Tea Area School Board recognizes Legacy student achievements and staff changes

The Tea Area School Board met April 15 and heard from the Legacy student council.

Members of the Legacy Elementary student council talked about what they have going on their school. For the first time in the district, they had not one, but two students selected for their artwork for a work zone billboard. They are both in the same class at Legacy. Their work will be featured at mile markers 70 and 73 for the summer. 

Operations manager Wayne Larsen gave them update on the high school project. The red crane continues to set the structural steel. Rough-in plumbing, HVAC and electrical are primarily focusing on mechanical areas and the wrestling room. The support braces have been removed from the gym. They have started prepping the gym floor to pour concrete. Concrete has been poured in the classroom areas of the music wing. The chiller units and gym lockers have arrived. Right now they are roughly a week ahead of where they thought they would be.

The board approved the change to the Chromebook handbook that now includes sixth-graders.

They approved the resignations of Amy Price and Lainey DeJong as special education paraprofessionals and Gayla Wipf as high school librarian. They approved the resignations of April Kalscheuer as TLR special education teacher, Bonnie Wolthuis as foodservice, Carter Olson as teacher and middle school boys basketball, Elizabeth Herrbolt as director of curriculum, instruction and assessment, Ellie Geier as middle school/high school ELL teacher, Emily Long for sixth-grade math, Logan Shockman as assistant middle school track and field coach, Loren Visser as high school quiz bowl adviser, 

Matthew Brue as head middle school track and field coach, Megan Sengos as speech language pathologist, Rachel Rau as high school student council adviser, Samantha Jennings as middle school special education teacher, Sarah Springman as varsity and JV cheer coach, Sarah Smith as third-grade teacher, Sarah VanLaecken as high school assistant girls basketball coach, Scott Binde as assistant girls high school basketball and Tim Dingman for summer band lessons at the end of the school year.

The board approved the new hires of Abby Gullickson as high school student council adviser, Alexus Foster as assistant middle school track, Amber Olafson as head boys golf, Angela Kamps as high school Art Club, Cassandra Sabers as third-grade teacher at Legacy, Emily Henze as elementary teacher, Jeff Hamblen as head middle school track, Nicolette Schmidt as third-grade teacher at Frontier, Skye Bork as seventh and eighth grade ELA and Wade Begeman as head seventh-grad boys basketball.

They also reviewed the transfers of Elizabeth Kirschenman (Frontier first to Frontier kindergarten), Serena Tunge (Venture fourth to Venture third), Sydney Trout (seventh science to eighth science), Taylor Brown (7/8 ELA to 6/7 ELA) and Samantha Walder (principal to curriculum director).

The board approved the South Dakota Department of Education waivers for eighth grade algebra 1 and computer science essentials to count for high school credit.

They approved the resolution to renew their annual membership in the South Dakota High School Activities Association.

Superintendent Jennifer Lowery and Legacy Elementary principal Samantha Walder reported on their experience at the Carnegie Summit in March in San Diego. They talked about strategic plans and the work being done in the district to improve.

Lowery reviewed the results of the parent experience and student experience surveys. Further work needs to be done to break the results out by building versus the whole district.