Fort Scott Community College offers adult education classes to assist students in General Educational Development (GED) preparation, basic math and reading skills, employment skills, and college preparation and transition. Individuals who have completed the adult education classes will have the opportunity to earn a GED, Basic Computer Skills certificate, and the Kansas Work Ready certificate.
Adult education classes are open to students ages 16 and older. Students who are under 18 must have a Parental Waiver for Compulsory Attendance to attend class; the form can be obtained from the last school district the student attended.
Attendance is mandatory all days of orientation. Class times are Monday through Thursday from 9 am – 12 pm, 1 – 4 pm, and 4 – 7 pm. The adult education center is located in the Library in Bailey Hall.
Based on the results of your assessment during orientation, staff members will develop an individualized plan to help you achieve your goals. In order to be eligible to take the GED examination, you must have completed all of the adult education class requirements, passed all required exams, and have a valid government issued photo identification card.
The cost for the class is $35 and includes the ACCUPLACER college entrance exam, Northstar Digital Literacy Certification, WorkKeys Employment Skills Test, TABE assessment, and one GED Ready Practice Test. GED testing fees are not included in the class fee. The GED test fees are $33 per subject (Math, Reasoning Through Language Arts, Science, Social Studies) which can be taken and paid for separately; due when you register for the test.
Upon successful completion of the examination, the student will be issued a diploma by the Kansas State Department of Education.
These classes could be for students lacking a diploma OR for anyone needing to review their basic reading and/or math skills. I have had students take my class to prepare better for college entrance, to qualify for a program such as KansasWorks, or to even just learn how to use a computer and brush up on technology skills. Students CAN enroll in the ABE class if they lack basic skills, even if they have a HS diploma or GED.
I am accepting students that are ready to learn. They would just need to contact me to schedule an appointment to fill out paperwork and take the TABE pre-assessment. If students are not ready to start right away, our next orientation will be September 6th. If you know someone that is interested, please send them my way.
This is part of a series featuring the 26 new educators in USD 234.
Dale and Ashleigh Brauer and children. Submitted photo.
Dale Brauer is a new 8th-grade math and Algebra 1 teacher at Fort Scott Middle School.
He earned an Associates of Science from Fort Scott Community College, Bachelors of Science in Education from Pittsburg State University and a Masters of Science in Educational Leadership from Pittsburg State University.
This is Brauer’s ninth year in education.
His hometown is Girard, Kansas.
His wife is from Fort Scott, Ashleigh Page Brauer, and they have three children.
“We raise our six year-old nephew Theodore Brauer, our
oldest son is 2 years-old, Maverick Brauer, and Macen, 2.5 months old.”
Brauer’s grandparents are Mary Diane and Derell Spencer, and his mom is Susan West. He has a brother Marcus Page and wife, Ashley, who work at Fort Scott Community College.
In his spare time he likes making items out of wood – cabinets, tables, kids toys, and spending time with his family.
A former teacher from his high school inspired him to take part in the profession of teaching, he said.
For Brauer, the best part of teaching is interacting with students.
A special meeting of the Board of Education, Unified School District No. 234, Bourbon County, Kansas, is hereby called to be held at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, the twenty-third day of August, 2022, at the River Room, 3 W. Oak Street.
The purpose of the meeting is a discussion with the Bourbon County Visioning Committee. There will be no action taken at this meeting.
By order of the President of the Board of Education of Unified School District No. 234, Bourbon County, Kansas.
Zach Mason, 32, is a new junior/senior high physical education teacher at Uniontown.
He attended Fort Scott Community College, McPherson College, and Fort Hays University.
His teaching experience includes one year as a K-6 Special Education teacher at Dighton Elementary School, one year Special Education Para at St. John-Hudson Elementary School, and seven years K-12 Physical Education/Weights and Conditioning instructor at Crest Schools.
His hometown is Uniontown.
He and his wife, Megan Mason, have three daughters Markayla, Paxton, and Rory.
Outside of school he enjoys golf, softball, hunting, and spending time with family.
He wanted to become a teacher to help kids find the fun in staying active, he said. and his college track coach, Robert Spies, inspired him to teach.
