By James Massara
CCN News Director
BUCYRUS —The Wynford Local School District Board of Education made various personnel decisions during its meeting Wednesday evening.
The board approved the hiring of Travis Minnear as a high school language arts teacher beginning in the 2018-19 school year.
Minnear is coming to Wynford from Crestline Exempted Village Schools.
He is a 2003 graduate of Mansfield Madison High School and then went on to obtain a journalism degree from Ohio State University. Minnear entered education as a long-term substitute, and discovered he enjoyed the field.
“I had the opportunity to try it out, and I discovered I really like working with kids and making an impact,” Minnear said. “I think that’s why a lot of teachers do it.”
Minnear became a full-time teacher a Crestline in the 2013-14 school year and taught seventh-grade English through AP literature. He went through the Ohio Department of Education’s alternative resident educator licensure program.
Minnear said his favorite English topic is informational text.
“That probably comes from my journalism background,” he said.
Minnear said he hopes to take his joy in his writing background and pass it along to the students.
During the interview process, Minnear said he learned a lot about the district.
“I was familiar with Wynford for many great things like FFA and football,” Minnear said. “But after a little research, I found even more like more than 80-percent of the freshmen passed the state English test on their first try.”
He said team collaboration between staff members also was emphasized.
“Everyone has been very welcoming,” Minnear said. “Everyone seems to be positive and looking to the future and I just want to help move Wynford forward and contribute to the positivity.”
Also during the meeting, the board agreed to place current special education director Amy Taylor-Sheldon on a two-year contract as elementary assistant principal beginning in the 2018-19 school year.
To begin the meeting, Dona Mohr gave a presentation on behalf of the Bucyrus Public Library. The topic was the library’s levy on the upcoming ballot.
Mohr informed the board the library is operating on the same budget it was operating on since 1998. She said the .5-mil levy would cost a homeowner of a house valued at $100,000 approximately $17.50 per year.
She said more than 85,000 patrons visited the library in 2017 and more than 72,000 books were borrowed. More information may be found on the Vote Yes for Bucyrus Public Library Facebook page.
The second group to present was a group of students that participate in Project MORE.
Project MORE is centered around a group of high school students who meet with elementary students to improve the young students reading abilities.
The students meet during second period, before the elementary day begins, and the mentors and mentees work one-on-one.
Elementary students currently involved are in first, second, third, fourth and sixth grades. Students to be mentored are selected based on their state test scores and need for intervention and ability to come to the school at the allotted time.
The project previously was a voluntary activity for the high school students, but now is offered for class credit. Nineteen high school students participated in the project during the 2017-18 year.