Every year, the Washburn Rural Middle School opens its arms to new faculty. As students here at WRMS, we are honored to learn from these unique teachers who dedicate their time to helping students earn a valuable education.
Mr. Haire
Our new Head Principal , Mr. Haire has been teaching in education for 31 years and was a math and ELA teacher for 11 years. Mr. Haire wanted to join the WRMS family because he is passionate about giving students the education they deserve, “seeing the amazing education they received at all three schools, I wanted to be part of such a high-quality school district filled with awesome opportunities for our students. Spending my entire 31 years working with middle school students, I was excited at the opportunity to come to WRMS. WRMS has highly skilled and effective teachers and staff who serve a great group of students and their families.”
Mrs. Wolferts
Mrs. Wolferts attended the University of Washington for her undergraduate degree and K-State for her Master’s degree. She grew up in a lot of places, Utah, Tennessee, Arizona, Missouri, and Washington. She chose to teach at WRMS because she is a lifelong learner and wants to help students love to learn and give back to the community here at WRMS. Before she taught at WRMS, she taught eighth grade science at Chase Middle School and sixth and third grade at Tecumseh North Elementary School.
Mr. Barrett
Mr. Barrett attended Emporia State University for his undergraduate degree and his master’s degree from Pittsburg State University. He grew up in Burlington, approximately an hour south of Topeka. His family has lived in the area for five generations, and he has continued to reside nearby. Throughout Mr. Barrrett’s career, he has primarily taught technology courses, which he’s very passionate about. When the opportunity at WRMS arose, it was an easy decision due to the district’s outstanding reputation for supporting both students and educators. “WRMS is truly an exceptional place to teach!” said Barrett. This is his 27th year in education. Over the years, he has taught a variety of subjects. He’s also served as a high school boy’s basketball coach for over 20 years. Recently, Mr. Barrett stepped back from coaching to support my own children’s involvement in competitive sports. His previous positions include teaching at Lebo, Burlington, and most recently at Jardine Middle School in USD 501.
Mrs. Keithline
Mrs. Keithline got her Bachelor’s (Interdisciplinary Studies) from West Texas A&M University and her Masters (Adaptive Special Education) from Emporia State University. She has been in education for over 25 years. At first, her dream was to be on the Olympic swim team ever since she was a lifeguard in high school. Mrs. Keithline is a Native Texan and moved to Kansas in 1999.
Mrs. Schrader
Mrs. Schrader attended Emporia State and got both her undergraduate and master’s. She got her undergraduate degree in Secondary English education and her master’s in school counseling. She has always heard good things about WRMS, her family and her life in the attendance boundaries, and both of her girls attend Washburn Rural Schools. Mrs.Schrader was born and raised in Kansas but before she moved to Topeka she lived in Colby, Ks. Before she came to WRMS she worked at Jeff West Middle School in Meriden, There, she was a middle school counselor and taught grades 5-8 there it was a much smaller school with about a total of 300 students she was there for about six years. Before that, she taught Freshman Language Arts at Seaman High School for 10 years.
Ms. McWard
The new Eclipse social studies teacher, Ms.McWard is starting her first year at WRMS and originally lived in St. Louis, MO. She decided to move to Kansas to attend the University of Kansas for a bachelor’s in Secondary Education and History and Government. After taking a tour in April, Ms. McWard knew this was where she wanted to be, “I also fell in love when I toured the school back in late April. I could tell by walking through the halls that this was a vibrant school that encouraged students to learn and express themselves. Lastly, and likely the biggest reason, is because I absolutely love working with the middle school age group.”
Throughout the years Washburn Rural Middle School has had some excellent educators, we as students are happy to be apart of a new generation of teaching and excited to make some great memories with new teachers and staff.
