With the first classes just over two weeks away, students are getting ready to return to their education-filled days.
Before that can happen, administrative and teaching staff are prepping classrooms, curriculum and registrations to welcome back students from kindergarten through 12th grade.
Schools Superintendent Bill Burr said based on the number of kindergartners and graduated seniors from last year, the district is anticipating about 263 children in the student body this year, similar to last year’s number.
Online registration will begin Monday at wpsd.us. In-person registration will be held from 10 a.m. to noon and 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday Aug. 17, at the high school commons for those without a laptop or computer, internet connection or who need assistance. A fee will be due at registration.
Other than new kindergarteners taking their seats, new teachers and other staff members are among the changes returning students can expect when classes begin Aug. 25. A new second grade teacher, Alyssa Howell, will join the staff at Evergreen Elementary along with new principal Ann Hilburn, who was previously the special education teacher at the high school and middle school.
“We are a little smaller, staff-wise,” Burr said. “There is some adjustment to that. We don’t anticipate that it’s going to affect parents and students, aside from two K-1 teachers instead of three.”
One of those first grade teachers, Mikki Angerman, is filling the special education role left vacant by Hilburn. Other hires include Krysta Gillen as a paraprofessional, Peter Parks as a custodian and Holly Padilla as a long-term elementary substitute. The schools have needed paraprofessionals (aides) and substitutes for some time.
Both Hilburn and Bob Burkhart are stepping into leadership positions that opened up with the retirement of Jenn Miller-Yancey at the elementary school and Bob Davis at the middle school and high school. Burkhart is the new middle and high school principal.
Addy Esco, the counselor at the middle school and high school, resigned last year to move to Anchorage for health-related reasons. Laurie Hagelman, the fifth grade teacher, and her family also moved to Anchorage. Julie Williams was hired to replace Esco.
As of last Friday, the district was still looking for a full-time paraprofessional to work with students at Evergreen Elementary School. Otherwise, all the open positions that had been advertised by the district had been filled as of last week, including a high school secretary and Alaska Native education director and tutor.
Not much will change in the operation of the schools, Burr said. “Where we left off is where we’re going to begin,” he said. Burr met with the incoming principals this week to iron out details.
Tasha Morse, who teaches high school art and music from kindergarten through 12th grade, will return to her classroom early to make sure she is ready to teach. Technically, the first day back for teachers is Aug. 22, an in-service day.
“It seems that they (custodial staff) tackle classrooms first,” Morse said in a phone interview last week during the final days of her vacation in the Lower 48. “They try to get the classrooms clean, the floors polished and the counters wiped down. A lot of teachers opt to keep their keys so that we can go in before the school year starts so that we can get things prepped.”
Morse not only has to prepare to teach returning students, she has to prepare her daughters to return. Silje, who is in seventh grade this year, is excited to return, she said. However, Lilly, a first-grader, said she wished summer vacation could be longer.
“This is the beginning of year 15 for me teaching, I’ve already got a list of things that I need to get checked off,” she said. “And Silje being in the seventh grade, that gives me eight years of both being teacher and mom to a student. At this point, it’s kind of old hat. We fall into a routine easily. It’s not stressful to think about getting my kid ready in the morning or get myself ready.”
Burr said last year was a challenge with budgetary issues and staffing. He lauded both educational and administrative staff for stepping up and stepping in where needed when illness, travel and personal obligations left shortfalls at all the schools. Though all positions are filled going into the new year, he said there are still challenges ahead.
“We always have the funding challenges that come from the state,” he said.
Funding from the state is based on student enrollment and the number of campuses operated by school districts. Pandemic aid money has helped Wrangell close its budget gaps, but with those funds running out by 2024, staff has had to look at possible cost-saving solutions. One option could be reducing school buildings from three to two. That’s not likely to happen this year, Burr said, unless something drastic happened to warrant such a change.
“There are benefits and negatives to (combining school campuses) which would need to be discussed further,” he said.
Budgetary issues aside, Burr said staff is ready to welcome back students “with a smile on their face, but they might be in different spots, as well as some new faces, of course.”
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