Article Courtesy of Peter Becker Tri-County Independent

One could almost hear the proverbial school bells ring Monday, Aug. 26, as classes resumed for Wayne Highlands students. For the 2024-2025 school year, they had the chance to meet 15 new teachers and support personnel.

Superintendent Gregory Frigoletto said that they have hired the new employees due to a wave of retirements.

He reported that for the first day of school, they had an enrollment of 2,366.

The new teachers and support personnel are:

Honesdale High School

• Katharine Brown (science)

Wayne Highlands Middle School

• Summer Barrouk (special education)
• Daniel Becker (special education long-term substitute)
• Skye Rickard (special education)
• Casey Jennings (special education)

Preston Area School

• Andrea Diehl (third grade)
• Jordan Gallo (special education)
• Mark Granquist (fifth grade)
• Allecia Roche (second grade)
• Emilee West (ELA/social studies)

Damascus School

• Sandra Dunn (fifth grade)
• Julie Matz (special education)
• Kathleen Pietraszewski (second grade)

Lakeside Elementary

• Jessica Sakmar (nurse)

District-wide

• Larissa Valonis (crisis counselor)

In a press release, Assistant Superintendent Timothy Morgan stated that the new teacher orientation is a vital part of the Teacher Induction Program. He said that new teachers are paired with experienced mentor teachers who volunteer from their grade level or content area. Teachers are mentored in their first and second years.

Morgan noted that the main purpose of the day is to explain the educational philosophies, policies and methods the new teachers will need in providing an exemplary educational program.

Administrative changes

In addition, Lakeside Elementary students have a new principal, Patrick Blaskiewicz, who previously served as the high school assistant principal.

Donald Cook is the new assistant principal at Honesdale High School. He served many years as a math teacher at the middle school.

School bus safety reminder

A reminder was posted on the Wayne Highlands Facebook page to be aware of school buses back on the road now that classes have resumed, and to obey the law about stopping for them. The rule, the district points out is, “Slow on yellow, stop on red. If the stop arm is out, kids are crossing ahead!”

Wayne Highlands buses are equipped with stop-arm cameras which record violators that fail to stop. "Violations identified by the district camera system are reviewed by police under agreement with the school district. After that review the police may issue a violation to the vehicle owner, including a fine," the message states.

Peter Becker has worked at the Tri-County Independent or its predecessor publications since 1994. Reach him at pbecker@tricountyindependent.com or 570-253-3055 ext. 1588.