The Chelsea Board of Education is expected to discuss and vote on two new staff members Monday night. Nov. 26.
On the action item agenda is the hiring of Charlotte Yu as an elementary social worker and Catherine Kotlarek as the elementary instructional specialist.
Twenty applications were received for the social worker position, according to a memo from Julie Deppner, executive director of instruction for the schools. Seven candidates were interviewed and three of them were selected to teach a sample lesson to third-grade students, according to her information.
Yu has a Masters degree in social work from U-M, and for the last 19 years has been a high school level social worker at Forest School, Washtenaw County’s day treatment program.
Thirty-five candidates applied for the elementary instructional specialist position and 10 were selected for interviews. Kotlarek was asked back for a second interview and to lead a “mock professional discussion.”
She’s been an instructional coach and has knowledge of elementary curriculum and instruction according to information from Deppner, “mak(ing) her an excellent choice for this position.”
She has a Masters and Bachelor of Science degree from Eastern Michigan University. Most recently, she was a K-6 instructional coach for the Allen Academy in Detroit overseeing 25 classroom teachers and 17 para-professionals. “She works with teachers to create common assessments and analyze data,” the memo from Deppner states.
The consent agenda includes the approval of the W.A.Y. agreement, which is a high school program for students who need alternatives to traditional high school programs. It provides “students a flexible online, student-centered, project based approach to learning,” according to information about the program.