The best part of teaching for Mason is “Seeing kids progress and do things they might have thought they couldn’t do.”
What are the challenges?
“Trying to get kids to understand that running and lifting are not the only ways to stay physically active. He wants students to understand that exercise as simple as walking, golfing, and bowling have health benefits.”
Luke Davis has been hired by USD 235 to teach math at the junior high school.
“Since Luke Davis still needs to complete a semester of student teaching, Ed Ramsey will also be in the room with him during the first semester,” USD 235 Superintendent Vance Eden said. “Ed is a retired teacher who moved to Uniontown a year or two ago. Last year he was a substitute teacher and substitute bus driver for the district. Luke will be providing the majority of the instruction. Once Luke graduates in the fall, he would then be able to assume the full responsibilities as the teacher.”
Davis graduated from Uniontown High School, before attending Pittsburg State University.
Members of the USD 234 Board of Education met at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, August 22, 2022, for a special board meeting at the board office.
President Danny Brown opened the meeting.
The board heard a presentation of the revenue neutral recommendation from Gina Shelton, Finance Director/Board Clerk. The revenue neutral hearing was held. One patron addressed the Board.
The board heard a presentation of the budget from Superintendent Destry Brown and Mrs. Shelton. The budget hearing was held. There were no patrons that addressed the Board.
The board went into an executive session for personnel matters.
The board approved the following items at the meeting:
Resolution 22-07 – Expressing the Property Taxation Policy of USD 234 with respect to exceeding the Revenue Neutral Tax Rate
Approval of the 2022-23 Budget with the Building Needs Assessment and State Assessments having been provided to and evaluated by the Board of Education as used in the budget approval process
Resolution 22-08 – Local Option Budget Percentage to use in 2022-23 Budget
Approve revision of calendar
Tiger Families – Students will not attend on September 19th so that the district can have a professional development day to focus on safety and training. Students will attend on May 1st
Approve MOU with Greenbush for special education director
Personnel Report – following
President Danny Brown adjourned the meeting.
PERSONNEL REPORT – APPROVED EMPLOYMENT
RESIGNATIONS/TERMINATIONS/RETIREMENTS:
Leave of Absence – Tim Coyan, FSPC Van Driver
Leave of Absence – Gordon Harris, Eugene Ware/FSPC custodian, Aug. 18 to Sept. 18, 2022
Resignation – Tamara McReynolds, Eugene Ware paraprofessional
This is a series on new educators in Bourbon County.
USD 235 has six new teachers and all new administrators: new elementary principal, new jr.and sr. high school principal and new superintendent. School starts on August 25.
Kaitlyn Bradbury and her family. Submitted photo.
Kaitlyn Bradbury, 33, is a new fifth-grade teacher at West Bourbon Elementary, Uniontown.
She earned a Bachelors Degree in Elementary Education from Pittsburg State University in 2010 and a Masters in Educational Leadership in 2014.
Previously Bradbury has worked as a WBE-Title 1 Math teacher for two years and 4th-grade for four years from 2010-2016.
Her hometown is Uniontown.
She and her husband Tony have three girls Khloe (8), Laine (4), and Andie (1).
Outside of teaching her interests are gardening, spending time in New Mexico, volleyball officiating, and is a member of Dry Ridge Baptist Church.
Bradbury was born into a family of teachers, she said.
“Both of my parents taught at Uniontown, and our lives revolved around the activities that go along with being a teacher/administrator/coach.”
” My parents are quite inspiring to me. I know the positive impact that they made on their students, and I want to leave the same legacy that they did.”
“I love building a lifelong relationship with each of my students. It is rewarding to know that you helped make their school year memorable and that they had fun learning.”
A challenge she sees: “The misconceptions that some of the public have about teachers and what is being taught seems to currently be a big challenge. I take pride in knowing that Uniontown is a district with great teachers, and we all work very hard to see that our students are excelling.”
Rhonda Foster, 61, is a new 4th and 5th grade Math and English Teacher at West Bourbon Elementary School.
She earned a BSE at Sterling College, and a Masters of Special Education from Pittsburg State University.
