The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

WAITSBURG -- The Waitsburg School District is making several changes this year, largely in response to parent and teacher input received at a number of work sessions held by the school board during the past school year.

A new ¾-time teacher was added to the staff, which will allow the district to do away with split classrooms this year. Instead, there will be one class per grade level in grades kindergarten through sixth grade.

Additionally, the sixth grade will move from the grade school building, to Preston Hall Middle School.

Gabe Kiefel has been hired as the part-time sixth grade teacher, and will teach language arts and math. Social Studies will be taught in the afternoon by Mrs. Reser. Mrs. Martin will teach science.

The sixth grade will have fitness with Mr. Bartlow for half the year and band with Mr. Green for the other half.

Longtime substitute teacher Wenda Parr has been hired to teach fifth grade at the elementary school, replacing Jennifer Fischer, who taught grades four through six last year. Fischer has taken a resource room special education position at Davis Elementary in College Place.

Mrs. Douglas will return to teaching a class of only fourth grade students during the upcoming school year.

The Times will interview incoming teachers Gabe Kiefel and Wenda Parr in next week's issue.