HPS Central Office Update

This year, each building identified focus areas for their continued CKH work. They are as follows:

Redwood: Empowering students to take part as greeters and leaders of Good Things.

Middle School: Implementing the Social Contract, greeting students, being intentional with Good Things, and using our 4 questions as a Tier 1 behavior support.

High School: 1 social contract/teacher, 1 social contract/staff, Good Things during 4th hour, greeting led by staff and/or students at the doorway or in the halls.

Alt Ed: Greeting students and being intentional to build positive relationships.

Our CKH consultant and coach Monica Easen conducted a Traction Visit on all campuses September 20-21 to collect data and share feedback on our implementation.

Our next step will be a training for teachers and administrators on February 21st. Participants will develop traction plans to support the continued implementation of CKH in our classrooms.

The District is continuing to work through the bond sale process and anticipate the process to be completed by the end of March. We had our first design work session with King Scott and Miller Davis for the upcoming work in the district. Construction is anticipated to begin in June of 2025.

The last Hartford Public Schools strategic plan was completed during the 2015-2016 school year and expired in 2021. We will be developing a new strategic plan this spring which will allow us to include families, students, administrators, teachers, staff, and Board members in collaboratively creating our mission, vision, and goals for the District. This will help bring our whole HPS team together around a common purpose and goals. We will be working with MASB consultant Kacie Kefgen to lead us through the process. More information on participation in the process will be coming soon.

State assessments including MSTEP, PSAT, SAT, and ACT WorkKeys begin the week following spring break. We ask that teachers are conscientious about not scheduling field trips, IEP or 504 meetings on a testing day for your building. The reason is because the administration of these tests requires a high number of staff. The assessment calendar is linked below. Thank you in advance for helping us protect these dates!

Hartford Public Schools is thrilled to announce our commitment to the safety and security of our students, teachers, and staff with our upcoming project. We are partnering with The LockOut Co. to install the SmartBoot System. This is a multifaceted approach to safety that will include procedures we can utilize daily as well as in the event of a threat. Through close collaboration with our local first responders, we will be implementing several products as well as full training for our students and staff. The SmartBoot System is an interior door barrier device paired with special lighting and communication systems that help create safe spaces and support a rapid communication and response during a threat. It has capabilities to notify our entire district of a lockdown and connect directly with first responders. We will also be updating the mapping of our facilities along with corresponding signage to enhance our day-to-day operations as well as to assist locating individuals in need during an event. A representative from LockOut Co. will be in District this week to start the mapping process for installation.

The funding of this project is made available through a safety grant from the state and local revenue sharing dollars from the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi.

Link: https://lockoutusa.com/products/smartboot-system/

Finance-We are currently working on Budget Amendments as we just wrapped up the end of the year. We have received multiple grants for mental health & safety. With our safety grants we have already implemented camera upgrades, access controls, and are currently working on a lockout system district wide. As a district we have multiple job openings.

Transportation-We are anticipating receiving new electric buses and one diesel bus. We are also still looking to hire bus drivers. We will be revamping our transportation software. Therefore, all parents will need to fill out a transportation request form in order for their kids to be placed on a route next year.

Maintenance/Operations-We planning on going out to bid for new MS bleacher, parking lot resurface, & roof replacement to name a few. Bond planning is underway and we will be selling our bonds on February 15th for series 1.

Hartford High School Smore: https://www.smore.com/1dw3t

Hartford Middle School Smore:

Redwood Elementary Smore: https://www.smore.com/mea3r

Website: https://www.hpsmi.org/

FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/HartfordPublicSchoolsHPS/

Brad has worked for the District for 10 years. He started as Principal of Woodside Elementary. After 4 years as Principal, Brad moved into the Director of Curriculum and Assessment position. He was promoted to Assistant Superintendent last summer. In the spring of 2021, he was appointed Interim Superintendent. As of July 1st, he has taken on the role of Superintendent. Brad is looking forward to championing our culture work this year. He will be leading the Capturing Kids Hearts process, helping establishing positive relationships throughout the District for our staff and students.

Email: geesamanb@hpsmi.org
Phone: 269-621-7001

This is Bess's 5th year in the District. She served 3 years as the Assistant Principal at Redwood Elementary. Prior to that she was an administrator for 5 years in Florida. She is looking forward to supporting our District leaders and high levels of learning for all students. Bess's responsibilities will include:

• Curriculum
  
• Instruction
  
• Assessment
  
• Professional Development
  
• Teacher Evaluation and Mentoring
  
• District Safety
  

Email: hodgese@hpsmi.org
Phone: 269-621-7011

Jamin is a native of Hartford and has worked at HPS for the past 7 years. He has served as a high school teacher and girls basketball coach. His position as Alternative Education Principal and Director of State and Federal Programs is new this year.

Email: oldsj@hpsmi.org
Phone: 621-7005

Stephanie Walker as our Finance Director. Stephanie started at the St. Joseph County ISD as a finance director for two local school districts. She then spent 5 years as the Executive Director of Business Operations at Paw Paw Public Schools. Stephanie managed the District's finances as well as the Technology, Food Service, Maintenance and Transportation teams. Ms. Walker lives in Hartford and she is excited to help the schools in the community she lives in and she is looking forward to working with the staff to help HPS grow!

Her Finance Director responsibilities will include overseeing the District and building budgets, accounting, audits, and financial forecasting.

Carrie is the first smiling face the community sees when they come to the Central Office. She is in her 4th year working for the District. Carrie also worked for PNC Bank for 15 years. Her job responsibilities include:

• Deposits and cash receipts
  
• Facility use and van requests
  
• Account balances for student funds and activities
  

Email: kelloggc@hpsmi.org
Phone: 269-621-7004

Jordan has been working for the District for 8 years. She previously served as the Athletic Secretary. Her role includes the following:

• Human Resources - (job postings, new hire paperwork, applications, etc.)
  
