Plymouth Board hires Basketball and Volleyball coaches

By Carol Anders
Correspondent

PLYMOUTH — Plymouth Community Schools Athletic Director Roy Benge introduced the two newest members of PHS athletic team during the Plymouth School Board meeting Tuesday.


Ryan Bales was named boys varsity basketball coach. He replaces former coach Kevin Stuckmeyer who had led the team for the last three years. Among other positions, Bales just completed his fifth season at coach at North Judson High School.

Doug West has accepted the position as volleyball coach at PHS. His two most recent athletic positions were with Warsaw High School (2001-07) and Whitko High School (2009-10). He serves as a pastor for Kosciusko Community Hospital in Warsaw.

The board also welcomed back Reid Gault. Gault was the assistant principal of Lincoln Junior High for three years before taking a position at Lowell Middle School. Currently Angie Mills has held a similar the position at LJH; however, she will be transferring to Jefferson Elementary in the fall as principal.
In other news:

• The board heard a report on the alternative school from teacher Suzie Clevenger, who attributed the success of the program to the student. “We are here to celebrate because of the students’ hard work and determination,” she said.

Three of the current students enrolled in the program also spoke to the board, of the confidence that the alternative program has given them. According to Clevenger, of the 36 seniors in the program this year, 34 are on schedule to graduate with their class. She said it was predetermined that the remaining two would be fifth year seniors and is on track to graduate at a later date. The students will still have to take the PHS finals given to students in traditional settings along with end of course assessments.

Clevenger splits her day up by teaching at the Alternative School classroom form 8 until 11 a.m. and then goes to the Learning Center at PHS in help those in credit recovery classes until 12:15 p.m., and then returns to the alternative school until dismissal.

Clevenger said there were 52 students enrolled in the alternative program this year: “Flexibility is the key to our success.”

An alternative school for students in grades 5-8 has been successful, according to Lincoln Junior High Dean of Students Angie Mills, but due to funding, the program will be discontinued next year. Mills listed a number of discipline concerns that lead to students being place in the alternative setting.

Reprinted with permission of The Pilot News