Kindergarten students won’t be the only new faces at Rissler Elementary School this fall as the students and staff will welcome a new principal to the building.
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Kindergarten students won’t be the only new faces at Rissler Elementary School this fall as the students and staff will welcome a new principal to the building.
Jennie Boon, a native of Meadville, has begun her duties at Rissler after serving as high school principal in the Southwest R-1 District at Ludlow for the past three years. She had taught fifth grade in that district for seven years and had been a kindergarten through 12th grade counselor in that district for two additional years. She also served as a coach for several junior high and high school sports.
Mrs. Boon, who was recently married and was Jennie Thorne when she was hired last spring, earned her bachelor’s degree in education from Missouri Valley College in Marshall and earned her master’s degree and specialists degree from William Woods University.
Having good teachers in her life helped Mrs. Boon decide that education could be a great career for her.
“I think I chose education partly because of the great teachers I had growing up,” she explained. “They always appeared to be having a really good time and they made learning fun.”
While becoming an administrator gave her the chance to affect more students and to look at the overall picture of the district, she said she can still get excited about the classroom.
“I’ll hear someone talking about something they’re going to do in their classroom and I start thinking about how I could teach it or what I would do. So, I can still get really excited about the classroom.”
Mrs. Boon said she was interested in the Rissler job for several reasons, including the fact that it is close to home. She and her husband, Richard, a commodities broker who works in Richmond, live in Chillicothe and he has a family farm in the Chula area.
She also liked the size of the district.
“I wanted to be in a bigger district,” she said. “And this was a nice step up.”
As for her goals for the school this year, Mrs. Boon said she will focus some attention on classroom instructional practices, with teachers able to learn the results of a survey taken last year on the subject during an in-service scheduled for next week.
“Working on instructional style and strategies should lead to improved learning and increased MAP scores,” she explained.
She also plans to make sure the school environment fosters learning in all students.
“ I want to keep the educational climate as positive as possible and as conducive to learning as I possibly can,” she said, noting that she will also focus on good communication among teachers, parents and students.
She is looking forward to meeting parents and students and said she has been impressed with the amount of community support the school receives.
“I look at the things that are coming across my desk…offers of discounts to the teachers for classroom items. I’m not out there having to ask for it. It’s already there,” she said.
Parents and students will have the chance to meet Mrs. Boon during a come-and-go open house set for 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 22 at the school. Students may bring school supplies to their room and meet their teacher during that time. Classes begin on Aug. 23.