She has two years experience in general education and five in special education. Her hometown is Moran.
She has two grown daughters and a 17 year-old granddaughter, a 15 year-old grandson and a 5-month-old granddaughter.
In her spare time she loves to bake, sew and crochet, as well as attending her grandchildren’s school activities.
In addition, “I help with Bible school and other church activities,” she said. “In the past I have been a 4-H leader.”
She started her career working as a para-educator and became interested so went back to school when her youngest child was in college.
” I just enjoy working in the school setting with both staff and students,” she said.
For Foster, the best part of teaching is making connections with the students.
A challenge she has experienced in the past is staff shortages, she said.
This is a series of features on the 26 new educators in Fort Scott.
School begins today for the district.
Bethany Anderson. Submitted photo.
Bethany Anderson, 23, will be teaching English at Fort Scott High School.
She earned her education at Emporia State University and has taught English at Lawrence High School.
Her hometown is Sterling, KS.
“My dad was my high school principal, now is a professor in the teaching department at Sterling College,” she said. “My mom is a school nurse where I did my student teaching.”
Outside of school she works at a coffee shop during the summers in Kansas City. She is in a sand volleyball league on Sunday and Friday nights. “I also really love playing tennis and reading books in my free time. On Wednesday nights I serve at my church for the high school youth program. I love being busy,” she said.
“I absolutely love English and it’s one of my biggest passions, but my first passion is loving kids well and building those relationships. That’s something I learned from my dad who has been in education for about 25 years. He taught me how to invest in kids first and then focus on the subject I teach. I think that has to be my favorite part of teaching, is the relationships I have built with the kids.”
“There are also some major challenges I have faced already in my short time teaching… hardships with administration support and feeling as if the kids weren’t a first priority in some decisions being made. It has also been an eye opener that there is a lot more that goes into teaching that they don’t mention in college or even during student teaching. I am excited to be apart of a smaller district where I already feel valued as an educator.”
Kim Carpenter. Submitted photo.
Kim Carpenter is an incoming 5th-grade teacher at Eugene Ware Elementary School.
Before returning to college to earn her B.Ed. from Pittsburg State University when her youngest child was in kindergarten, she worked at Winfield Scott Elementary as a paraprofessional and teacher’s aide. Having four children of her own while working in an educational setting made teaching seem like a natural career choice for her. Carpenter earned her M.Ed. ion Curriculum and Instruction from William Woods University in 2014. She taught 14 years as an elementary teacher from Nevada, MO.
Carpenter’s hometown is Fort Scott.
Her daughter Jana and husband Michael and their two sons Randy and Liam call Fort Scott home, as well at her son Jon and wife Rachel and their daughter, Evelyn. Her son Kyle and his wife Anna live in Erie and her daughter Kelsey and her husband Drew reside in Bentonville, AR.
When Carpenter isn’t spending time with her family, she enjoys camping, hiking, mountain biking, and kayaking. Apart from spending time in nature, she loves crafting, researching her family history, and going to flea markets. She is actively involved at her church, Faith Church.
Carpenter can’t say that any one teacher inspired her to become a teacher, but she has been blessed to have been impacted by many top-notch educators. Some of the most memorable include Don Miller, Fred Campbell, Jr., Barbara Albright, Joyce Sinn, Jean and Jack Gilmore, Connie Neil, and Pat Lamb to name a few.
She says the best part of teaching is building relationships with each new group of students who come through her classroom. Her philosophy is “relationships first and everything else will follow.”
Carpenter says there are many challenges educators face today. While there are so many things outside of our control, she says we can focus on the areas where they can have the most impact while still having fun.
Chad Ruddick, 39, will teach 11th grade English at FSHS.
He earned a Bachelors Degree in Pre-law from Pittsburg State University, a Master’s in Criminal Justice and a Master’s in Teaching from PSU, and a Specialist of Education in Educational Admin. from William Woods University.
Ruddick taught 10 years at North Middle School in Joplin, MO; one year at Chetopa High School, and five years at Pittsburg Community Middle School.
His hometown is Scammon, KS.
