Warsaw School Board Approves Hiring Of Lincoln Elementary School Principal
By Liz Shepherd
InkFreeNews
WARSAW — The Warsaw Community School Board of School Trustees approved recommendations to hire three people in administrative and coaching positions for Warsaw Community Schools. The board met via Zoom on Monday, April 27.
Aimee Lunsford was approved as the principal of Lincoln Elementary School. Lunsford hails from Royal Center, where she graduated from Pioneer High School. She graduated from Manchester University and Ball State University with degrees in elementary education and educational leadership and supervision. Lunsford spent 14 years in the classroom, ranging in grade from kindergarten to middle school special education. She has been the principal of Flint Springs Elementary in Huntington for the past seven years.
Lunsford is replacing Cathy Snyder, who is retiring at the end of the school year. Snyder served as Lincoln Elementary’s principal since 2002.
“We’re all getting very excited about joining the Warsaw community,” Lunsford said about herself and her family.
Matt Moore was approved as the head high school boys’ basketball coach for Warsaw Community High School. Moore has worked the past three years as boys’ basketball head coach at Fishers. He also worked with the Kokomo boys’ basketball program. In his final two seasons at Fishers, Moore’s team won 17 and 18 games, both program records for wins.
Moore is replacing Doug Ogle, who retired after 35 combined years of basketball coaching at Warsaw.
“His entire family is very excited for it and he’s excited,” said Warsaw Community High School Athletic Director Matt Binkerd. “He’s already met with players and we’re just super excited about the future with him.”
Roman Smith was approved as assistant athletic director at Warsaw Community High School. Smith worked for three years as athletic director at Lakeland High School. He earned his Bachelor of Science in Exercise Science from Trine University and his Masters of Arts in Coaching and Athletic Administration from Concordia University – Irvine.
Smith is replacing Jeff Hamstra, who has taken the position of athletic director at Chesterton High School.
“He’s a really incredible leader and he’s excited to be a Tiger,” said Binkerd.
During the meeting, the board also discussed three tentative concepts the school corporation’s graduation task force has in mind for the Class of 2020’s graduation ceremony. Several senior students are a part of the planning committee.
“Even though their year has been so disrupted, the students that were serving on that committee were so full of great ideas and excitement for the future,” said Dani Barkey, WCS communications and accountability officer. “We’ve been brainstorming a lot and also surveying our senior students. The overwhelming thing we heard from our students is that we don’t want to give up on an in-person graduation if we absolutely might be able to have that opportunity.”
Barkey presented three different potential scenarios for what graduation might look like for this year’s seniors. The first scenario would be to have graduation as planned on June 5, with an in-person, social distancing graduation on the football field.
If guidelines and regulations will not allow for an in-person ceremony by that date, plans would be moved to an in-person ceremony on July 17. The final scenario would be a digital graduation on July 17.
“We don’t want to have that scenario, but if it becomes impossible then we will move to that and make it as personable as possible,” said Barkey.
The school is actively working with the Kosciusko County Health Department to determine what its final plan will be.
A senior student Q&A related to graduation will be published early next week.
The board’s next meeting will be at 6 p.m. Monday, May 18, via Zoom.