April 4, 2018 at 5:30 p.m.
New faces to greet Hope students today
A series of resignations and retirements over the summer, including Principal Lisa Smith, means that almost a third of the school's 21 teachers have turned over. Smith's resignation was accepted last night by the Flat Rock-Hawcreek School board and the hiring of her replacement, Jessica Poe, was approved.
In her resignation letter, Smith said she had accepted another job and would be starting there on July 27th. She served as Hope Elementary principal for nine years.
Superintendent Shawn Price said the resignation was sudden.
"Obviously right here before the school year, I think she planned to be here but she had an offer and decided that was the right direction for her," Price said. "She had been looking earlier in the summer and I think that she had made plans to come back, when other plans hadn't panned out. At this point in the year, she came to me and it was pretty quick."
Poe was hired on Friday after a short search.
"If you look hard enough and work hard at that interview process and calling people, looking at every applicant, you find the right fit," Price said. "On Friday it happened and it happened for almost every position we had."
Price said the district hired six new teachers over the summer out of a staff of about 21 teachers.
Other resignations accepted last night in the school district include:
- Kindergarten teacher Jennifer Speer
- First grade teacher Jenna Kramer
- Hauser science teacher Jeff Fant
- Hauser band/choir director Christina Whitaker
- Hope Elementary RTI aide Anne Waskom
- Hauser tennis coach Elizabeth Sexton
- Hauser Junior High Cross Country Coach Carrie Harris
New hires approved last night included:
- Poe as Hope Elementary principal
- Alison Wold as coordinator of e-learning and library media specialist
- Michelle Hattabaugh, second grade teacher
- Barry Grimes, sixth grade teacher
- Kristi Rice, fourth grade teacher
- Elyse Cory, kindergarten teacher
- Deborah Gaff, Hauser science teacher
- Tiarra Clarkston, Hauser Spanish teacher
Long-time Hope Elementary second grade teacher Susan Thompson retired after 37 years with the district on Aug. 1st. In her resignation letter, Thompson said "This has been the most rewarding profession even with the many challenges. I still get excited about shaping and nurturing young lives and there is nothing that compares to those rewarding moments when you know that learning is taking place."
Board member Pat Walters said at last month's school board meeting that he had Thompson as his teacher when he was younger and he had hoped she would be teaching his own children.[[In-content Ad]]
