Madison-Plains Local Schools is on the hunt for a new middle school principal. John Woodason, who has held the position for three years, has resigned. His last day is June 30.
“I’m going back into teaching. I do miss working with kids in the classroom,” he said.
Woodason will teach industrial tech-nology at Northeastern High School in Clark County, where his wife, Janna, teaches special education and his son, Kevin, will be a senior.
“My son will be in my sixth-period class, and I’m looking forward to it," Woodason said.
Prior to becoming principal at Madison-Plains Middle School, Woodason taught industrial technology for four years at Springfield North and Xenia high schools. He also served as an assistant high school principal for one year in Dayton City Schools.
“I wish the kids (at Madison-Plains) well. We have a lot of great kids. It’s been great working with them,” he said.
According to Madison-Plains Superin-tendent Bernie Hall, the principal’s job has been posted and the district has already received several applications.
“We’d like to have someone on board by the first of August,” he said.
New Head Coaches
In other personnel issues, the Madison-Plains board of education approved several coaching contracts at their June 17 meeting. Some of the high school contracts come with new faces.
• Mike Datz is the new varsity girls’ volleyball coach. He replaces Mickey Douglas who held the job for three years. Datz has coached the junior varsity team for two years and has served as a coach for the London Elite Volleyball Club for five years. He is a 1987 Madison-Plains High School graduate.
“I want to make sure the program stays on track with the direction it’s going,” Datz said.
Katelyn Byars, a Shekinah School graduate and fellow Elite Club coach, will be Datz’s junior varsity and varsity assistant coach.
• Kevin Stockham is reviving the cross country team, which has been defunct for about six years. He said 13 boys and girls have signed up to run. The boys will compete in meets separately from the girls.
“It’s brand new to all of us. The seniors don’t ever remember the school having cross country,” Stockham said. “I’ve never coached cross country, but I know a little about running and a lot about kids.”
Stockham coaches the varsity softball team in the spring and seventh-grade boys’ basketball in the winter. His daughter, Danielle, ran cross country at Jonathan Alder High School and will continue to do so at Rio Grande University. Stockham said he has talked to several other high school and college coaches for guidance.
“Practices start Aug. 4. We will do some pre-season conditioning after the (county) fair,” said Stockham, who plans to map out a 3.1-mile course around the high school and junior high school grounds for practice purposes.
• Joanie Boyle will serve as head coach of the boys’ golf team this fall. Jim Miller, who retired from teaching this spring, previously coached the team for 18 years. He will return to the team as a volunteer coach. Boyle also coaches the girls’ track team in the spring.
• Michael Siders is the new varsity baseball coach. He replaces Daryl Pruitt, who was head coach for two years. Siders teaches physical education at the high school and has coached eighth-grade football at Madison-Plains Middle School. He played baseball at Tecumseh High School and has five years of experience as a baseball coach, including one year as a varsity head coach.
“I enjoyed playing baseball myself. I play quite a bit of softball these days. It’s a bonus to go out there and share the game with the kids,” he said.
Student Trips
The school board approved various student trips:
• girls’ varsity basketball camp, July 19-22, Keystone State Camps in Williamsport, Pa.
• boys’ varsity basketball camp, June 20-22, at West Virginia University
• Civics-English II class trip to New York/Philadelphia, Oct. 26-29
• Civics-English I class trip to Monticello/Washington D.C., May 6-9
Handicap Bus Routes
Madison-Plains contracts with Madison County Board of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities (MR/DD) for transportation services for students with handicaps. MR/DD’s quote for services for next year was high due to rising fuel and labor costs. The school district has decided to handle at least part of the transportation needs themselves this year in an attempt to keep costs down.
