School board adds two new positions at Klager and Riverside

Last Monday night at the regularly scheduled Board of Education meeting for Manchester Community Schools, two new positions, each titled “Dean of Student Success,” were hired for Klager Elementary and Riverside Intermediate schools.

“With the administrative shift this year, we wanted to make sure that there is an administrator in each building at all times, and create a cohesive K-6 plan,” explained Nick Steinmetz, Superintendent. Steinmetz will also be serving as the principal for both Klager and Riverside, so these new positions, both of which were filled by internal candidates, will assist with establishing a culture and climate for each building, administering student discipline and intervention, and creating an emphasis on “restorative justice”–getting to the root of the issue rather than simply dealing with the symptoms, Steinmetz said.

At Riverside Intermediate, the new Dean of Student Success will be Julie Charney; while at Klager Elementary, the position was awarded to Diane Rickert. Both have 10+ years experience in the district, which Steinmetz says will be the key to this newly-developed program operating “like a dream.”

“(Both Charney and Rickert) know the kids; they know the district and the community,” he stated. “They know our barriers as well as our successes. This has been a perfect opportunity–we have great staff members, and the blessing and the curse of being a small district is that there often is limited opportunity for advancement. These individuals will have greater responsibility in these new positions and I look forward to this being incredibly successful for the district.”

As principal, Steinmetz will split his time 50/50 between each building and will focus primarily on instructional leadership–developing curriculum and overseeing staff, which he adds is really the primary job of an elementary school principal, and dovetails perfectly with the superintendent job as well.

“We want to have a cohesive K-6 continuum,” he explained. “In the end, this will provide more support to students and staff, by alleviating the need to oversee discipline, which often ends up being a major component of the elementary principal’s day.”

Steinmetz said that the K-6 population in Manchester is leveling off at the 50-65 students per class year mark. “This is where we’re going to be for a while,” he said. “Things should remain fairly consistent at this level for a while, unless there is some new development in the community.”

New kindergarten enrollment is currently at 65, including 12 at the Young 5 level. This is about five more pupils than was originally projected for the incoming school year. Overall, district enrollment is also currently on target at this time, and Steinmetz added that he expects a “small surge” of new enrollment before school begins, starting around the time of the district Open Houses, which will be held on Wednesday, August 28 from 5:30-8 pm.

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by Marsha Chartrand

Marsha Johnson Chartrand, a founder, writer, and copy editor with the Manchester Mirror, is a 50-year resident of Manchester. She has a long history of volunteer and community involvement.