The Senath-Hornersville School District employed nine new teachers for the 2008-2008 school year. Front Row: Alicia Walton, first-grade; Lela Adams, first-grade; Tiffany Jackson, elementary counselor; Gay Herrington, fifth-and-sixth grade reading; Jessica Zoleman, high school math. Back Row: Ashley Martin, fifth-through-eighth-grade ESL; Debbie Cleveland, elementary special education; Kelli Wilson, highs school history; Leslie Johnson, high school math. Staff photo by George Anderson [Click to enlarge]

Nine new staff members were officially welcomed aboard by the Senath-Hornersville School Board on Thursday.

The elementary school gained four staff members; Alicia Walton, Lela Adams, Tiffany Jackson, and Debbie Cleveland. Walton and Adams joined the elementary as first-grade teachers, Jackson as the new elementary counselor, and Cleveland as the new special education instructor.

Ashley Martin and Gay Herrington joined the staff of the middle school. Martin is the new fifth-through-eighth grade ESL instructor. Herrington assumed the duties of fifth-through-sixth grade reading.

Three staff members joined the high school; Jessica Zoleman, Leslie Johnson, and Kelli Wilson. Both Zoleman and Johnson are math teachers while Wilson teaches history.

After the introduction of the new staff, the campus principals gave their reports on the current school year.

Cynthia Keating, elementary principal, informed the board that she has a total enrollment of 318 students. Keating then went on to discuss the recent open house.

While the elementary had only a 33 percent attendance at the open house, the parents who did attend received an update on some new curriculum for the 2008-2009 school year.

According to Keating, the elementary will be teaching a new Rosetta Stone Curriculum in an effort to lessen the language barriers between students.

Chad Morgan, middle school principal, was next to address the board as he tallied the middle school enrollment at 249, which is 22 more than last year.

Morgan was commended by members of the board for the P.A.T. program, which allows teachers to give positive referrals to students for various improvements at school. Each Friday, school staff will recognize the students who have been referred.

Morgan also made mention of the upcoming middle school gym dedication to B.J. Larsen, which will take place on September 26, in conjunction with the "Meet the Players" night.

High school Principal Kim Campbell followed Morgan with the high school report.

High school enrollment is at 231 students. The school also celebrated their best open house in seven years, according to Campbell.

"I don't have exact numbers, but it was a really good turnout," Campbell said.

As an item of interest, Morgan also mentioned that baseball and volleyball will start on Aug. 25, 2008.

In other matters, the board: