Students at Chase County are generally fairly static, with the same people students see in preschool being with them until graduation for the most part. Because of this, it’s always interesting when a new student joins the school, let alone six in one year. To add to it, five new staff members also joined the group, a SPED coordinator, two paras, a cook and a janitor. Coming to this community for a variety of reasons, Chase County is all the better to have them.
“I moved schools because the state of Emporia was not the best, and as we hear news of what’s going on, I am glad I switched,” freshman Caleb Dexter said. “We decided to jump ship before it got worse.”
Most students who arrive at CCJSHS come from nearby towns, such as Council Grove or Emporia, but every now and again a student from outside Kansas, like sophomore Isaac Ashley who came from Oregon, joins the student body.
“Yeah, so I’m from Klamath County [Oregon], it’s a dry place across the Cascade Mountains,” Ashley said. “Right now, I’m sort of staying with my grandparents. My [direct] family is still in Oregon, but I moved just to do something different, I guess just to get a different outlook.”
Moving from Oregon to the middle of Kansas is a fair bit of a change in scenery, and though the rolling hills are iconic of the region, it’s a rough transition for people from more mountainous areas.
“What I miss most about Oregon is my family, but right after that’s the mountains. I live on the [eastern] side of the Cascade mountains in a weird mix of a bunch of different parts of the states; it’s far drier than the western part,” Ashley said.
Aside from the change in scenery, there are also much larger differences between Chase County and Oregon.
“I lived in a small community, but it’s not the same. Like, there’s a lot of people that know each other, but here everybody knows each other. It’s crazy for me,” Ashley said.
There are a number of perks when it comes to small and rural schools, one of which is how people act differently.
“I really liked that it was small, my old school was small too, but it was a different type of small. Here, everybody knows everybody, so it’s a lot easier to make friends.”
Even though Ashley lived almost 1,700 miles from Chase County, some things just don’t change.
“I lived in Kansas before Oregon, but it’s somewhat the same as it was in Oregon. There are cowboys and ranches there, it’s just that the mountains aren’t in the background here,” Ashley said.
Students weren’t the only ones to join this year as new paras, Jauwanna Carr and Jessica Kop, a Chase County alum, and new SPED coordinator Brent Burns, who is currently driving from Lawrence every day, joined the team this year to help fill vacancies left with the staff. Nikki Davis, who is working as a cook, and David Jones, another Chase County graduate who took over the USD maintenance position, round out the remainder of the new additions.
“I chose to become a para because I loved helping other classmates while I was in school,” Kop said. “I thought that I could put my personality to the test to help other students who struggle.”
For the staff, work isn’t only work, but it’s a passion that they actively want to do.
“I do feel that I can connect to the students more since I was a student [at Chase County] just two years ago. I love seeing how the staff is always encouraging students and helping them along the way,” Kop said.
With such a busy school, scheduling and planning is vital to success, and this not only goes for the students, but with the staff too.
“My schedule is quite busy,” Burns said. “I am responsible for both the elementary and high school. I also have professional responsibilities in Emporia that I am required to take care of and they have me working in Emporia at least once a week.”
Many joined the staff not just for the job, but also for the people and the community, which they find wonderful.
“I absolutely love the community, students and staff. I grew up as an Army brat and am used to small close communities. My daughters attend the elementary school and they absolutely love it here,” Burns said. “The only drawback is the long drive.” Burns is looking to move to the Chase County area when housing is available.
With so many new additions to the school, it is exciting to see how they integrate themselves into the community, and some in more interesting ways than others.
“I currently attend home games when my daughters don't have practice, and I run the obscure board game club. I also try to be visible in the classrooms, hallways and lunch whenever I am not in a meeting or filling out paperwork, and love interacting with the people,” Burns said.
A total of 11 new people have joined the school as either students or faculty, and although some may come from thousands of miles away and others mere minutes away, they feel like part of the family all the same.