By Liz Shepherd
InkFreeNews

WARSAW — Warsaw Community Schools’ Board of Trustees approved a $1,000 CARES Act stipend for all employees during a meeting on Monday, April 19.

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act is a federal initiative to alleviate economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The last year has been one of the most challenging years at Warsaw Community Schools,” said WCS Superintendent Dr. David Hoffert. “But Warsaw Community Schools is one of the largest school districts in the state to stay open K-12. As WCS prepares to receive its second round of (CARES Act) Dollars, a new allocation decision was considered by the WCS school board and leadership.”

The $1,000 stipend will be prorated by the number of hours each employee works. WCS’s first allocation of CARES Act funds went toward staff’s paid sick days for COVID-19 leave.

“Teamwork makes the dream work and each one of you met the challenge,” said Dr. Hoffert in a statement to employees about the stipend. “Our students and community are a better place because of our teachers and staff. You as a member of our 1,200 employees have been required to pivot to take on responsibilities and challenges. We are all very proud of the outstanding accomplishments WCS has achieved because of each one of you.”

Here are some plants grown by Claypool Elementary School students. The project is part of the school’s STEM program. InkFreeNews photo by Liz Shepherd.

In other business, the school board also learned that for the 2021-22 school year, distance education will only be offered to high school students.

Dr. Dani Barkey, assistant superintendent of secondary education; and Dr. David Robertson, assistant superintendent of elementary education, presented board members with statistics on what distance education has looked like for the 2020-21 school year.

“We had a lot of students who thought they were interested in distance ed to start the year,” said Barkey. “By Week Two, a lot of them found it wasn’t for them so our enrollment fluctuated all semester long.”

Barkey said distance education enrollment at the high school and middle schools was around 5%.

“We really found maturity correlated to the success of the student in the program,” said Barkey on students’ participation in distance education.

For elementary students, about 7% of the population was enrolled in distance education at the beginning of the 2020-21 school year. This semester, that has dropped to 4.7%.

“We do believe in-person learning, especially at the K-6 level, is best for students,” said Robertson. “From a developmental standpoint, for students ages 5-12, it’s very, very difficult to get the same level of educational progress in place with students of that age.”

The board also:

• Welcomed Washington STEM Academy Principal David Burden to the WCS family.

Burden and his wife, Valerie, along with their three children, were present at the meeting to introduce themselves to the school board.

“What’s most exciting about it is the opportunity to continue the excellence Washington has had over the years and in many ways, continuing the motion forward,” said Burden. “Warsaw is our home and that’s a big part of why I wanted to be back here. I have always felt really drawn to this community.”

• Learned that Warsaw Community High School’s prom will take place May 15, at the Kosciusko County Fairgrounds.

Combined Community Services is currently accepting donated prom dresses and financial gifts through its ‘Glass Slipper’ event, which helps provide a prom dress for those in need. For further information, contact Lacey Alber at [email protected] or at (574) 538-2726.

• Heard about Claypool Elementary School’s STEM program.

Claypool Elementary School Principal Melissa Rees and STEM Instructional Coach Brock Rhodes provided details on the school’s STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) program. The school’s program includes lessons on robotics, wildlife and gardening. Claypool Elementary students have grown food to give to Someplace Else Saloon, a local restaurant in town.

The board’s next work session is at 4 p.m. Tuesday, May 11, at the WCS central office. The next regular session is at 7 p.m. Monday, May 17, at Lakeview Middle School.