Following a presentation on the benefits of adding a 1.0 elementary counselor position to the Wautoma Area School District, the Board approved the creation of the position during their regular meeting on Monday, March 8.
Prior to the vote, Redgranite and Parkside Elementary Counselor Brittaney Strobl, Redgranite Elementary Principal Caitlin Reinke and Parkside School Principal Deb Premo presented their proposal to the Board. The addition of a 1.0 FTE Counselor to the District would ultimately allow for Parkside School to have two full-time counselors for Grades 4-8 and Redgranite School to have a full-time counselor for 4K-5th Grade.
Strobl, the current elementary counselor for Redgranite’s 4K-5th Grade students, and Parkside School’s 4th and 5th Grade students, explained to the Board that based on the Wisconsin School Counselor Association Standards counselors should be spending 80 percent direct hours with students, while 20 percent of indirect hours include tasks that impact students, but the counselor isn’t directly working with students.
Using these standards, Strobl shared how she currently utilizes her time at each school and how many students are in need of interventions as well as weekly or even daily support. Weekly support is offered to the students at this time, but due to the fact that Strobl is not at each school every day, she is unable to provide the daily support to those who are most in need due the fact she is not at each school every day.
Reinke, Strobl and Premo also provided the Board with the advantages of having a full-time counselor at Redgranite Elementary and two full-time counselors at the Parkside. By having a counselor at Redgranite, they felt there would be more time for structured interventions, which allows for the possibility to be more successful with fidelity and frequency with meeting with students. The counselor would also be able to create lasting relationships with students and meet the needs of all students in order to help prevent unwanted behaviors from occurring.
With Strobl only available on Tuesdays and Fridays at Redgranite and Monday, Wednesdays and Thursdays at Parkside, she has found it is more difficult to gain ground with the students most in need. She also added Reinke often schedules her curriculum meetings on days she is at the school since she is able to provide emergency interventions when she is gone, rather than depending on the secretary.
Strobl and Premo went on to highlight the added benefits of having a second full-time counselor to Parkside, stating it would be beneficial to the students as they would be able to restructure the entire 4th-8th grade counseling program. By having consistency and offering a male and female counselor, it would allow students to build relationships and trust, as well as find the counselor they are most comfortable speaking with.
At the conclusion of their presentation, Premo shared that the administrators, teachers, parents, students are very impressed with Strobl and how great she has been meeting all the students’ needs at both locations. Redgranite Elementary and Parkside School wish they could have more of her at this time. By adding the additional position, it would provide for support for all stakeholders and allow for all students to build a trusting relationship with their counselor.
“This is probably the tip of the iceberg,” said Board President Ross Peterson. With all of the stress brought onto students the past year Peterson would not be surprised if this addition would be just the first step in counseling improvements. The position was unanimously approved by the Board, and Strobl will be making a decision in the coming weeks on which school she will want to work at going forward. The position for the other school will be posted internally and externally for those interested in applying.
The Board also heard a presentation regarding a new math elective course Parkside hopes to offer to selected 8th grade students who need extra help in Algebra prior to advancing to the high school. This extra course would potentially allow for identified students to enroll in Algebra I without the need for taking the Algebra Strategies, an elective the high school provides for those who are lagging behind in math skills. According to Parkside School 8th Grade Mathematics Teacher Patrick Wolff, he typically recommends about 15 to 20 students each year to take the Algebra Strategies elective their freshman year. However, this year, based on his observations and testing data, Wolff believes there are 43 students who would benefit from the elective course.
As a way to offer a chance for students to catch up in Algebra and become better prepared for high school, Premo recommended the Board approve the math elective course at Parkside as well as the additional pay for the instructor. Wolff said he has identified 12 to 16 students who could benefit from this course and hopefully allow them to move forward in math, which would open up an elective space in their schedules as a freshman.
Premo also said she has spoken to parents of the students who they would select to take this course, and they have been very supportive of the opportunity. This elective at the 8th Grade level would only be for this year and would aim for specific targets Wolff hopes the students will meet prior to the end of the year. Premo added the funding for the extra pay for the teacher’s time would come out of the ESSER Funds provided to the school district from the federal government as they are addressing loss of learning. After their presentation, the course was unanimously approved by the Board, with members recognizing the efforts of Wolff who is taking on the extra work.
The Board went on to approve the retirement of David Kroll, Custodian III-Groundkeeper; resignation of Andrew DeKeyser, Football, High School Assistant Coach; and the resignation of Michael Butler, Track, Middle School Assistant Coach; the hiring of: Danielle Wheaton, Parkside Middle School Special Education Teacher; Jess Johnson, Baseball, High School Head Varsity Coach; Tynae Phillips, Softball, Middle School Assistant Coach; 2021 Summer Crew; Jack Eagan, Baseball, Middle School Head Coach; Sue Praninsky, Track, Middle School Assistant Coach; and Michael Butler, Track, Middle School Head Coach. The Board also approved the Parkside Upper and Lower Gymnasium HVAC Project; 2021-2022 CESA 5 Contract for Services; 2021-2022 Wage Increases and Scales; Revised and/or New Policies, 2nd Consideration; and System & Network Specialist Job Description, 2nd Consideration.
