By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post

Lincoln Elementary School Principal Elaine Rohleder was named January’s USD 489’s Best of the Best at a school board meeting Monday night.

Rohleder was nominated by Monica Dreiling, fifth-grade teacher at Lincoln.

“Elaine Rohleder is an exemplary administrator,” she said. “When teachers want to implement new projects and ideas within their classrooms, she is supportive and provides resources when necessary. Elaine’s demeanor encourages staff and students to do their best each day. Guidance is provided in a caring and supportive manner.”

Rohleder takes time to get to know each student and their families, Dreiling said.

“She understands the importance of making these connections with students, parents and staff, resulting in excellent rapport. She is genuinely interested in building relationships,” Dreiling said.

Mariella Dreiling, Lincoln student, continued with the nomination letter, saying Rohleder had an open-door policy and is available to hear concerns and successes whenever she has a free moment.

“She gives authentic praise, demonstrates extreme patience and has high expectations,” she said. “Mrs. Rohleder understands the unique challenges of working in education and provides support in meeting these challenges.”

About a half dozen of Rohleder’s colleagues attended the meeting Monday in support of her nomination.

Marla Stecklein, Lincoln second-grade teacher, also offered kind words about Rohleder.

“I appreciate all the support that I receive each and every day in doing my job at Lincoln with the students, and she is very deserving of this award,” she said.

Rohleder thanked her staff.

“I am so blessed to be a part of USD 489, especially Lincoln Elementary School. The staff there is so dedicated to not only their students but to their families. Being a part of USD 489 has been a blessing for 24 years. I think the community needs to realize how fortunate the community is to have their children come to a school in USD 489, because everybody from the classified staff to the certified staff to the administration, their heart and soul is there every single day. They are giving their very best to make sure the students are great citizens and continue to serve on boards like you guys do.”

The student award winner of Best of the Best for January was Carter Werth, a Wilson Elementary School fifth grader.

He was nominated by Wilson Principal Anita Scheve.

Werth is a role model at Wilson. The job of these students is to help students get to class.

At the beginning of the school year, a kindergarten boy was having difficulty leaving his mother. Werth bent down to talk to the student, comforted him and offered to walk him to his classroom. He did this for about a month, until the student felt more comfortable.

“Carter made that transition very smooth for that kindergarten student,” Scheve said, “and he did that all on his own. I really felt that Carter took a little extra time and showed what it meant to be a role model — a true role model — and a good citizen of Wilson, caring, concerned and connected to others.”

FHSU University Relations

Westford Education Group, Al Nahda, United Arab Emirates, has joined Fort Hays State University in a strategic partnership to bring affordable, high-quality business education to the Middle East.

“The collaboration leverages the local market intelligence and student support services of Westford Education Group with the academic content and faculty of the Fort Hays State University MBA program to offer an online and on-ground supported MBA program from an American university,” said Dr. William Painter, dean of the Westford Group.

“This partnership reflects the next step of the university’s ‘World Ready’ efforts,” said Dr. Mark Bannister, dean of Fort Hays State’s W.R. and Yvonne Robbins College of Business and Entrepreneurship. “The university is partnering with one of the world’s leading publishing and training companies in order to benefit students. In doing so, we will enter an important economic region that is seeking quality English language graduate education.”

The educational model combines the transfer of some credits, local instructional support, and direct instruction by FHSU’s MBA faculty. Westford will recruit students for the 34-credit-hour program and provide instruction for six credit hours. The FHSU Virtual College will provide 28 credit hours.

Students will be in the UAE’s Dubai area. The target audience is expatriates and students who are citizens of nearby countries, but living and working in the UAE.

“To reach international students, most American universities either build a branch campus or work with a third party to attract international students to the United States,” said Painter. “This model allows students to remain in their jobs, where they can contribute to the local economy and still receive a high-quality experience at a very affordable price. The costs to both the student and the university are significantly reduced to their mutual benefit.”

“We are committed to improving access to quality higher education programs for those students who are talented but who cannot quit their jobs and leave their families for several years to attend a U.S. university,” said Painter.

The Westford Education Group is an award-winning institution with seven campuses and currently has partnerships with two British universities, Cardiff Metropolitan University and Wolverhampton University, and Marconi University in Italy.