He and his wife Jennifer have two children: Hayden (16 year old son) and Lily (13 year old daughter).
Outside of teaching he enjoys hunting, fishing, video games, woodworking, volunteering as a cook/chef for local organizations feeding those in need, and volunteer work with families in need.
He became a teacher accidentally, he said.
“After attending law school, I began working as an Outreach Coordinator with the Alzheimer’s Association. In an attempt to be better in that role, I began taking teaching courses through PSU. When my office closed in December of 2007, I focused on finishing my Master’s in Teaching and focused on teaching secondary English. What began as a two year plan has led me to 15 beautiful years in the classroom.”
Many have inspired him over the years, he said. “My parents and family have inspired me to be a better teacher, and man. However, I truly feel like the students and families we serve have had a tremendous amount of influence on my desire to keep teaching while becoming better at the things I wish to improve on. Knowing I am helping those who need me is the driving force that fuels success in my life.”
“The best part of teaching for me is helping students and families. Whether it’s the struggling student who finally connects the dots, or the family that finds success outside the classroom, the best part of teaching is serving those in our communities.”
There are some challenges.
“We face many challenges in the classroom in 2022. The evolution of technology has greatly enhanced our ability to help students, but keeping up with the technology can be a hustle. Teachers must continue to step up their game to stay relevant and provide 21st Century skills to our students. On a larger scale, dwindling economics impacts our families in the southeast Kansas area and directly affects our students in the classroom. It takes a village to educate and raise our young people. Fort Scott does a great job of reaching our families, so I feel fortunate to be a part of the high school team!”
This is part of a series featuring the 26 new educators in USD 234. School starts on August 18.
David Heidrick. Submitted photo.
David Heidrik is a new seventh- grade Special Education teacher at Fort Scott Middle School.
This is his 11th year as an educator, all of those in special education.
“I spent 8 years at Prairie View as a middle school resource room teacher and I will hold the same position here,” he said.
“I am married with two boys,” he said. “My wife , Luisa, is from Peru and we met at Pittsburg State University. Our boys are Matt, age 6, and Jacob, age 3.”
He has a variety of interests outside of school.
“I am into athletics, I practice Jiu Jitsu, I have a garden, and I study ancient history among other hobbies,” he said.
Janet Fairbanks. Submitted photo.
Janet Fairbanks has been hired to teach sixth grade history.
She earned a bachelors degree from Pittsburg State University in elementary education, certified to teach K-9 .
“I retired from teaching almost two years ago,” she said. “I taught in Osawatomie for 26 years. I have taught elementary physical education, elementary librarian, fourth grade, fifth grade, and even did elementary music.”
She moved to Fort Scott last May.
” I spend most of my free time with my four married kids and 15 grandkids going to ball games and enjoying all of the different activities that they participate in.”
“Even though I have loved retirement, I miss the classroom! I decided I can do what I love, teaching, and I can also travel with my female companion, Blue, a mini Aussie. I do plan on traveling to all 50 states with her, maybe even get her on a plane to Hawaii!”
“I am looking forward to teaching In Fort Scott. The staff that I have met while substituting last year are pretty awesome! I am pretty excited to join the team at the middle school.”
Samantha Short. Submitted photo.
Samantha Short, 53 is a new Fort Scott Middle School Spanish teacher and remedial English teacher.
She graduated from Nevada High School in 1987.Then earned her bachelors, masters and specialist degrees from Pittsburg State University.
She taught Spanish in the Nevada School District for the last 28 years and just retired this year.
Nevada is her hometown since 1975.
She has been married for 31 years and has three children and two grandchildren. Katlyn is a 6th grade teacher in Nevada; Colton, lives in Connecticut and is an engineer for a company; and Hallie will be a senior at Pittsburg State University studying Construction Management.
“I love spending time with my family, working on our cattle farm, and traveling,” she said.
“I became a teacher because I had such a bad 4th-grade experience that I hoped to make sure that other students didn’t have the same bad year that I did. I hoped to make a difference in their lives.”
“The best part of teaching for me is being with the kids and learning all about them,” she said.
