Adrian Public Schools announces the addition of three new districtwide positions
ADRIAN — Three new educational positions, each designed with a focus of fostering academic excellence through increased school engagement for all students, have been created at Adrian Public Schools.
The three new positions include: mental health specialists, a strength and conditioning coordinator, and a fine arts coordinator, as announced in a news release from the district . The strength and conditioning coordinator will begin working with student-athletes as early as this summer, while the other positions will begin their tenure at the start of the 2022-23 school year.
“Each one of these positions is about supporting and engaging students. We are committed to giving our students and community every opportunity to realize their hopes and dreams,” Adrian Public Schools Superintendent Nate Parker said in the release. “There is no question that students engaged in extracurricular activities are more successful both academically and in their post-secondary endeavors. These positions will help us to ensure avenues for connecting our students to programming where they will build relationships with caring adults, in addition to the positive relationships they already have with classroom teachers.”
Adrian will use state and federal funding as well as financial support through the Lenawee Intermediate School District to provide full-time mental health specialists at the district’s four elementary schools, Springbrook Middle School and Adrian High School. In the past, these positions were contracted through a local provider, the release said. These positions will now be Adrian Public Schools employees.
The mental health providers will support teachers and administrators in implementing additional programs and systems to meet the needs of all students and ensure positive learning environments. Parker said adding these positions will align with one of Adrian's top priorities of “continuing to ensure that we have buildings and classrooms where students can learn and teachers can teach.”
“Learning can only take place when we have an environment that is conducive to learning and teaching,” Parker said. “Increased focus on addressing the mental health needs of our students is a big piece of guaranteeing the work we have done to create this environment for our students and staff continues. We recognize the need to support our teaching staff with addressing social and emotional learning so that they can keep their primary focus on providing rigorous and engaging instruction for our students.”
The addition of the strength and conditioning coordinator and the fine arts coordinator are meant to enhance and support athletic and arts programs that have a direct impact on student success in the classroom, the release said. Beyond that, the coordinator positions are also designed to increase the involvement of students in programs that support the whole student while maintaining positive attendance at school and engagement in extracurricular activities, all of which, the release said, lead to greater student outcomes and academic success.
Both of the coordinator roles were recently pitched to the Adrian Board of Education as part of the district’s attempt to offer student-focused and engaging programs in the athletics and arts.
The strength and conditioning coordinator will work with all 26 of Adrian’s athletic programs as well as the youth community recreation director to provide individualized and sport-specific programs for all student-athletes while contributing to support physical education classes during the school day.
The fine arts coordinator, meanwhile, will work collaboratively with the district’s band, orchestra, vocal music, visual arts and theater programs to enhance Adrian’s comprehensive arts programming, the release said. The coordinator will work with the fine arts instructors to ensure a positive and rewarding arts curriculum for all, according to the release.
Parker said Adrian’s goal is to build championship level athletic programs with students of class and character. Athletic Director Chad O’Brien, who advocated for having a strength and conditioning coordinator at Adrian, said several of Adrian’s conference competition already has strength and conditioning coaches.
“Our membership in the Southeastern Conference means we have to compete with schools that are making use of on-staff strength and conditioning coaches. We are committed to giving our student-athletes every opportunity to compete for championships in one of the premier conferences in the state,” O’Brien said in the release.
Annie Howard, an Adrian art teacher and member of the district’s Arts Advisory Committee, said the need for a fine arts coordinator was expressed through various avenues including surveys sent out to district stakeholders.
“Through our collaboration, one of the top priorities identified was that we need to have a leader to coordinate the theater space, increase communications, and help with overseeing and guiding curriculum and instruction,” Howard said in the release.
The fine arts coordinator will also manage the district’s Julianne and George Argyros Performing Arts Center.
This article originally appeared on The Daily Telegram: Adrian Public Schools announces the creation of three new positions
