Niobrara County Schools have some new staff to welcome
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With clean notebooks, stylish backpacks, and sharpened pencils, the school days have begun not only for the Niobrara County School District Number 1 students, but also the teachers and this year, Niobrara County Schools have some new staff to welcome. George Mirich, whom last year walked the halls at Lusk Elementary Middle School as the principal returns this year as the Niobrara County Schools Superintendent, Lu Kasper joins the crew as Mirich’s successor with great plans for what’s to come next, and Kristol Miller moves from LEMS where she was a Special Education Assistant last year to her own classroom at the Lance Creek Country School this year. As Maria Wright Edelman puts it, “Education is for improving the lives of others and for leaving your community and world better than you found it”.
George Mirich spent twelve years in a classroom and on the sidelines as a coach and seventeen years as a building principal. This will be his first year as the Niobrara County School District Number 1 Superintendent. Per Mirich, this year, he is looking forward to, “The teamwork involved in creating a system of school improvement”. He states short term goals will be, “To become familiar with the parts of the district I didn’t work with last year” while long term goals will leave him working to establish a “system of processes that help students grow”. While the Niobrara County School District hasn’t been in school long, his favorite memory from the first day included, “Seeing the excitement and anticipation of both the kids and the teachers”.
“I was so impressed with how polite and friendly our kids are; and I loved watching the positive interactions between the staff and the students” LEMS Principal Lu Kasper. Lu Kasper comes to Lusk from the Green River and Rock Springs area. In Green River she spent eleven years as the elementary principal before moving to her position as the Director of Sweetwater County Child Development Services where she has spent the last three years. In total, Kasper has thirty-five years in the education field with fourteen of those years being in administration. This year, she joins the Niobrara County School District team as the LEMS K-8th grades Principal. “I love the small town closeness. The town’s people have been very welcoming,” Kasper comments adding on the attraction to Lusk; “I was looking for something a little smaller and less stressful. I was intrigued by the leadership focus, and I was very impressed with the kids, the community, the board, and Superintendent Mirich during my interviews”. Kasper already has high standards for this year where her years goals including a prime focus on school safety, character and leadership building, and working on math and reading K-8th. “My past job prevented me from spending much time with kids. I’m really looking forward to getting into classrooms, and working with kids” says Kasper.
Kristol Miller is a friendly face among Niobrara County. Having grown up just northwest of Lance Creek, Miller is a 1988 Niobrara County High School graduate. In 1992, she graduated with a Bachelor’s degree from Chadron State University in Elementary Education. In addition to substitute teaching, she home schooled her eldest daughter, Katelynn Miller, until second grade. During the 2017-2018 school year, she accepted a position as a Middle School Special Education Aide with the Niobrara County School District. This year, she has moved to her own classroom in Lance Creek where she will man the country school. “I went to a country school myself. I remember our school teacher driving us kids over to Lance Creek on Tuesdays to experience music with Mr. Rose, the music teacher from Lusk, and the students from Lance Creek. It’s a fond memory. As kids, we were always excited to get to go to Lance Creek and see the other kids, and to get to go to Emmie Lou Kant’s grocery store for a candy bar and pop after the school day,” recalls Miller, adding that as she moves from country school student to country school teacher, “I hope and pray to make a positive difference in Will, Rylieann, and Remington’s lives and educations as well as all my students to come”. Miller is grateful for the opportunity and those that have assisted her in making the transition, allowing her to have a first day memory as such, “My favorite memory is seeing the smiles and excitement on my three Kindergartner’s faces on their first day and getting hugs from them! I know that God has given me a great gift by allowing me to be the Lance Creek teacher and I feel very blessed”.
The Niobrara County 2018-2019 school year, like all school years, will go by in a flash, but thanks to the crew, new and old, a fun year for students. Along with Superintendent Mirich, Principal Kasper, Lance Creek Country School teacher Miller, other new staff for the year includes: Lori Barcus, bus driver; Traci Bruegger, LEMS Administrative Asst; LeeAnn Fullmer, LEMS Head Cook; Phil Garhart, NCHS Principal; Heather Heth, School Psychologist; Kayte Lytle, LEMS Educational Asst.; Elaine Sednek, LEMS Educational Asst.; Anna Skeen, LEMS Counselor; Larry Williams, LEMS Educational Asst.; and Peggy Whiteman, NCHS Guidance Counselor.