Administrative restructuring planned for Woodland

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REGION 16 — The administrative positions at Woodland Regional High School will be restructured next school year.

Woodland has a principal, assistant principal, a combined assistant principal and athletic director, and a part-time dean of students. The dean of students position, which handles student disciplinary issues, is held by a teacher who teaches three classes.

The restructuring plan will make the assistant principal and athletic director position into strictly an assistant principal. Under the plan, the dean of students and athletic director positions will be combined into a new position that will handle disciplinary issues and oversee athletics.

Superintendent of Schools Michael Yamin discussed the change last week with the Region 16 Board of Education, which oversees schools in Beacon Falls and Prospect.

Yamin said the restructuring is to provide more support for teaching and learning at the high school. Brian Fell, who is the assistant principal and athletic director, spends half of his time now handling athletic duties, whether at games or meetings, and his schedule doesn’t always coincide with the school day, Yamin said. The change, he said, would give Woodland three “instructional leaders” full time in the building.

“We feel like we want to put more effort into developing instructional leaders that are going to work on teaching and learning,” Yamin said.

The new dean of students and athletic director position will be a 10-month position and be a part of the administrators’ union. The salary for the position will be the same scale as the assistant director of special education and pupil services, which will be changed to a 10-month position next fiscal year. The salary range will be $100,855 at the first step of the wage scale to $109,155 at the highest step in 2018-19, Yamin said.

The current teaching position that is also the part-time dean of students will be eliminated, Yamin said, and help offset the cost. The dean of students also receives a stipend, which is $3,737 this year. The stipend will also be eliminated.

Yamin said the three courses taught now by Christopher Decker, who is also the dean of students, will be taught next school year and likely absorbed into other courses in the future.

Woodland Principal Kurt Ogren said the new plan will afford more opportunity for himself and the two assistant principals to focus on students, teachers and content, and provide adequate time for the dean of students and athletic director to fulfill both roles.

“In the long run, I believe this structural change will improve student achievement and success,” he said.