Educator Lisa Bane loves the arts, and now she’s excited to bring the joy of theater performance to students in Nettle Creek schools. A teacher in the district, Bane is leveraging her own experience with dance and theater, and collaborating with choral director Makayla Cranfill, to launch the new “Act I” drama club for students in grades 4-12.
As Bane told the Nettle Creek school board during their July 28 meeting, she believes the program will foster creativity, individual growth and teamwork in ways that only theater can, and that it will cultivate a lifelong appreciation of the arts in those who participate.
The club is in early stages, and will start with monthly meetings and possibly a fall showcase in November. Students will have opportunities to develop skills in acting, stagecraft, music, dance and theater production. A bigger goal is to produce and perform a musical in the spring, and Bane is raising funds to make that possible, including with a raffle ticket promotion happening now.
Board members and Nettle Creek Superintendent Emily Schaeffer expressed their own excitement about the effort, noting that it will bring a new opportunity that similar small schools don’t always get to enjoy.
More information about Act I and how to get involved is available at linktr.ee/Act_One_.
Technology funding approved
The board unanimously approved issuing additional bonds to fund technology improvements, expected to provide up to $995,000 that will go toward updating devices, software and other technology used by staff and students.
Bonds are essentially loans where the school district borrows money from investors and pays it back over time with interest. Bonds can be useful to finance unexpected or unusually large expenses at relatively low interest rates. There is no expected tax impact to area residents, and no members of the public spoke for or against the measure during the public comment portion of the meeting.
Schaeffer said the funds would be used in part to make sure kindergarten and first grade students have current iPad devices, that second through 12th grades will be moving to using Chromebooks, and that school staff will be using Apple MacBooks. She said the technology decisions were based on staff and student feedback about what kinds of devices would best fit their educational needs.
ILEARN results
Schaeffer celebrated the district’s recent ILEARN student testing results, noting that Nettle Creek leads in several metrics in the county, including math and science. She said the positive results “reflect the district’s ongoing commitment to academic excellence, and the intentional efforts of educators and leadership.”
Schaeffer said there’s still more work to do and that the teaching staff would take what has been learned and incorporate it into the classroom.
“Our community should be so excited about what our students and also our teachers have achieved this year,” Schaeffer said.
In other business
- Schaeffer noted the departure of director of learning Elizabeth Bryant, who is taking a specialist position with National Institute for Excellence in Teaching. Schaeffer said it was exciting for the other schools that would benefit from Bryant’s knowledge of great educational instruction.
- Board members discussed enrollment numbers for the upcoming school year, noting that the kindergarten student population was a little lower than expected.
- The elementary school is almost fully staffed going into the new school year.
- The district has applied for an early literacy grant through the Wayne County Foundation, which would help supplement books available for students.
Personnel changes
The board approved the following personnel changes July 28:
Employment
- Olivia Detweiler, HES teacher
- Joelle Wilson, HES teacher
- Vernal Edwards, HES instructional assistant
- Ashlee Lopez, bus driver
- Meg Mayberry, HES instructional assistant
- Courtney Bray, HES instructional assistant
- Christin Hancock, preschool/day care assistant
- Ruth Kitts, HES instructional assistant
- Lisa Cross, HES instructional assistant
- James Edwards, bus driver
Departures
- Bridget Brost, HES teacher
- Rachael Gideon, HES instructional assistant
- Annie Koontz, HES teacher
- Elizabeth Bryant, director of learning
- Dana Whitney, HES instructional assistant
- Brittney Waggener, bus driver
- Barbara Sullivan, HES instructional assistant
Extra duty employment
- Sonja Thornburgh, eighth grade JH volleyball coach
- Kent Gray, head cross country coach (boys and girls)
- Jason Schmittler, JH cross country coach (boys and girls)
- Scott Snodgrass, head football coach
- Brandon Lester, assistant football coach
- Ryan Pass, assistant football coach
- Jeb Clifton, JV and freshman football coach
- Caleb Blaase, JV and freshman football assistant
- Chuck Golliher, JH football coach
- Ryan Sams, JH football coach
- Peyton Meyer, JH football coach
- Chris Robertson, boys tennis coach
- Steve Abshire, girls golf head coach
- Brian Dale, volleyball head coach
- Jessica Swimm, JV volleyball coach
- Abby Klein, eighth grade volleyball coach
- Sonja Thornburgh, seventh grade volleyball coach
- Betsy Swimm, elementary volleyball coach
- Glen Meek, fall JH/HS athletic supervision
- Kayla Vinson, cheerleading coach
- Erica Glunt, freshman cheerleading coach
- Lynsie Combs, JH cheerleading coach
Extra duty volunteers
- Volleyball: Tony Pierson, Kendall Wolfe, Betsy Swimm, Nate Logston, Bailey Jeffries, Jada Briar, Victoria Pierson
- Football: Tom Golliher, Chuck Golliher, Phil Renforth, Cody Swimm, Peyton Renforth, David Moore (JH)
- Boys tennis: Whitney Robertson, Chris Diercks
- Girls golf: Jill Leversedge
- Cheerleading: Katie Glunt, Grant Shaffer, Malorie Bledsoe
A version of this article appeared in the August 6 2025 print edition of the Western Wayne News.