During their Nov. 18 closed session meeting, the Poplar Bluff R-I School District covered new employments, resignations and retirements across area schools, the most notable of which are the retirement of Oak Grove Elementary School’s principal and addition of tutors in a new program to combat pandemic learning loss.
The board approved the retirements of Oak Grove Elementary principal Jenifer Richardson, effective June 30, 2022, and high school companion aide Janet Strickland, effective at the end of the school year.
They also passed the employment of the first batch of instructors for a new, ESSER-funded program called High Dosage Academic Tutors, which is part of the school’s learning loss plan to help students whose learning was disrupted by COVID-19.
“High-dosage tutoring consists of intensive tutoring that occurs in very small groups on a sustained, daily basis, during the school
day, to help students accelerate their learning in an individualized manner,” explained Fara Jones, who is assistant superintendent of personnel.
The tutors are Thomas Allen, Sue Barriner, Rebecca Burgin, Pamela Dunivan, Karen Hogg, Donna Nichols, Debra Pennington, Cindy Robertson, Krista Sells, Cynthia Tanner, Mindy Thurman and Julie Withrow. They will serve students from kindergarten to middle school.
The district also signed off on new employees in other positions beginning this year. New instructors are JV assistant wrestling coach Steven Haley, assistant girls swimming coach Jessica Hill and high school science teacher Meshal Jameson. Incoming paraprofessionals are Rebecca Hutson and Jacob Lovell and companion aides from kindergarten to junior high are Katelyn Briscoe, Hannah Leon, Lindzey Pugh and Alyssa Roberts. The board approved substitute teachers Susan Crawford, Madalyn Hammond, Brittany Slayton, Brandi Durbin, Ashley Lovette, Zoeie Hollins, Regina Stratton, Brooke Grogan, Linda Blansingame and Steven Haly. Stephanie Allen and Tammy Laramore are the new custodians at the senior high school and O’Neal Elementary, respectively, and Dylan Groves was hired as a bus driver.
Resigning from the high school are senior army JROTC instructor Scott Kulla, effective Dec. 31, plus agricultural ed teacher Kathryn Clark and math teacher Robert Tyler Nepean, both effective at the end of this school year. The board also accepted the resignations of kindergarten and elementary level companion aides Amber Downs, Camilla McAllister and Kenyeta McFarland, paraprofessionals BreAndrea Hampton, Sarah Hurt and Noemi Piedrasanta-Diaz, plus middle school nurse Heather Taylor. AmeriCorps resignees are Savannah Hudson and Kolbie Mansfield.