• Contracts
• Certifications
• Board meetings - agendas and minutes
  
• Scheduling appointments with the Superintendent
  

Email: parkerj@hpsmi.org
Phone: 269-621-7003

Marilyn has been working for the District for a total of 10 years. She took a brief hiatus to work for the ISD during the 2022-2023 school year. This year, she will be working for both the ISD and HPS. She will be In District three days a week - Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Her responsibilities include:

• PowerSchool Administrator (parent portal)
  
• State reporting
  
• Testing
  
• School of Choice

Email: meadm@hpsmi.org
Phone: 269-621-7009

Her responsibilities include:

• Payroll processing
  
• Benefits
  
• Retirement
  
• Accounts Payable (ie purchase orders, bills that need to be paid)
  
• BMO
• Red Rover
• Edustaff
  

Email: sinklerj@hpsmi.org
Phone: 269-621-7006

Garrett has been with HPS for 4 months as the Communications Director. He recently graduated from Grand Valley State University with a Bachelor's of Science in Multimedia Communications. His Responsibilities include:

• Superintendent's newsletter
• Photography of school events
• HPS website and social media platforms
• Communications during events - weather, special events, safety situations, etc. (All Calls, text alerts, letters)

Staff can send postings for the website or social media to Garrett's email below. Also feel free to invite Garrett to your events!

Email: mcguirtg@hpsmi.org

Phone: 269-621-7013

Lynn is in her 10th year serving Hartford Public Schools as the VBISD Supervisor of Special Education and District 504 Coordinator. As a Supervisor, she is also an important part of our District leadership team. In addition to working with Hartford Public Schools, Lynn supervises the county's Teacher Consultants for Students who are Deaf/Hard of Hearing or Visually Impaired, the Audiologist, and the Brailler.

Prior to working for VBISD, Lynn was a Special Education Director, K-12 Teacher Consultant, and District 504 Coordinator (4 years), Elementary Special Education teacher (6 years), and Paraprofessional (2 years) at Galesburg-Augusta Community Schools. Lynn brings a unique perspective and commitment to her daily work as a parent of a child that has disabilities and attends a center-based Special Education program. "Being a parent and having prior-experience at all working levels of special education has assisted me over the years in ensuring quality programming, services, and/or supports are being provided to Hartford's eligible students."

Email: lbuchkowski@vbisd.org
Phone: 269-621-7144

Derrick is the District Site Coordinator for technology. He will support our HPS team 2-3 days per week through the ISD. Previously, Derrick served 8 years as the IT Manager for Hopkins Public Schools. His responsibilities will center on administrative duties of our technology services related to the budget and maintenance of our equipment and network.

Email: helpdesk@hpsmi.org
Website: http://www.hpsmi.org
Phone: 269-621-7010

Forrest Ward is our Information Technology Technical Support Specialist through the ISD. Forrest has worked 4 years as a Technical Support Specialist in Bangor and 1 year through the ISD supporting Decatur. He lives in Hartford and his roles and responsibilities will center around daily technical support for students and staff. The best way to get assistance from our technology team is to send an email to helpdesk@hpsmi.org and a Help ticket will be created and processed.

Email: helpdesk@hpsmi.org
Phone: 269-621-7008

Amber Guajardo is our School Nurse. Amber comes to us with significant nursing experience in critical care. She lives in Hartford and has children that attend Redwood Elementary. She will be stationed in the Central Office but she will serve all schools.

Email: guajardoa@hpsmi.org
Phone: 269-621-7012

Nate joins our Central Office team from the Van Buren County Sheriff's Office. He has many years of law enforcement experience and currently serves as the County Dive Team Assistant Captain. His office will be housed in the high school but he will be working with all buildings to increase our safety and security.

Email: penningn@vanburencountymi.gov
Phone: 269-621-7104

Bus Paraprofessional/Substitute Bus Driver

Full Time Bus Driver

Location: Hartford Public Schools

Middle School Principal

Location: Middle School

Start Date: July 2024

Middle School Science Teacher

Location: Middle School

Middle School Social Studies Teacher

Location: Middle School

Start Date: 02/27/2024

Middle School Special Education Teacher

Location: Middle School

Special Education Paraprofessional

Location: Redwood Elementary

Special Education Paraprofessional

Location: Redwood Elementary

Special Education Paraprofessional-High FTE

Location: Middle School

Title I Paraprofessional

Location: Redwood Elementary

Mission: Hartford Public Schools is dedicated to fostering a love of learning in an innovative, cooperative, and safe climate which empowers students to be productive, caring, and respectful citizens that are prepared for their future endeavors.

Vision: Create an appealing school district that produces measurable gains in student achievement and helps make a more prideful and pleasant community to live and work.

IMPORTANT DATES

• Feb 14 - Count Day
• Feb 21 - No School/Staff PD Day
• Feb 27 & 29 - Parent/Teacher Conferences
• Mar 1 - 1/2 Day for Students & Staff
• Mar 6 - 1/2 Day for Students/Staff PD
• Mar 15 - End of 3rd Marking Period
• Mar 29 - No School
• Apr 1-5 - Spring Break
• Apr 17 - 1/2 Day for Students/Staff PD
• May 3 - Senior's Last Day
• May 8 - 1/2 Day for Students/Staff PD
• May 16 - Senior Graduation
• May 27 - No School/Memorial Day
• May 31 - 1/2 Day for Students/Last Day of School