Two new teachers hired for 2024-25 school year

Two new teachers hired for 2024-25 school year Image

• Ryan and Laura Ocheskey will be teaching at Miller Grove ISD in the 2024-2025 school year. Ryan is the new athletic director, girls’ basketball coach and secondary history teacher. Laura will teach secondary math. Their children Keyleigh, 12, will be in sixth grade, while Parker, 9, will be in third grade at MGISD starting in August.
• Kayleigh Caudle, Miller Grove ISD graduate and kindergarten teacher

Tammy Vinson Sat, 06/29/2024 - 07:03 Body

Small changes made to employee, student handbooks

Miller Grove Independent School District will welcome three new faces to campus for the upcoming school year.

Laura Ocheskey comes to MGISD from nearby Lone Oak ISD, where she taught chemistry. She will teach secondary math at Miller Grove High School.

Ryan Ochesky, also coming from Lone Oak ISD, was hired earlier this spring to be the district athletic director and girls’ basketball coach, in addition to teaching high school history.

Kayleigh Caudle, who was previously at Douglass Early Childhood Learning Center in Sulphur Springs, will teach kindergarten at Miller Grove Elementary.

“I am so excited about working at Miller Grove,” Caudle said. “It’s where I grew up and went to school. From my first day at Miller Grove, I felt like I belonged and that it was a family. I am so excited to be on the other side and teaching kids who will find a family and community in Miller Grove. I look forward to this upcoming year and cannot wait to be back at home teaching and helping grow the place I loved so much as a student.”

All three educators will be on a one year probationary contract for their first year in the district, which is standard practice in Texas.

Other Business

Trustees approved moving the July board meeting from Monday, July 22 to Monday, July 29.

2024-2025 budget

The board will have a budget workshop on Monday, Aug. 5 and will consider adopting the 2024-2025 budget at the regularly scheduled meeting on Monday, Aug. 26.

Low attendance waiver

Superintendent Dr. Linda Rankin asked the board for permission to apply to Texas Education Agency for a waiver due to a few low attendance days due to illness. TEA’s website states, “Districts or campuses can request a waiver to excuse any instructional days from funding calculations that have attendance at least 10 percentage points below the last school year's overall average attendance, for the district or applicable campus due to inclement weather, health, or safety- related issues.”

Handbook, code of conduct changes

Trustees approved the 2024-2025 employee handbook, which had very few changes from last year’s edition. The only change discussed was including Rankin’s doctor title along with her name.

The MGISD Student Code of Conduct also had minimal changes and was unanimously approved. Rankin said the Student Code of Conduct typically doesn’t change much from year to year, unless there is a legislative session that requires it.

Dr. Rankin discussed changes to the student handbook. The section regarding advanced math classes for middle schoolers will be removed per the board’s decision that took place earlier in the meeting.

Other handbook changes included adding additional rules in the dress code section for appropriate attire for school awards banquets, homecoming and prom.

These changes essentially state that very low-cut tops and/or very short skirts are not allowed.