It may seem like only yesterday that school was releasing for the summer, but it’s almost time for kiddos to head back to the classroom again. Administrators across campus are working to make sure that those classrooms are staffed and ready to go.
Under a month before the beginning of the new school year, Marietta has positions left to fill.
“We are not fully staffed, and this has been the toughest hiring season in my 23 years of education,” said Superintendent Brandi Naylor. “We still have openings for an elementary teacher, elementary special education teacher, and an elementary teacher’s aide. High school Spanish would be open, but we will be doing Spanish online since we had no qualified applicants.”
The district has hired several new staff members including Kelsi Kamesch, agriculture; Jake Rhodes, assistant band director and other electives; Tony Buchanan, high school history; Stacey Marris, high school history; Ronda Norman, high school English; Jacob Austin, middle school social studies; Cheyenne Rhoades, middle school English/Language Arts; Michelle Apgar, primary teacher; Amy Miller, elementary teacher; Derek Saxon, elementary PE; and Amber Mitchell, elementary teacher’s aide.
Marietta will be adding some new programs this year, including aviation in the high school and Project Lead the Way STEM/Science curriculum and a new reading program in the primary and elementary. Also, the hiring of an additional ag teacher, Kelsi Kamesch, will allow for expansion in that program.
With an entire year of campus construction under their belt, Naylor is hoping to be able to move into the new building during the spring semester.
Except for new student enrollment, which will be held on campus by site during the first week of August, all other enrollment is done online.
“We’re missing several students compared to what we had enrolled at the end of the last school year, so I’ll be sending out a reminder email,” said coordinator Roberta Morgan. “It takes time to process that information, so we’re asking parents to complete enrollment as soon as possible and not wait until the week before school starts because things get so busy.”
Morgan said that the progress is easier this year than in past years because of pre-filled fields, cutting down on the information that parents must provide. If parents can remember their login but have forgotten the password, they can reset the password on their own.
“If parents need to, they can contact us using the contactus@mariettaisd email,” Morgan continued, “or they can wait until secretaries are back in the offices during the first week of August and then call (580) 276-9444 and follow the prompt for the office they need.
“Online enrollment is really not that hard at all, and the sooner parents can get it done, the more helpful it is to us.”
Marietta staff members will head back to school for professional development on Monday, August 15 and Tuesday, August 16. August 17 will be a certified staff workday, and classes will begin on Thursday, August 18.