By COLE REIF
Great Bend Post
Over the past month, USD 428 Assistant Superintendent John Popp and
District Secretary Cathie McManaman visited each school to bring lunch to the
teachers and licensed staff. Conversations and discussions were held on how to
support teachers in their jobs and specifically what would make teachers want
to stay and teach in Great Bend.
Popp noted one of the top requests from the
educators was not salary, but rather appreciation.
“Appreciate does not necessarily come in the form of dollars, but maybe in the form of notes from the principal,” said Popp. “That is something we can do to support our teachers. They also talked about appreciation for longevity and staying with the district. We discussed possible monetary bonuses every five years.”
The teachers also brought up the desire to have class sizes under 20 students,
more trauma-informed training to deal with students undergoing trauma at home,
planning time, and mental health support.
Popp reiterated that salary came up
in the conversations but the subject was not the biggest priority for teachers.
“I almost had to prod them that more money would help them,” said Popp. “That’s not where they started, I almost had to bring it up in each building.”
Popp hopes to go back to the eight school buildings throughout the district next semester to follow up on the conversations.