GCSC new staff orientation to include district tour, mentoring program

Just one year removed from her own introduction to Greencastle Community Schools, the assistant superintendent is revamping how other staff members experience orientation.

During the most recent Greencastle School Board meeting, Assistant Supt. Becky McPherson told the board that a new staff orientation format is being rolled out, as well as a mentoring program for new teachers.

McPherson recalled her own orientation just a year ago, when she was coming in as Greencastle Middle School principal. Looking back, there were some things lacking, and she wants to change that from her new position at Central Office.

“This (last year) was my first year at Greencastle. I didn’t really know the area very well,” McPherson said. “April was actually the first time that I’d ever been to any of the elementaries. I really think it’s important for our new staff to get an idea where our parents and teachers are coming from.”

Now the focus will shift away from programs and devices and more to community and people.

“I’m shifting that focus to who are we and what are we at Greencastle so that they have a better idea of what we stand for and who we are for our students,” McPherson said. “They will be introduced to our admin team, the people they need resources from.

“The thing I’m most excited about is we’re going to take a tour of the district, so we’re going to see the different areas that our students come from,” she continued. “We’re going to see different areas of the community.”

A new mentoring program will also be in place to foster bonds with other staff members.

“In addition to that, they’re getting paired with mentors — veteran teachers who’ll they’ll meet that day,” McPherson said. “And then also each quarter they’re going to be meeting with the mentors and myself, and we’re going to be intentionally working with them on specific things such as how we finalize grades, classroom management skills, instructional strategies, things like that.”

The assistant superintendent hopes such steps will help with the all-important area of retaining teachers.

“Teacher retention is the hot topic right now across the state and the country, so we want to make sure we’re supporting our new staff as much as possible,” she said.

Looking toward the future, McPherson also announced the district will be taking steps to encourage more staff members to take on leadership roles.

“We had two open admin positions this spring and summer, and we did not have any internal staff members apply at all. And that’s an issue,” McPherson said. “We need to grow our own, so I will be working with our administration team to offer more leadership opportunities for our current staff that we have and continue to foster that growth and development for all of our GCSC leaders.”

With the start of the school year closing in on Friday, Aug. 4, ongoing construction projects were on the mind of Supt. Jeff Gibboney.

He noted that a number of projects were set for completion at the end of last week and beginning of this week. These include the middle school and high school science labs and the majority of the second floor of the high school, though two or three classrooms require more extensive work.

Teachers should be moving back into those spaces this week with their official return to the buildings on Wednesday, Aug. 2.

“That’s really exciting beyond driving past the high school and really seeing the building take shape,” Gibboney said.

The majority of the matter of “taking shape” involves the connector between GHS and McAnally Center, which will include additional gym space, locker room space and updated wresting and weight rooms.

The growing pains of this process, though, mean that only two locker rooms inside McAnally Center are available to start the year. Gibboney noted that these are being occupied by the football and volleyball teams, with other fall sports teams occupying under the bleachers of Robert Harbison Stadium

He also noted that the middle school driveway, with an additional lane, was set to be completed, a development that came to fruition on Friday, July 28.

“Our construction is in a good place,” Gibboney said, before noting that road construction in the area is not so hot. “Some of the other construction around town is a little dicey. We’re going to have to work with families, and families are going to have to be patient.”

Gibboney also made note that, thanks to the Indiana General Assembly, families aren’t getting hit with big fees as they register their students for the 2023-24 school year.

“They might notice something a little bit different this year, and that’s because some of those big expensive fees are gone,” Gibboney said, noting that the legislation has partly funded this mandate to school corporations.

Gibboney also noted that the corporation hit the halfway point of the budget year, and remains “on a good path,” as it is not overspending and the cash balances remain healthy.

Gibboney and Treasurer Kellie Romer have also begun working on the 2024 budget.

“Things are looking nice there as well,” he said.

The next regular meeting of the Greencastle School Board is set for 6 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 28.