“I have found that the biggest challenge is keeping kids engaged in the learning process. They are so overstimulated with everything that they have to entertain them, that class can be boring, so you need to switch topics pretty often to keep their attention.”
This is part of a series featuring the 26 new educators in USD 234. The first day of classes is August 18.
Suzan Durnell. Submitted photo.
Suzan Durnell, 53, is a new elementary instructional coach who works with teachers and students at both Winfield Scott and Eugene Ware Elementary Schools in Fort Scott.
She holds a Bachelor’s of Science degree from College of the Ozarks, a Master’s Degree in Elementary Education from Missouri State University, and a Master’s Degree in Library Science and Information Services from University of Central Missouri.
Durnell taught fifth and sixth grades in Galena, MO, second grade in Aurora, MO, then third, second, and K-5th library skills (including reading and technology). In her 30 years of teaching she worked as a trainer for the Missouri Reading Initiative providing professional development and instructional coaching.
“I was raised in Vandalia, Missouri, graduated from Greenfield, Missouri, and have raised my own family in El Dorado Springs, Missouri. I claim each of these places as a hometown!”
Her husband, Mike will be teaching high school math at Fort Scott High School. They have been married for 31 years and recently moved to Nevada. They have two grown daughters. Jenna and her husband Quade live in Nixa, Missouri, where she works as a CPA, and Quade works as a Family Nurse Practitioner in Springfield, Missouri. Tessa and her husband, Kip, live in Hays, Kansas, where she works as an autism specialist and Kip teaches and coaches at Hays High School.
“My passion is education,” she said. “I have been fortunate to work in a field I love for all these years. I’m excited to extend my career in Fort Scott.”
“My father (a teacher, coach, principal, then superintendent) inspired my love of school,” she said. “My fourth grade teacher, Mrs. Forgy, made teaching something I aspired to do.”
“The best part of teaching is the joy,” she said. “It might be joy in teaching a fun topic, joy in watching a student grasp a concept, joy in creating a community of learners, joy in play, or joy in working with talented colleagues. There’s always something that reminds me how very important the field of education is every day.”
“For me, it is a challenge to remain knowledgeable about how kids learn best. We’re learning more and more about the developing brain and how best to approach teaching. To make that even more challenging, kids’ brains are changing as they’re exposed to more technology than ever before. I feel responsible to stay on top of the most recent developments, and that’s hard to do.”
Vangie Korinke. Submitted photo.
Vangie Korinke, 40, is a new first-grade teacher at Winfield Scott.
She earned her Bachelors of Science in Sociology and Master of Arts in Teaching.
She has been a substitute teacher, and paraprofessional. This will be her first year as a classroom teacher.
Her hometown was Pleasanton, Kansas until she was 14 and Bethany, Oklahoma following that.
She has been married to husband Matt for 17 years, and they have three kids Dawson (15), Brody(13), and Lila (9).
Outside of teaching she loves baking, shopping, coffee with friends, walking, and family time. And she said her family enjoys being involved in their church, Fort Scott Church of the Nazarene.
“Teaching is actually my second career to pursue,” she said. “I was an adoption specialist after receiving my bachelors in sociology in 2004. As a mom of school ages kids, I saw firsthand what a difference teachers can make in children’s lives. My kids had some great teachers who really inspired me to want to be that difference for other students. I’ve always admired my sister-in-law, Cristin Stark who has been an elementary teacher for years. I started sharing this new dream with her and she was a huge support during my journey to get here.”
“Several people have inspired me along my journey of becoming a teacher, she said. “But there are two people in particular who influenced me the most. My dad always saw the good in everyone and insisted there was always hope. I have seen seen so many students struggle in different ways. My dad inspired me to want to help others believe in themselves and this is true with students as well. The second person who strongly influenced me was my son’s second grade teacher, Kirstie (Cox) Dwyer. She has a gift and made my son believe he could, and so he did. It completely changed his path academically.”
The best part of teaching for her is encouraging students and cheering them on until they too believe in themselves. “And obviously it is amazing to be a part of helping them make gains and witnessing their growth,” she said. One of the challenges of teaching is finding ways to reach students with different learning styles and needs.
