The Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp. is continuing to appoint individuals to its new team structures for Columbus East and North high schools.
The school board has approved the hiring of seven academic coaches as part of the human resources recommendations docket. Six out of the seven coaches are internal transfers within BCSC, as are several other individuals who have been selected for the team structures.
According to school officials, Columbus East and North have selected the following individuals for their teams so far:
North
Freshman cohort 2027 — Assistant principal Corie Williams, counselor Karen Elliot, and academic coaches Jeff Friedgood and Victoria Shireman
Sophomore cohort 2026 — Assistant principal Jennifer Hester, counselor Aaron Karrer, and academic coaches Josh Blankinship and Tammie Miller
Junior cohort 2025 — Assistant principal Brelyn Nolting, counselor MJ Shireman, and academic coaches Paul Ferguson and Kasandra Stemnock
Senior cohort 2024 — Assistant principal Levi Simpson, counselor Sandy Freshour and academic coach Amy Rosenberg
East
9th Grade — Assistant principal Molly Collins and guidance counselor Erin Wagner. An academic coach has yet to be hired.
10th Grade — Assistant principal Laurie Chamblee, guidance counselor Jessy Meek and academic coach Kaitlyn Phillips.
11th Grade — Assistant principal Blake Manuel, guidance counselor DD Hinton and academic coach John Sims.
12th Grade — Chamblee as assistant principal, guidance counselor Brian Hansen and academic coach Trent Hillenburg
The idea behind the teams model is that as each class moves up a grade, the same student success team will stay with them in order to increase the focus on a particular set of students, said Director of Title Services Charles Edwards, who is set to become the school corporation’s director of secondary education in July.
Each team member will essentially have the same three goals: Get to know each student they are responsible for, become well-acquainted with their parents and work with other team members toward getting each student to graduate.
According to draft materials from BCSC officials, the number of positions planned for team structures differs slightly between the two high schools.
At East, the plan is to have three assistant principals, with one of these individuals being involved with two cohorts and others each overseeing one. Each cohort will also have a guidance counselor, an academic coach and an administrative assistant.
For North, the cohorts of students graduating in 2025, 2026 and 2027 will each have an assistant principal, a guidance counselor, two academic coaches and an administrative assistant, BCSC officials said. The cohorts graduating in 2024 will have an assistant principal, a guidance counselor, a single academic coach and an administrative assistant.
Each school will also have a director of guidance with an administrative assistant.
BCSC officials said that the school’s director of guidance will be Emily Tucker. Kristin Beck will fill the same role at East, said incoming principal Michael Parsons.
The Republic previously reported that Tucker and Beck’s positions, also known as director of counseling, were not part of the team structure. However, BCSC Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources Gina Pleak has since clarified that while Tucker and Beck are not part of individual cohorts, they are part of the overall structure.
“Their work is important to the success of our students and will work closely with all cohorts,” she said.
In another personnel move, Julie Miller, who has served as the executive director of Family Service, Inc since 2012, will replace Beck as BCSC’s director of wellness, effective July 1.
