Auburn-Washburn USD 437

It’s American Education Week, and we’re celebrating our incredible staff for how “sweet” they are! Thanks to The Forgotten Grain Bakery & Bistro, a locally-owned business in downtown Auburn, we are providing delicious 3-cookie sampler packs to each of our staff members. That translates to more than 3,000 cookies baked and delivered with special care and appreciation. A heartfelt thank you to the Auburn-Washburn National Education Association (AWNEA), the Auburn-Washburn Public Schools Foundation, and the Auburn-Washburn Board of Education for making this possible. Your support helps us recognize the hard work and dedication of our amazing team!

Congratulations to Hanna Kemble-Mick, counselor at Indian Hills Elementary School, for being named one of five finalists for the 2025 School Counselor of the Year awards program by the American School Counselor Association (ASCA)! The program honors exemplary school counseling professionals who devote their careers to serving as advocates for the nation’s students, helping them achieve success in school and in life. “ASCA’s School Counselor of the Year program shines a valuable spotlight on the school counseling profession, bringing attention to exceptional school counselors who are supporting K–12 students every day,” said Jill Cook, ASCA executive director. “School counselors are vital to students’ academic achievement, social-emotional development and plans for life after graduation. The 2025 finalists have demonstrated their commitment to the values and mission of the profession to help all students succeed.” Hanna was previously named 2023-2024 Kansas School Counselor of the Year by the Kansas School Counselor Association. Hanna will participate in face-to-face interviews with the national selection committee in Washington, D.C. later this month. The winner will be announced in late fall. Congratulations, Hanna! Regardless of the outcome, we are so very proud to have you on our team!

Please join us in congratulating gifted facilitator, Jenni Howard, on receiving the 2024 Gifted Educator Advocacy Award from the Kansas Association for the Gifted, Talented, and Creative. This award recognizes an individual who has made a profound impact on gifted education in Kansas, advocating for gifted students and the community that supports them. Ms. Howard has spent her entire 30-year teaching career at Auburn-Washburn, with 25 of those years as a gifted facilitator. She works with more than 40 gifted students from Auburn Elementary School, Indian Hills Elementary School, and Jay Shideler Elementary School, helping them reach their full potential. Congratulations on this well-deserved recognition, Ms. Howard! We are so very proud to celebrate your achievements!

Members of the Auburn-Washburn Public Schools Foundation delivered an exciting surprise to educators across the district today, awarding classroom grants to fund a variety of initiatives related to financial literacy, STEM programming, emerging technologies, and more! Fifty-eight grants totaling more than $46,000 were awarded, with every school in the district receiving some level of support. The mission of the Auburn-Washburn Public Schools Foundation is to enhance, enrich, and expand educational opportunities for students in USD 437. The Foundation began awarding classroom grants in 1999, and since that time, it has invested more than $705,000 in expanded learning opportunities for our students.

Students at Washburn Rural High School (WRHS) will soon benefit from a new state-of-the-art facility designed to enhance career and technical education. The Innovation Center at WRHS will open to students on October 14, 2024, the first day of the second quarter of the 2024-25 school year. Auburn-Washburn celebrated this historic milestone with a ?RIBBON CUTTING CEREMONY? on Tuesday, September 24, 2024. The 50,000-square-foot center is part of an ongoing series of construction and renovation projects taking place across the Auburn-Washburn district to enhance the student learning experience. While addressing those gathered at the ribbon cutting ceremony, Auburn-Washburn Superintendent of Schools Dr. Scott McWilliams shared, "This facility is more than just a structure filled with cutting-edge equipment; it represents a bold vision for the future of education. It is a commitment to nurturing creativity, collaboration, critical thinking, and problem-solving in our students. The Innovation Center will serve as a dynamic hub for exploration and discovery, equipping our students with the skills and resources they need to thrive in an ever-evolving world." WRHS currently offers 18 career-focused Pathway programs approved by the Kansas State Department of Education. A remarkable 75 percent of students will take at least one Pathway course during their time at the high school. Nine of the Pathway programs – Animal Science; Comprehensive Agriculture; Power, Structural & Technical Systems; Construction & Design: Construction; Construction & Design: Design; Digital Media; Biomedical; Restaurant & Event Management; and Programming & Software — are housed in the new Innovation Center. "Each of these programs is more than a subject," shared WRHS principal Ed Raines. "They are the means by which we prepare our students for a rapidly changing world. In these spaces, they will learn how to think, how to lead, and how to transform. These are the qualities that will allow them to face the future with confidence and resolve." That future is one of constant transformation. According to the Georgetown Workforce Study, 70 percent of jobs will require specialized skills by 2031, but only 35 percent of those jobs will require a four-year degree. "It is clear that the future demands new ways of thinking and learning, and that is precisely what this Innovation Center will provide," said Raines. The center will empower students to engage in hands-on learning, collaborate on real-world projects, and develop the skills they need to meet future challenges head-on. "We are not just cutting a ribbon and opening our doors to this facility," said McWilliams. "Much more importantly, we are opening the minds of teachers and students to a world of new possibilities.”

