WHS alum hired as elementary extended learning teacher

Approved as the sole certified staffing change of the August 28 meeting of the Washakie County School District No. 1 Board of Trustees meeting, Worland alumni Connor Warner will return as an elementary extended learning instructor.

Warner will also be serving as an assistant football coach. Warner has experience playing football at the collegiate level, having played defensive back at Dickinson State University.

COMMUNICATIONS

Hayden Reichel graduated late after completing his graduation requirements.

Omar Deniz was recognized late for having achieved a 4.0 grade point average last school year.

Nikki Thiel, who won a national award for her work at East Side Elementary School and the Educational Resource Center last year, was recognized as the staff spotlight of August.

POLICY

The following policies were discussed during the meeting:

Policy 2.4 Child Abuse – Enforces a duty to report suspected child abuse to authorities.

Policy 2.5 Conduct Away from School – Students while attending school events not on school property are representing the school and will maintain conduct and adhere to rules as if they were in school.

Policy 2.6 Desks and Lockers – Establishes that desks and lockers are the property of the school, and they may be searched at any time.

Policy 2.7 Discipline/Weapons, Suspension, Expulsion – Establishes that the school district does not conduct corporal punishment, but that if a student disrupts the school environment then there are various degrees of punishment depending on the infraction. A principal can suspend a student up to 10 days, a superintendent can suspend a student for up to a year, and bringing a deadly weapon to school carries the punishment of an automatic mandatory expulsion. Punishments are handled on a case-by-case basis.

STAFFING/

COACHING

The following certified staff were approved for hire:

Kasandra Escobar as a full-time custodian at the high school.

Josh Cady as a part-time assistant cook at South Side.

Marilynn St Clair as a bus driver.

Elizabeth McIntosh as a full-time paraeducator at South Side.

Sirena Candela as a full-time paraeducator at South Side.

Abigail Burgess as part-time paraeducator at the middle school.

Deb Coronado as a part-time paraeducator at the middle school.

Marie Overlease as a part-time paraeducator at the middle school.

Jessica Abbott as a part-time special education (SPED) paraeducator at East Side.

Patricia Ruelas as a full-time paraeducator at East Side.

Alejandra Rice as a part time SPED paraeducator at West Side.

Alexis Villa as a part-time evening housekeeper at West Side.

The following coaches were approved for hire:

Rylan Mocko as assistant seventh grade football coach.

Stephen Harris as assistant high school football coach.

FACILITIES REPORT

Chief Operations Officer Charlie Cauffman reported that the commons area at Worland High School was nearly done, having undergone construction over the summer and early into the school year. Still-to-do in the commons are installing a bar table along the room’s north wall, installing charging stations on said table, and providing finishing touches to the food service area.

Rooftop units for West Side and South Side are being replaced, and entrance vestibules have been built at all three schools but two of them need interior work.

Cauffman said that although the project to renovate the high school’s weight room has been garnering attention lately, the plan is still in the design phase.

He said that he hopes to start this project “after basketball season of 2024.”