and Washington Elementary School art teacher
Nikki Tredway, Jefferson Elementary 4th grade teacher
Brooke Price, Webster Elementary 3rd grade teacher
Carol Anders Correspondent
