We, at the Okoboji Community Schools, are very fortunate to have a wonderful staff of people who care about the kids that they work with on a daily basis. We have also taken the extra step to have formed a Personnel Committee within our school board to help in the hiring process. These board members come, when available, to the teacher interviews and help, with a group of others, in the selection process of our teachers. Human Resource departments in larger corporations have very detailed interviewing processes. We try to emulate them as well. If possible, we ask students to be involved as we will have teacher candidates actually teach a twenty minute lesson to a class and observe how the candidates react to the kids and the kids to the candidates. We feel that hiring the very best people for our kids is the most important thing we can do administratively. I would like to share with you two examples of staff members who excel in what they do and have been recognized for it.
Mrs. Witt teaches Sophomore English, Rhetoric and Speech. She also is one of our Speech coaches for the kids who want to participate in extracurricular speech contests. Mrs. Witt was nominated for the Richard Riggleman Award. Not only was she nominated, she won! This award goes to the best second year Speech coach in the state. We are so proud of the work that Mrs. Witt does with our kids. She works closely with Mrs. Williamson who also coaches Speech. Okoboji sent several individuals and ensembles to the All State Festival last spring. In fact, it was one of the best showings in years. Her enthusiasm has certainly rubbed off on the kids and the numbers of kids who are involved in Speech continue to grow. Congratulations to Mrs. Witt for winning this prestigious award.
We do also have a first year staff member who is receiving another award this fall. Emily Schaefer has worked for the AEA as a Social Worker for many years and we were able to hire her as our high school guidance counselor last spring. She is off to a flying start and her attention to detail so far this year has been phenomenal. We were recently informed that Ms. Schaefer was named School Social Worker of the Year by the Iowa School Social Workers Association. This is quite an honor and shows her dedication to the young people in our area. The job of a social worker is very much like the job of a school counselor in as much as one needs to know where to get information and get that information to the appropriate people. Learning some of the subtle nuances of the counselor’s office is something that comes with the job. Ms. Schaefer always has a smile on her face and is willing to visit with kids, parents and staff members to ensure that our students are getting the best education possible.
These are two of the most recent examples of staff members who have received state recognition for their work with young people. It is the goal of the Okoboji Community Schools to continue the practice of hiring highly qualified candidates for openings within our school. All of the new staff at our schools this year are highly qualified by standards set by the federal government and these teachers continue to impress the necessity of a great education to our young people. In the end, it is our students who are the real winners in this hiring derby. They are the ones who benefit from great instruction; they are the ones we do this for, the hiring of great teachers. Thanks for your continued support of the Okoboji Community Schools.
