New employees get acquainted

When school starts next Tuesday morning, the Sisters School District will welcome 17 new full- or part-time teachers. Some are filling positions left open by teachers who are not returning to the district; others are taking on positions that are new to the district. In addition, several paraprofessionals and classified employees will join the district's educational force.

Last Friday, August 24, all new hires gathered at Sisters High School for a New Hire Orientation. They spent the morning with the district's new superintendent Elaine Drakulich, learning about the district and Drakulich's expectations of them. (See related story, page 4.)

Much like the Sisters community itself, the group of new hires represent a broad spectrum of interests and backgrounds.

"It's an impressive group with very few from Sisters homegrown, but there are a couple," said superintendent Drakulich. "There are people from all over: Puerto Rico; two from England; California; Washington. The East Coast has several, and there are a couple of native Oregonians...," said superintendent Drakulich.

New teachers Stephanie Jensen, who will teach a second/third grade blend class, and her husband Rob, who will teach sixth grade science in one of the middle school's new classrooms and coach varsity soccer, are coming to Sisters from Madras. According to Stephanie the couple were attracted to Sisters because of "the area and the community and all the wonderful people."

The Jensens plan to purchase a home in Sisters as soon as their home in Madras sells. In the meantime they are renting just outside of town.

The district's Registered Nurse Sally Benton gave in-service training about guidelines for distributing prescriptive medications. New staff members also learned how to administer epinephrine should a student with allergies suffer anaphylactic shock.

Drakulich spent several minutes speaking on the topic: "The Best in Oregon - Sisters."

Drakulich told her new staff about her commitment to developing an individualized plan that will insure the success of each and every child who attends Sisters schools.

"My passion is that every single child will achieve high academic standards, meaning at least state or federal met (standards) if not exceeding them in reading, writing and computation," she said.

To achieve this goal teachers and staff must understand and help students identify their individual interests and aptitudes. They must also assist each student in developing a path so that upon graduating from high school each will know where he or she is going from that point on, Drakulich said.

According to Drakulich, because both the Sisters community and the school community are committed to having a strong school district, "...a wonderful opportunity (exists) to create the best school district in the state of Oregon."