MONROE - On Monday night, the Monroe School Board voted unanimously to name Jeriamy Jackson the next Monroe High School assistant principal. He will succeed Robin McLeish, who is retiring at the end of the school year.
Jackson currently serves as the high school psychologist and the Monroe wrestling coach. He's used to wearing multiple hats, and he is looking forward to the new position.
"It will be a little bit of a transition going into a new role," Jackson said. "It's something I needed to do in my career to start a new chapter."
Jackson will start as assistant principal July 1. He is currently enrolled in an educational administration program at Viterbo University that will give him the necessary license for the position when he finishes his coursework this spring.
In addition to McLeish's retirement, Monroe High School principal Rick Waski will resign at the end of the school year to take the district administrator position in the Adams Friendship School District. Waski's resignation was approved by the Monroe School Board on Feb. 12, and his successor has not yet been named.
"There will be some uncertainty with the transition and who will be the next principal and what their vision will be," Jackson said.
Jackson is familiar with many of the academic programs at the high school since he has worked with Waski and McLeish the last several years.
"I know some of the programs we have that have been positive and I think I can help with that direction," he said.
Jackson points to the Align By Design curriculum model and the Positive Behavior Interventions System that have shown an impact with high school students.
The foundation of the Align By Design model is getting teachers to educate students at their individual skill and entry levels. The high school has three different levels of English and World Past and Present, physical science courses for freshmen based on their skill level entering high school. The courses teach the same content, but at different skill levels. For sophomores, the Align by Design courses are English and U.S. history.
"We want to keep that model because it has shown success with student achievement," he said.
In other action, the school board:
• Approved the purchase of 410 iPads from Apple and 400 Griffin Survivor covers at a cost of $170,586. The purchase completes the one-to-one iPad deployment at Monroe Middle School. Each student at the middle school will use iPads in classes next year.
• Approved the extension of the current agreement with TC Networks for additional three years at a cost of $249,800 a year.
• Approved the non-renewal notice for Monroe Middle School Assistant Principal Melissa Wiegel. The reduction is part of the district's pledge to cut one administrator after the four-year, $8 million referendum was rejected by voters in 2011.
• Honored Tom Maurer, an aide at Northside Elementary School, with the Monroe Lamp of Learning Staff Excellence Award for February.
• Approved the retirement of Linda Christen, a fifth grade teacher at Abraham Lincoln Accelerated Learning Academy; Sandy Bestul, a second grade teacher at Abe Lincoln and Tom Nelson, a technology education teacher at Monroe Middle School.
• A group of high school students gave a presentation on their Washington D.C. trip where they were on hand for Pres. Barack Obama's inauguration. There were 18 students that went on the trip as part of Brian Jefferson and Kathryn Zastrow's social studies classes. The students shared their experiences of their four-day trip that included touring the White House, visiting the World War I memorial, the World War II memorial, Abe Lincoln memorial, the Thomas Jefferson memorial, the Smithsonian buildings and the Arlington National Cemetery.
Jackson currently serves as the high school psychologist and the Monroe wrestling coach. He's used to wearing multiple hats, and he is looking forward to the new position.
"It will be a little bit of a transition going into a new role," Jackson said. "It's something I needed to do in my career to start a new chapter."
Jackson will start as assistant principal July 1. He is currently enrolled in an educational administration program at Viterbo University that will give him the necessary license for the position when he finishes his coursework this spring.
In addition to McLeish's retirement, Monroe High School principal Rick Waski will resign at the end of the school year to take the district administrator position in the Adams Friendship School District. Waski's resignation was approved by the Monroe School Board on Feb. 12, and his successor has not yet been named.
"There will be some uncertainty with the transition and who will be the next principal and what their vision will be," Jackson said.
Jackson is familiar with many of the academic programs at the high school since he has worked with Waski and McLeish the last several years.
"I know some of the programs we have that have been positive and I think I can help with that direction," he said.
Jackson points to the Align By Design curriculum model and the Positive Behavior Interventions System that have shown an impact with high school students.
The foundation of the Align By Design model is getting teachers to educate students at their individual skill and entry levels. The high school has three different levels of English and World Past and Present, physical science courses for freshmen based on their skill level entering high school. The courses teach the same content, but at different skill levels. For sophomores, the Align by Design courses are English and U.S. history.
"We want to keep that model because it has shown success with student achievement," he said.
In other action, the school board:
• Approved the purchase of 410 iPads from Apple and 400 Griffin Survivor covers at a cost of $170,586. The purchase completes the one-to-one iPad deployment at Monroe Middle School. Each student at the middle school will use iPads in classes next year.
• Approved the extension of the current agreement with TC Networks for additional three years at a cost of $249,800 a year.
• Approved the non-renewal notice for Monroe Middle School Assistant Principal Melissa Wiegel. The reduction is part of the district's pledge to cut one administrator after the four-year, $8 million referendum was rejected by voters in 2011.
• Honored Tom Maurer, an aide at Northside Elementary School, with the Monroe Lamp of Learning Staff Excellence Award for February.
• Approved the retirement of Linda Christen, a fifth grade teacher at Abraham Lincoln Accelerated Learning Academy; Sandy Bestul, a second grade teacher at Abe Lincoln and Tom Nelson, a technology education teacher at Monroe Middle School.
• A group of high school students gave a presentation on their Washington D.C. trip where they were on hand for Pres. Barack Obama's inauguration. There were 18 students that went on the trip as part of Brian Jefferson and Kathryn Zastrow's social studies classes. The students shared their experiences of their four-day trip that included touring the White House, visiting the World War I memorial, the World War II memorial, Abe Lincoln memorial, the Thomas Jefferson memorial, the Smithsonian buildings and the Arlington National Cemetery.