Announcing our Newest Cory Team Members!

Posted April 27, 2016

On behalf of the Cory Personnel Committee, it is my pleasure to introduce to you our newest Cory Team Members, Sarah Weaver and Kara Butte. Both Mrs. Weaver and Mrs. Butte  will will be starting at Cory this coming 2016/17 school year.  Mrs. Weaver will be joining our third grade team and Mrs. Butte will be our ESL Resource Teacher.  They will also be joining us at our upcoming Auction THIS FRIDAY to meet all of you!

Mrs. Weaver will be partnering with Mrs. Clark and they will job-share one of the third grade classrooms.  Mrs. Clark is stepping into the Senior Team Role for part of the day.  Please click here to read the letter regarding these changes that was sent to all parents on March 6th.  Mrs. Butte will be replacing Mrs. Struharik and Mrs. Hutson.  Mrs. Struharik is retiring and Mrs. Hutson is going to be a part-time teacher at Bromwell Elementary.

Both teachers will be an asset to our team and will offer the latest and greatest in instructional strategies to the classroom.  Our team is known to be a ROCKIN’ team and having them join us will only add to the great talent that already exists at Cory.

Please click below for their biographies.  May you enjoy reading their biographies as much as we enjoyed interviewing and hiring them!

I also wanted to take the time to share with you the process in which these candidates were chosen. DPS has a tight recruitment system to help ensure every DPS classroom has the most qualified teacher. Within this system is a level of freedom for each school to dig deeper and find the best candidates for their particular school and needs. Below is a snapshot of the process in which we took to find what we believe are the “best of the best”.

Cory Personnel Committee Report- 3rd Grade Position- April 2016
Personnel Committee members include:

  • Jennifer Harris (Principal)
  • Brendan Doyle (1st Grade Rep.)
  • Patty Kozma (2nd Grade Rep.)
  • Sarah Clark (3rd Grade Rep.)
  • Rainy LaVenture (4th/5th Grade Rep.)
  • Dawn Miller (Librarian/Technology Teacher representing our Specials Team)
  • Jan Struharik (ESL Teacher)- ESL position only
  • Kate Hutson (ESL Teacher)- ESL position only
  • Maria Dutmer (Parent Rep.)
  • Chris Powell (Parent Rep).
  • David McMurtry (Parent Rep)- 3rd grade position only

Resume Reviews- On Monday, April 4th the PC met to review resumes.

  • 3rd Grade Position-  48 candidates were reviewed for this position.  From these, we prioritized the top 6 to invite to interview.
  • ESL Position- 21 candidates were reviewed for this position. From these, we prioritized the top 6 to invite to interview.

Interviews

3rd Grade Position- On Monday, April 11th, we interviewed six 3rd grade candidates and moved forward for observations with three.  One candidate pulled herself from the process PRIOR to observation, pointing to concerns about the .5 aspect of the job. The other two were observed on April 14 in their classrooms by Jennifer Harris, Sarah Clark, Patty Kozma, Maria Dutmer and David McMurtry.

ESL Position-  On Monday, April 18th, we interviewed six candidates and moved forward for references and observations on the top three candidates. Observations occurred on Thursday, April 21 in the candidates current classrooms.  Present for observations were Brendan Doyle, Patty Kozma, Jennifer Harris, Jan Struharik and Chris Powell.

Based on the interviews, references and classroom observations, the committee agreed upon a recommendation to hire both Mrs. Weaver and Mrs. Butte.  Thank you all for welcoming them to our team!

In partnership,

Jennifer Harris, Principal
jennifer_harris@dpsk12.org