Teachers named for new elementary school | School briefs
Published 4:11 pm Tuesday, June 16, 2015
Teachers named for new elementary school
The Mercer Island School District (MISD) announced the teachers who will make up the Core Team at Elementary No. 4.
“As we continue our transition from three to four elementary schools, our next big step is the hiring of the Elementary No. 4 Core Team,” said the school’s Planning Principal, Aimee Batliner-Gillette. “The interview team enjoyed meeting with each of these thoughtful, creative, and energetic teacher-leaders. Their skills and strengths, along with their experience in Mercer Island public schools, will be tremendously beneficial to the process of building our new elementary community.”
Elementary No. 4’’s first lead teachers for each grade will be:
• Heidi Clark – Kindergarten, from Lakeridge
• Mary Jane Dunning – First Grade, from West Mercer
• Trina Sherman – Second Grade, from West Mercer
• Danielle Melin – Third Grade, from Lakeridge
• Lindsay Oliveira – Fourth Grade, from Island Park
• Julie Langley – Fifth Grade, from West Mercer
“These talented teachers, along with Aimee, will serve as the foundation for the new school community that we are building with students and families,” said MISD Superintendent Dr. Gary Plano. “While construction on Elementary No. 4 continues, these teachers will begin building the educational team and doing the academic groundwork required to open a new school. They will work directly with Aimee and Fred Rundle, the district’s Assistant Superintendent of Learning Services, both of whom have experience opening new elementary schools.”
The teachers will continue in their current duties during the 2015-16 school year, but will assume additional responsibilities starting July 1, 2015. Like Batliner-Gillette’s salary, the teachers will receive stipends paid for by the sale of the bonds approved by Mercer Island voters in Feb. 2014, not from the Schools Foundation or the general fund.
All Mercer Island public schools are ‘Green’
Mercer Island High School, Islander Middle School, and West Mercer Elementary have earned King County Green Schools Level Three recognition. Now all Mercer Island public schools have achieved this recognition as Lakeridge Elementary and Island Park Elementary earned the status in 2013.
“An important part of the 2020 Vision of our schools is to cultivate global awareness, with an understanding of real-world problems, such as being good stewards of the environment,” said Mercer Island School District Superintendent Dr. Gary Plano
“These schools have initiated or improved sustainable practices and are teaching their students and employees about conservation,” said Dale Alekel, Green Schools Program manager.
In the King County Green Schools program there are four levels of focus: 1) waste reduction and recycling; 2) energy conservation: 3) water conservation and pollution prevention; and 4) sustaining green school activities. To qualify for the next level of recognition as a Level Four Sustaining Green School, a school must select and complete an additional conservation practice or educational strategy from the King County Green Schools program’s Best Practices Guides, while sustaining the conservation strategies the school achieved during the first three levels of the program.
To learn more, visit www.mercerislandschools.org/misdgreenschools.