We are proud to announce that Auburn-Washburn has been ranked no. 14 on the list of companies recognized for candidate experience excellence as winners of the 2024 Global Candidate Experience Awards! According to a press release issued by ERE Media, the CandE Benchmark Research Program has evaluated over 2,000 global employers and more than 1.8 million job seekers since 2011. This year, 125 companies participated in The CandEs Awards Benchmark Research Program, which gathered insights from over 230,000 job candidates. The winners were selected through comprehensive data analysis based on job candidate satisfaction surveys. This marks the sixth consecutive year that Auburn-Washburn has earned a Global Candidate Experience Award! To view the full list of 2024 CandE Winners, visit https://lnkd.in/eegU2Q4e.

Congratulations to SPED Instructional Facilitator Dana Ellis on achieving Board Certified Behavioral Analyst certification! This prestigious graduate-level certification is a significant accomplishment and reflects her dedication and expertise in behavior analysis. We are incredibly proud of her achievement and excited to see how her specialized skills will enhance the support and success of students across our district!

During All Staff Convocation earlier this week, the Auburn-Washburn School District proudly recognized Linda Pfannenstiel for an extraordinary 50 years of service as a bus driver. Linda began driving for the district in 1974 when her youngest son, Terry, was in kindergarten. Superintendent of Schools Dr. Scott McWilliams expressed gratitude for Linda's service, saying, "For 50 years, Linda has been driving Pauline Central, Pauline South, Washburn Rural Middle School, and Washburn Rural High School students safely to and from school. She knows every twist and turn of every route she travels – many of which are gravel roads – and she has never been at fault for even one minor scratch on any of the buses she has driven." Being a bus driver is not just a job for Linda – it is a deeper calling to serve her community. She takes extreme pride in her profession and the relationships she has built over time. She not only knows the students on her bus, but she also knows their parents, their grandparents, and at times, their great-grandparents. In fact, the opportunity to serve multiple generations is one of the aspects of the job she likes most. "I enjoy driving a bus and watching the kids grow up and graduate and have their own kids," said Pfannenstiel. In addition to driving students to and from school safely, Linda serves as President of the Auburn-Washburn Bus Club, an organization dedicated to supporting Auburn-Washburn families in a variety of ways. The Bus Club provides an annual $2,000 scholarship to a Washburn Rural High School senior. The Club also sponsors at least one family during the holidays and provides support to drivers during times of need. It is the perfect role for someone like Linda, who is known for her servant heart. "If you needed a shirt, she'd give a coat," said fellow bus driver Stephen Billbe. "She goes above and beyond." As for what's next, Linda remains dedicated to her role. "As long as I'm healthy and don't put anybody at risk by me driving, I intend to keep driving," she shared. "I've been challenged to go to 60." She will begin her journey toward that goal on Tuesday, August 13, when school resumes for the 2024-2025 school year. Congratulations, Linda, and thank you for a remarkable 50 years!

At New Staff Academy this morning, we proudly welcomed 68 new members to the Auburn-Washburn team! Over the next two days, they'll learn about our district and the tools and resources available to help them thrive in their new roles. Please join us in extending a warm welcome to our newest team members!

HR job alert!