By Cassidy White
InkFreeNews

SYRACUSE — During the reading of the Wawasee Community School Corporation superintendent’s report at the Tuesday, April 19, board meeting, Superintendent Steve Troyer spoke on the hot topic that is the Warrior Field located at Wawasee High School.

Troyer had previously been tasked with forming a committee that included school staff and members of the community to weigh the opinions of and gain insight from those who would be most impacted by the name change. After overwhelming support from the committee, Troyer presented the results of their discussions: Warrior Field will still remain.

Warrior Field has been a staple of the Wawasee community and has meant as much to residents of the city as it has to students, staff and sports teams in the local area. When the topic was first broached, one local citizen recommended the name be changed from Warrior, which was considered offensive to those of Native American ancestry, to that of a WWII veteran and Congressional Metal of Honor recipient Harry Michael who had resided in Milford.

“The name ‘Warrior Field’ absolutely means something to this community and has been shown to be very important,” said Troyer.

The committee, led by Troyer, didn’t want to stop there. While Warrior Field has a long history in the community, they felt it was still important to find a way to honor not just one, but rather all of the local veterans who served and/or sacrificed for this nation. A few suggestions have been offered, but further discussions will be had to come up with an absolute plan for the honoring.

Per Troyer’s recommendation, the committee and school board are looking into having one of the walls that faces out to Warrior Field decorated with the names of all the veterans to be named.

“Our community would like to find a way to honor all our vets and tell all their stories,” Troyer said.

In other news, the school board received quite the treat as they watched four students stand up and lead the room in the Pledge of Allegiance. The crowd was awed by their performance.

Lee Snider, principal at North Webster Elementary, brought along six students to showcase the success of what he calls their “lifeline program,” in which students spoke to the board about what lifelines they use, such as practices for maintaining patience, flexibility, joy and peace.

They proceeded to discuss the “best bucks” they receive for good behavior and positive improvement, as well as what they like to spend those bucks on during their biannual “Best Buck Fair.” The students then talked about their favorite part of guided reading and how they felt about it. One student showed his appreciation that one reward includes “a big PB&J sandwich.”

Derek Gilreath, who currently runs the Warrior Academy, was named the new girls varsity basketball coach. Out of 15 applicants and multiple interviews, Brent Doty believed that, “He stuck out. … He will take the program to the next step.”

James Flecker presented the current and projected figures for this year’s financial report. Spending is currently in the black, though they will be discussing charging for school lunches at the next meeting.

This may aid in adding an instructional support specialist in the elementary school and either the middle or high school. Currently, only one is available, Mary Bower, in the elementary school, but they hope to expand this support further with the proper financial plan.

There was also mention of adding a half-time health science teacher for the next year after clear interest in the class was expressed. The first year would serve as a transitional period with a second-year course being offered the next year, granting the teacher a full-time job while also offering further education to interested students.

Shelly Wilfong presented a detailed presentation on this years I-READ scores for third grade. She noted the three schools evaluated remained fairly in line with last year’s scores, but also spoke on the possibility of summer courses for intervention purposes, as well as plans for moving forward in terms of what can be done to ensure all students are excelling to the best of their abilities.

Other News

Derek Gilreath was introduced as the new Wawasee High School varsity girls basketball coach during the meeting.

Gilreath, who runs the Warrior Academy, was among the 15 applicants interviewed for the position. “He stuck out,” said Brent Doty, athletic director. “He will take the program to the next step.” It was noted that he will create a path for a feeder program for the sport.

During the meeting Dr. Steve Troyer, superintendent, presented a number of good news items, which were approved by the board. Recognition was given to the winners of the Pathways Digital A/V Media state competition; Cade Garden, a sophomore who has been named to the IHSAA Student Advisory Council; Cheryl VanLaeken’s classroom project of delivering positive messages, which has received recognition throughout the country; Taylor Cripe and Kennedi Adkins, valedictorian and salutatorian; presentation of $2,200 raised from the Wawasee High School PowWow to Deb Anderson, who lost everything in a house fire; donations received by the Robotics Club from Paragon Medical and Main Channel Marina; the high school student council receiving a donation from Brenspeed for the Special Olympics project; the Marine Mechanics receiving a donation from Fred Machledt; and the Academic Hall of Fame receiving a donation from the Knights of Columbus.

The board also recognized Women of Today for their efforts throughout the years in supporting the schools and to Tim Ashley for his 18 years of coverage of the school corporation for The Mail-Journal and InkFreeNews.

The board received a report from Jennifer Phillips regarding the Wawasee Early Learning Center program. The program currently has 103 participants, with all classrooms full with waiting lists. Future goals were also presented by Phillips, including working on ways to reach the two “desert” areas — Milford and the east side of Lake Wawasee.

Overnight or out-of-state trips were approved for the DECA members to Atlanta, Ga.; Latino Club to Chicago, Ill.; high school and middle school FFA livestock team to Purdue University; Aart appreciation class to Chicago, Ill.; and the physics/AP physics class to Sandusky, Ohio.

Personnel Matters

A number of transfers, employment and resignations in support service and certified personnel were approved.

Transfers were approved for Amy Hill from a North Webster speech/remediation paraprofessional to the temporary position of a North Webster/Milford speech and language pathologist aid; Jerid Stoffel from Milford guidance to Wawasee guidance counselor; and Tammy Hutchinson, superintendent’s administrative assistant to HR/new hire coordinator.

Employment approvals included Anna Allen and Tara Smith as North Webster intervention paraprofessionals; Forest Somers as high school custodian; Dia Wasko and Tiffany Weisser as high school cafeteria workers; Kimberly Hensel as temporary Syracuse kindergarten teacher; and Lauren Shortill, temporary Syracuse special education teacher.

An amended leave of absence was approved for Tessa Doll. Her original return date was May 27. It has been changed to April 20.

Resignations approved included Sara Christner, part time CTE administrative assistant; Emma Larson, Early Learning Center Milford paraprofessional,; JoAnne Rewolinski, North Webster paraprofessional; Candy Slone, Milford special education paraprofessional; Caleb Thompson, Milford custodian; Jared Wilczynski, Milford custodian; and Frank Pizana, Wawasee Spanish teacher.

The termination of Kylie Weist as a high school cafeteria worker was approved and the retirement of Mary Robyn Tilson as a route driver was also approved.

The May meeting of the board will be held in the Syracuse Elementary gymnasium.