We Are WDMCS

Wednesday, May 5, 2021

The 2020-21 school year was full of challenge and change. It was a year like no other. Now spring is here, and with it, comes a sense of new beginnings and a hope for a return to normal.

I wonder what normal will look like moving forward? As we begin to look forward to the 2021-22 school year, three words come to mind: reflect, renew, and refocus.

REFLECT
What can we celebrate from this school year? What made us better? What will we keep? What will we discard? What will be important to remember?

I believe if we pause for just a moment, we all can find many celebrations from this past year. We’ve learned how to support each other in ways we previously may never have considered. When we could not give a hug or see a smile, we found new ways to demonstrate care and empathy: an elbow bump, a head nod, eye contact. We learned how to teach students both in-person and online at the same time while juggling many roles, including IT technician!

We recognized the importance of activities and athletics for our students and found ways to safely offer many opportunities to keep students engaged and connected outside of class.

We problem-solved, pivoted, and promised each other we would get through this year TOGETHER. Walnut Creek Campus’s mantra of “The Walrus Way” fostered unity among teachers and students. Last spring, dozens of Tigers Together yard signs filled neighborhood yards in solidarity. Whether or not the signs made it through our long winter, the sentiment remains.

RENEW
How are we taking care of ourselves? How are we reconnecting with each other? How will we connect with our students and families? Throughout this past school year, we focused on social-emotional learning for our adults and students. I know it is not always easy to take time for renewal, but I encourage each of you to find time to breathe and rejuvenate. When we take time for self-care, we are better equipped to come alongside our students, co-workers, families, and friends.

For those of you who are retiring, I wish you the best and hope you find joy in your new phase of life.

REFOCUS
Where are we headed? What will we embrace in the new school year? Let’s lift up our strategic plan, Priority Six, and Portrait of a Graduate as our focus for the 2021-22 school year. As we look forward to what the next school year will bring, it is important for us to refocus.

While we don't know what 'normal' will look like next year, I'm proud of our staff for coming through an extraordinarily difficult year together. Our circumstances forced us to shift our priorities, but we must now remind ourselves of our promise to WDMCS students. We want all of our students to be postsecondary-, career-, and life-ready. It is up to us to create a learning environment that fosters communication, collaboration, critical thinking, innovation, and continuous learning, and is culturally responsive along with supporting the social emotional needs of our students.

Again, this school year was full of challenge and change. Remember to approach each day with enthusiasm, stay positive, be thankful, learn, improve, and grow. The best is yet to come.

Lisa Remy, Ed.D.

Superintendent

Congratulations are in order to the following 68 staff members who have given of themselves, shared knowledge, and provided inspiration to thousands of students. Their contributions are rich and abundant!

Together they have served a cumulative total of 1,540 years in our district. We are thankful for these colleagues who have dedicated their lives to students in so many ways. They have played a key role in developing future citizens and leaders of the 21st century.

We honor and thank them for their service, for their caring, for their energy and vitality,
and for making a difference in students’ lives.

Retiree List (Alphabetical Order)

Deb Augspurger: Fairmeadows Elementary, 23 years

Kathleen Baldwin: Transportation, 17 years

Dawn Bassett: Fairmeadows Elementary, 40 years

Donna Beerman: Learning Resource Center, 15 years

Becky Bennett: Valley Southwoods Freshman High School, 10 years

William Bird: Indian Hills Junior High, 31 years

Dana Blom: Crestview School of Inquiry, 19 years

Dale Boeke: Transportation, 12 years

Elizabeth Bruner: Valley High School, 23 years

Kristi Cawthorn: Crossroads Park Elementary, 24 years

Denny Conner: Walnut Creek Campus, 21 years

Cheryl Cook: Jordan Creek Elementary, 17 years

Jeannie Crabbs: Valley High School, 13 years

Dr. Robert Davis: Crossroads Park Elementary, 30 years

Tammy Day: Jordan Creek Elementary, 24 years

Julie DeMicco: Indian Hills Junior High, 31 years

Lisa Demuth: Walnut Creek Campus, 26 years

Dawn Dillivan: Clive Learning Academy, 22 years

Ronald Dolan: Transportation, 10 years

David Egleston: Transportation, 13 years
Michele Frank: Valley High School, 46 years

Kim Gansemer: Fairmeadows Elementary, 32 years

Tony Garmoe: Westridge Elementary, 30 years

Kathy Gedler: Stilwell Junior High, 16 years

Donna Gibbons: Westridge Elementary, 19 years

Shelly Gordon: Valley High School, 14 years

Karen Hanson: Fairmeadows Elementary, 34 years

Sandra Henderson: Walnut Creek Campus, 21 years

Nancy Higginbottom: Fairmeadows Elementary, 29 years

AnnaMaria Jones: Crossroads Park Elementary, 20 years

Lynn Jones: Westridge Elementary, 13 years

Marilyn Josephsen: Western Hills Elementary, 26 years

Rhonda Koerselman: Fairmeadows Elementary, 32 years

Robin Lawyer: Fairmeadows Elementary, 15 years

Sandy Lienemann: Valley High School, 21 years

Kristin Maahs: Crestview School of Inquiry, 13 years
Joy Macy: Stilwell Junior High, 37 years

Rick McNew: Operations, 12 years

Karen Mendenhall: Valley High School, 32 years

Dee Mitchell: Valley High School, 14 years

Patsy Moffitt: Crestview School of Inquiry, 26 years

Carole Mougin: Indian Hills Junior High, 10 years

Paula Olson: Fairmeadows Elementary, 34 years

Tom Opperman: Transportation, 12 years

Kay Owen: Walnut Creek Campus, 13 years

Phil Peters: Valley High School, 26 years

Wendi Rague: Clive Learning Academy, 13 years

Sharlene Riche: Fairmeadows Elementary, 23 years

Dr. Carol Seid: Learning Resource Center, 15 years

Michele Senger: Valley Southwoods Freshman High School, 23 years

Jacqueline Shaffer: Crossroads Park Elementary, 22 years

Candace Sherwood: Westridge Elementary, 33 years

Marcia Sims: Learning Resource Center, 18 years

Suzie Skadburg: Indian Hills Junior High, 21 years

Sherry Stanbrough: Valley High School, 19 years

Peg Stockdale: Valley High School, 19 years

Luis Suarez: Jordan Creek Elementary, 33 years

Cherial Swart: Westridge Elementary, 13 years

Florence Taylor: Valley High School, 19 years

Diane VanWyk: Valley High School, 32 years

Martha Vukovich: Stilwell Junior High, 13 years

James Wandro: Valley High School, 24 years

Belen Warnemunde: Valley Southwoods Freshman High School, 17 years
Jessica Whitney: Operations, 46 years

Karen Wolcott: Fairmeadows Elementary, 32 years
Ed Wong: Stilwell Junior High, 39 years

Kay Woods: Stilwell Junior High, 35 years

Monty Wormuth: Transportation, 13 years

515-633-5023

Alexandra Wade

wadea@wdmcs.org

515-633-5022

Aaron Young

younga@wdmcs.org
515-633-5016

Email: scroffice@wdmcs.org
Website: www.wdmcs.org
Location: 3550 Mills Civic Parkway, West Des Moines, IA, USA
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Twitter: @WDMCS