POTOMAC - Potomac School is ready for 2019-2020 school year with rearranged staff positions, new staff coming on and updates to the school facilities.
Security measures remain in place with security cameras and door buzzers to control who enters the school buildings. The school board continually looks through and updates safety policies including scheduling armed intruder drills. Staff receive appropriate training to create a safety zone for the students.
Several staff changed positions for next year. The teacher for fourth/ fifth combined class will be Abby Stitt who was the Literacy Grant Instructional Coach this year. In turn, teacher Sarah Schmill will move from the fourth/fifth combined class to the Instructional Coach position.
Christie Taillefer will be the school-wide physical education teacher, teach Language Arts for sixth grade and is next year’s Explorers coordinator.
Preschool teacher Jodi Hausemann will return for two days a week next year. Principal John Rouse said the testing results were very good, showing growth in letter and number recognition from the students.
New to the staff is special needs support aide Sarah Duello and Jessica Van Kerkhove.
Van Kerkhove will be assisting sixth, seventh and eighth grade students with a focus on Social Studies. Rouse explained this is a new grant funded position through the Office of Public Instruction. The $10,000 was awarded to Potomac School for doing a good job this year with the Literacy Program
“The [21st Century] grant has gone really well and has been a great benefit for us,” said Rouse
The Potomac School Board also welcomed a new member, Potomac resident Nicole Zupan.
Rouse returns as administrator. His contract was renewed last February that runs until June 30, 2021.
The Potomac School library has many new books for the students. Throughout the year during library the classes would write down ideas for new books to purchase. Before the school year ended, more than eight boxes of new books arrived.
Potomac School library staffer Amy Vann said, “It looked like Christmas with all the boxes of books waiting to be unpacked!”
The library will also be organized during the summer, cleaned and ‘well loved’ books will be mended. Library hours are every Wednesday from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
There are also several upgrades to the facilities happening over the summer.
The kitchen in the Potomac Greenough Community Center is being remodeled. It will now meet the requirements and codes of the Missoula County Public Health Department.
The playground is being updated as well, with sidewalks laid for Potomac students and wheelchair access as well as a four-square slab and another basketball slab.
“We [staff] did everything we could to help out [with the remodeling work],” said Rouse who added his first focus has always been the students.
Rouse said the outlook for next year is positive. First day of school for Potomac students this coming year is Sept. 3.
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