Kiwanis Meet New School Staff
The new Carmi-White County school district staff was presented to the Carmi Kiwanis club during the weekly luncheon on Thursday. Mr. Brad Lee, district superintendent, introduced the administrators of each building. Each administrator discussed the events in each building as well as introduced any new faculty.
Cathy Price has begun her first year as Brownsville School principal. She has several years of experience in special education. She is very excited about working at Brownsville and believes the school is a great place that does wonderful things for its students.
Cathy Price introduced one new educator, Amy Burgener. Amy has taught special education for many years. She also worked at Brownsville while in high school and is grateful to be back with the district.
Dr. Amy Dixon, principal of Lincoln and Jefferson Attendance Centers, introduced two new faculty members Ashley Taylor, school social worker, and Sarah Richards 2nd grade teacher. Ashley has worked with Carmi Schools over the previous 6 years. She discussed some of the types of services she provides as the school social worker. She also stated she is very excited to work with Carmi School’s staff and the families of the Carmi students. Sarah completed her student teaching at Carmi and has since been employed as the 3rd grade R.I. aide. This school year she has accepted a 2nd grade teaching position. Sarah discussed how she loves Carmi School District’s positive atmosphere.
Dr. Dixon went on to share her excitement about the new school year and updated the club on the enrollment numbers of the schools.
Mrs. Amy Attebury, Washington Attendance Center principal, discussed the Pre-K program. The program is currently at capacity with 80 students, but she informed the club that parents with children ages 3-5 should still call the school to be placed on the waiting list.
Mrs. Attebury then introduced Julie Jackson the new Pre-K teacher. Julie discussed the district and how thrilled she was to accept the position. Angie Cole was then introduced as a new 5th grade teacher. She previously taught at Geff School. She then shared a story about how her father was the biggest influence on her becoming a teacher. Her goal is to speak life into the kids of Carmi. The final introduction from Mrs. Attebury was Rachel Attebury as the new 6th grade math teacher. Rachel is a Carmi native and she managed the town’s pool for years, so loves seeing all the familiar faces at school. She previously taught in Grayville for 4 years and is excited to be able to teach in Carmi.
Mr. Bart King explained how his experiences as the Jr. High Principal make him love his job more every year. He informed the club that the school year is off to a great start and he thanked the custodians for the awesome work they did over the summer. Mr. King then introduced Shannon Webb as the new 7th and 8th grade special education teacher. Shannon worked at Mt. Carmel and then NCOE for 11 years.
Mr. Jarrod Newell, high school principal, thanked Kiwanis for their support and introduced one new teacher. Thomas Brandt started in the District last December to help in the social sciences department and is now employed as a high school social sciences teacher. Thomas is from Northern Illinois and has a degree in Secondary Ed and Social Sciences from the University of Illinois.
Mr. Lee wrapped up the meeting by thanking the board of education for their support. He reported enrollment of 1,345 students, 106 certified teachers/administrators, 105 support staff and that financially things are improving. He updated the club on the repairs, maintenance, and improvements
that were completed over the summer. In closing he thanked Kiwanis for their support and wished all the staff a great year.
In other club news, Dan Drone was the winner of the 50/50 drawing. The meal was prepared by Yesterday’s
