Couch to Take Seat as Haskins Principal;

"That Speaks Well of the District That We All Want to Return," Patton Said--Director of Curriculum & Instruction

by Dennis Gonzales & The Pratt Tribune

April 16, 2008

The USD 382 Board of Education voted Monday night to bring another former teacher back to Pratt as an administrator. Michael Couch, who taught English and math at Liberty Middle School from 1986-1997, was offered a two-year contract as principal at Haskins Elementary School, replacing Dick McCall, who announced his resignation earlier this year.

Jason May, principal at Southwest Elementary School, is also a former Liberty instructor and Suzan Patton, district curriculum and personnel director, was an English teacher at Pratt High School earlier in her career. Pratt High Principal Steve Blankenship is a PHS graduate.

"I think that speaks well of the district that we all want to return," Patton commented.

After earning a master's degree in school administration from Northwestern Oklahoma State University in 1997, Couch moved to Fowler Grade School as elementary principal and Title 1 coordinator. In his first administrative position, he instituted a departmentalized schedule in grades 4, 5 and 6 and coordinated the design and implementation of a new computer lab.

He was an elementary and junior high principal at Sedgwick from 1999-2005 and is currently principal at Belle Plaine Middle School.

Couch and his wife Cheryl have three daughters. Chanda is a student at NWOSU, Melanie plans to attend Pratt Community College in the fall of '08, and Amanda will be a senior at Pratt High School next year. Cheryl is an early childhood special education teacher at Derby Hills Elementary in Derby.

At the meeting adjourned from a week ago, board members approved contract extensions until 2010 for May, Blankenship, Patton, and Curtis Nightingale, assistant principal and activities director at PHS.

They chose to delay until February consideration of extensions for Mike McDermeit, principal at Liberty Middle School, and for himself, Superintendent Glen Davis said. Their contracts extend through the 2008-09 school year.

Kami Longhofer was terminated as a building aide at LMS.

A bid for general supplies for 2008-09 in the amount of $13,429.81, more than $7,000 less than for the current year, was approved.

In a brief construction report, Davis noted that "a lot of things we talked about last week are happening," but he was disappointed that on a beautiful day Monday, fewer workers than normal were on site at the new high school.

In answer to a question from board member Jack Galle, Blankenship reported on initial response to a recently implemented after-school suspension.

"It's been really good; the kids hate it," Blankenship said.

Serving detention after school, rather than during the school day, has cut back on some "attendance issues," he said, because students who come late to class have to spend their own time making up the time.