Lind-Ritzville administrators prep for school year

The Lind and Ritzville School Boards discussed the upcoming school year and administrators shared their goals for the year during the monthly meeting on Aug. 22. The meeting served as the second opportunity for new Superintendent Matthew Ellis to coordinate and oversee the school board meeting.

Ellis explained the districts are almost fully staffed and employees are prepared for the first day of school on Aug. 29. The positions needed to be filled include a counselor for the districts and a music teacher for Ritzville Grade School.

Ellis said the staff members are beginning the school year with a welcome back assembly to introduce the new teachers and allow the employees with an opportunity to familiarize themselves with the facilities and their coworkers.

On the first week of school, Ellis reminded the school board members the first day of school is a late start Monday. The Lind and Ritzville school districts will be closed on Friday, Sept. 2, for students to attend the Wheat Land Communities’ Fair.

Ellis also informed the school boards that the Ritzville Facilities Committee recently convened to discuss the future of the bond for the Ritzville School District. He explained they are currently focusing on the length of the bond, and working on increased community discussion.

Along with the bond discussion, Ellis recommended having a safety inspection done at the Ritzville schools to determine the threat level in each building. He emphasized the importance in finding the areas where the district can improve to help protect the students and increase the security districtwide.

Ellis concluded he believes the school districts and staff members are ready to provide a positive and quality educational experience for all students entering the districts this year.

Ritzville Grade School Principal Tom Arlt informed the boards that there are 190 students currently enrolled to attend school in preschool through fifth grade. Due to the amount of students, the classes that will be split into two separate classes are preschool, kindergarten and second grade.

Arlt said while the majority of positions have been filled, the grade school is still in need of a counselor. The candidates for the position are screened not only by the Ritzville School District selection committee, but also ESD 101, as the position is funded through a grant.

The district is benefitting from the addition of Annie Trunkle-Smart serving as an intern counselor, Arlt said.

Another positive for the district entering into the new school year is test scores, Arlt stated. From the year prior, students made a 10 percent increase in test scores in all categories. Arlt said the test scores are currently posted to the OSPI website.

Lind School District Principal Cindy Deska stated there are 93 students currently enrolled in the Lind Elementary School. Additionally, there are 103 students registered at Lind-Ritzville Middle School, which is down slightly from the year prior due to a large graduating eighth grade class last year.

Deska explained all of the staffing positions are filled and there are three new teachers joining the staff in the district. She also updated the boards that the Lind Elementary School will be changing their mascot to the Bull Pups to create a separate identity for those students.

Along with the upcoming school year plans, Deska also informed the boards about the recent success of the summer school program in Lind. Over the summer, 29 students attended summer school.

The teachers traveled to Hatton to work with students there, as well as the students in Lind. Deska said the program saw good attendance and the addition of traveling to Hatton was well received by all involved.

Deska said the middle school is hosting an Open House on Sept. 13 from 6-7 p.m. During the open house, parents and staff will discuss open campus and Camp Wooten. Deska advised the board members that students will not be allowed to leave campus during lunch until after the Open House.

Reports to the board concluded with an update from new Lind-Ritzville High School Principal Ronanda Liberty. She said as a newcomer to the district, she is grateful for the leadership and advice she has received from Deska and Arlt, and she looks forward to focusing on leadership for all students entering the high school this year.

Liberty said a few of the expected highlights for the year is the addition of Steve Greenwalt to the staff, as he hopes to improve and create a competitive Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) club at the school.

Liberty said another program she is looking forward to offering is the TEALS program, offered through Microsoft.

After meeting with teachers at the school, Liberty said the primary focuses for the staff members are professional development and improving school culture. The purpose is to engage more students in and out of the classroom, Liberty said.

Along with these two focuses, Liberty said her other goals include increasing student leadership, reducing truancy and updating the school handbook.

For the high school, there are currently 177 students enrolled to begin school on Aug. 29, Liberty stated.

In athletic updates, Athletic Director Greg Whitmore said football enrollment is down slightly with only 35 athletes. Of the six newcomers on the team, one is from Sprague, four are from Washtucna and two are exchange students.

Whitmore said along with returning coaches, Kellen Drake is joining the coaching staff this year as an assistant coach. Drake has been hired as the Lind-Ritzville High School math teacher.

For Lady Broncos’ volleyball, the team has 30 athletes registered and they will be competing under the leadership of the same coaches from the past few years.

Whitmore said middle school sports will begin on Aug. 29 with the same coaching staffs as last year. Athletic Trainer Dustin Killian will also be returning to assist the athletic teams this year.

The next school board meeting is set for Sept. 22 at 6:30 p.m. in Room 15 at Lind-Ritzville Middle School in Lind.