Three teachers and a junior varsity volleyball coach were hired last week by the Leland Board of Education.

During a special meeting Aug. 8, the board voted to hire Autumn Crumb as a part-time special education teacher. Crumb, a Central Michigan University graduate, has extensive experience working with special education students with multiple disabilities.

“Our special education population has grown beyond what our two teachers can handle,” Superintendent Michael T. Hartigan said.

Crumb, hired as a “5/8ths” teacher, will primarily work with students in grades 6 through 8.
The retirement of fourth grade teacher Holly Suttmann has led to another hiring and a reassignment of teachers.

Kristen Fisher, a longtime instructor at the Leelanau Children’s Center, was hired as a half-time kindergarten teacher. She will be assigned the position for which Leland native Bethany (Munoz) Osorio was hired last month.

Tracey Barcey, who had been assigned to Leland’s first and second grade mixed classroom, will take over Suttmann’s assignment in fourth grade. Barcey will be replaced by first-grade teacher Kim Klein in the mixed first/second grade, and Osorio will teach in the slot previously occupied by Klein.

In addition to teaching positions at Leland, the Board of Education hired a Spanish teacher who will be assigned to instruct students at St. Mary. Kelcie LaCross is taking over Spanish classes formerly taught by Mary Lou Landry, who retired at the end of the 2006-07 school year.

LaCross had been providing Spanish instruction for Leland at St. Mary. She will be replaced by Bruce Randall, who has previously worked for the district as an aide in a bilingual classroom. He has received his certification to teach and will be doing do at all levels at St. Mary this fall.

Leland is in its seventh year of providing instruction to St. Mary students in non-core instructional areas, such as computers and foreign language. The district receives a portion of the state foundation allowance for that portion of the school day in which the private school students receive “public” instruction.