School board addresses staffing, Nebraska Health Education Standards

    As the 2020-21 school year draws to a close, staffing changes due to resignations and hiring. When the Chase County Schools (CCS) board met Tuesday night, a number of hirings were approved.
    Longtime Title I teacher Angie Dickey submitted her resignation, and will be taking a similar position at Perkins County Schools next fall. Dickey taught at CCS for 22 years.
    Board member Carrie Terryberry thanked her for her time and hard work. “We’ll miss her,” Terryberry added.
    Hired in her place was Lindsey Teply of Imperial, who has children at CCS. Teply has been an early childhood coordinator for BOCES in Colorado, similar to Educational Service Units.
    Also hired was Alecia Einspahr as an English Language Learner (ELL) teacher, replacing Kara Hagan, who moved to the English Language Arts (ELA) middle school position.
    Einspahr most recently taught at Lincoln North Star School.
    Grand Island native Malorie Connelly was hired  as a 7-8 grade math teacher. She has taught in the Houston, Texas school district for five years.
    Superintendent Adam Lambert said an art teacher position has been offered to an individual, and two science teaching positions remain to be filled.
    The board approved an agreement with Kriss Krutsinger as a driver’s education teacher this summer.
    He will use school vehicles to teach students. Krutsinger charges the students $220 for the course, of which CCS pays $40.
    Looking ahead to graduation, Lambert said 34 seniors will graduate this year. Board members Carl Meeske and Jeff Olsen will  hand out diplomas.
    Kindergarten students will also experience a graduation May 14, the day before the high school graduation.
    In other business, Lambert advised the board that a third Covid-19 stimulus  payment will be received in May or June. As of now, two other payments have been accepted.
    The first, $64,000, was earmarked for help in starting  up the school year. Purchases included temperature-monitoring equipment and sanitizing materials.
    The second payment, $240,000, requires specific uses that are Covid related, such as helping students catch up in learning, safety issues and more.
    The board approved several large purchases. Eighteen new smart boards were bought for $58,862, to be used in classrooms.
    Lambert said teachers were asked if they needed new boards. The smart boards, attached to computers, project images in a classroom that students can view together.
    Also purchased was equipment for the cafeteria for $60,901. That includes a hot food table, microwave steamer oven, cashier stand and more.
Principals’ reports
    Elementary Principal Becky Odens reported that eight students will attend a Leadership Day in Mitchell May 7. The students were nominated by their teachers and include Isla Jenkins, Cadence Lambert, Dylan Misceles, Destry Oxford, Alizon Rodriguez, Alayna Smith, Aiden Tomky and Norah Weiss.
    High School Principal Mike Sorensen told the board that CCS came in second in the SPVA academic contest recently.
    Schools were required to submit the top five ACT test scores. CCS scores averaged 27.8 out of 36 points. Receiving medals were Alexis Richmond and Charles Barnes.
    The board went into executive session at the end of the meeting to discuss personnel. Nothing was reported following that session.

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