New Teachers, Paintball Get School Board OK
By Paul Gingras

At its Monday, September 10, meeting, the St. Ignace Area Schools Board of Education approved the hiring of two new teachers, approved construction of a paintball arena on school grounds, and adopted a new kindergartenthrough 12th-grade curriculum designed to help students master information and skills required by the state.

Nicholas Hein has been hired to teach metal shop and history at LaSalle High School, replacing recently retired teacher Rick Silet. He attended high school in Rogers City and was graduated from Central Michigan University.

Mr. Hein attended the board meeting, at which Superintendent Mike Springsteen said he is "looking forward to a lot of good things" and "good years" from Mr. Hein.

Educators with degrees in history and metal shop are rare, Mr. Springsteen said, making Mr. Hein a lucky find for the district. Mr. Hein has college majors in social studies, history, and metal shop.

The board also voted to hire Elizabeth Hinkson, originally from Manistique, to fill a part-time position at the juvenile detention facility. She replaces Jen Tallaire, who resigned this summer. Ms. Hinkson completed her student teaching at St. Ignace Area Schools.

She has five years teaching experience in Manistique and Grand Rapids, Mr. Springsteen said, adding that her degree in special education will be useful in her work with students at the facility, who have a wide variety of needs and abilities. She will focus on English language arts and social studies, Mr. Springsteen said.

Ms. Hinkson is "full of enthusiasm... the kind of person you would want to have around your kids," Mr. Springsteen said.

"It is nice to be back on familiar stomping grounds," Ms. Hinkson said.

The board voted to authorize Mr. Springsteen to contract with War Memorial Hospital in Sault Ste. Marie to secure the services of a speech and language pathologist to replace recently retired pathologist Liz DeWick.

Pending board approval, the school has been working with language pathologist Michelle Kallahon of Sault Ste. Marie. Through War Memorial, Ms. Kallahon works for the school district and Mackinac Straits Hospital and Health Center.

Owing to a shortage of professionals with her skills, the district could not recruit its own employee through college placement services or Internet searches, Mr. Springsteen said. The district would prefer to have its own employee on staff, but the arrangement is expected to work well.

"The bottom line is to serve the needs of the kids," he told The St. Ignace News.

Having specialized help with speech and language problems is important in schools, he said. Every year, teachers identify language developmental problems in elementary school students, and with help, most overcome such problems by middle school, Mr. Springsteen said.

In addition to the new teachers, LaSalle High School graduates Hank McClure and Mandi Johnson will serve as student teachers in the district this year.

Mr. McClure was graduated from Lake Superior State University with a degree in mathematics. In his pursuit of a teaching certificate, he will work with teachers Marty Spencer, Rob Sydow, and Kip Wiersma.

Ms. Johnson, a Lake Superior State University student, will work with sixth grade, language arts, and mathematics teacher Helena Shepard.

The board accepted the resignation of bus aide Jennifer Savard, who was hired last year to monitor student behavior on bus runs from St. Ignace to Rudyard Area Schools. She is planning to enroll in college and pursue a career in education.

The district will reassign one of its staff members to fill the position, Mr. Springsteen said, which is approximately three hours a day, three to four days a week.

Betsy Wheeler will take over the yearbook advisory position this year, replacing Lori Strich, who helped create yearbooks for the past two years. She is experienced with publishing and editing programs. There is no yearbook class, so all work on the publication will take place after school hours.

New Curriculum Adopted

The board adopted an official kindergarten-through-12th grade curriculum developed and recommended by the Eastern Upper Peninsula Intermediate School District (EUPISD).

The curriculum is designed to help teachers cover specific information that appears on standardized tests, such as the Michigan Educational Assessment Program (MEAP). The district hopes streamlining the curriculum will increase students' scores on mathematics, science, English language arts, and social studies tests. The information is covered on the MEAP in grades three through nine and 11, Mr. Springsteen said.

Adopting the curriculum will not disrupt teachers' lesson plans for the year, he added. Educators have been working with the EUPISD to develop what he termed the "regional" curriculum, over the past year and a half. Part of the benefit of coordinating all of the EUPISD schools' curricula is to create a pacing system for delivery of information and testing.

With the regional curriculum in place, a student moving from St. Ignace Area Schools to Pickford Public Schools, for example, would find himself in classes with students learning the same material at nearly the same stage as in St. Ignace.

Paintball Arena Approved

The board voted to authorize a paintball court on school grounds.

Straits Area Shooters Paintball agreed to provide the $1 million insurance policy the school district needs to allow the facility. The policy will cover players and the school district in the unlikely event of an accident, Mr. Springsteen said.

The group plans to create the arena southwest of the track. It will include a 150-foot by 200-foot fence made of netting. Inside, the group plans to place inflatable objects for players to hide behind as they attempt to shoot each other with paintballs.

While the location is considered ideal by paintball players, paintball will not be a school activity. At a Monday, August 13, school board meeting, Phil Ruegg of Straits Area Shooters explained that the facility will not be open on a walk-in basis. The group plans to hold formal games with established teams and referees.