Fredonia adds athletic trainer, support for Wheelock

An athletic trainer will be added to Fredonia beginning this fall on a part-time basis, while the district is also addressing the social and emotional needs at Wheelock through a reconfiguration of its staff assignments.

In addressing the district’s need for an athletic trainer, Fredonia will fill Dunkirk’s spot in a shared position with Silver Creek through BOCES. Dunkirk will look to partner with Southwestern Central School to address its needs. Fredonia Superintendent Dr. Brad Zilliox said the district has “consistently tried to touch base with BOCES” in attempts to partner with another school for the position, but with limited qualified applicants available, Fredonia was unable to fill the need by going down that route. With Dunkirk now set to partner with Southwestern, the spot opened for Fredonia.

The athletic Trainer position will be available to each school for a negotiated amount of hours throughout the school year, including consultation with athletes for a period of time during the school day and attendance at competitions.

Over the past several years, Erik Barkley, a former State University at Fredonia athletic trainer, was shared between Silver Creek and Dunkirk. Barkley is expected to serve in the same role this fall between Silver Creek and Fredonia. The two schools begin the varsity football season against each other on Friday, Sept. 6.

Submitted Photo
Pictured is a small food pantry receptacle now located at the Wheelock School for the community to utilize free of charge. Partners in Kind of Chautauqua County set up the receptacle, which was designed and constructed by Chautauqua Lake/Erie 2 BOCES Class of 2023 student Josh Nuse.

The need for an athletic trainer wasn’t the only need that intensified at the district in the past year. At a recent meeting, several teachers at the Wheelock campus shared their daily struggles with the social and emotional needs of students that were not being met efficiently.

Following their pleas for help, the district had a meeting with its administrators to discuss a plan to reevaluate its needs. As a result, the district will be assigning a social worker to Wheelock four days a week, with a school counselor at Wheelock for the remaining day each week.

Linda Kaminski, a kindergarten teacher at Wheelock, recently described the challenges of not only being understaffed to deal with the social and emotional needs of the students at Wheelock, but also the challenges presented by a constant rotation of staff members assigned to Wheelock to address such needs.

Kaminski asked the district at a recent meeting, “How do you develop strong relationships with your support team if they are not in the building every single day?”

In reconfiguring the schedule, the rotation is reduced to allow for more continuity for students at all impacted levels. Zilliox noted that many members of the Wheelock campus have reached out to express their gratitude for the change.

The district has added two social workers since Zilliox became superintendent three years ago. The district now has three social workers after filling a full-time position for Fredonia High School starting this fall. The middle school will have a social worker available part-time, along with two counselors and a psychologist. The elementary school will have one day with a social worker and four days with a counselor, opposite of the Wheelock School.

“It reduces the rotation of who is where, and it also ensures someone is there every day,” Zilliox said.

The district also accepted the resignation of longtime food service manager Kitty Kubera for the purpose of retirement. Kubera began working for the district in March 2005. Zilliox said Kubera is organized, hardworking, diligent, and thorough. He noted that she “runs a tight ship” and commended her efforts over the years, especially through the challenges presented through the pandemic.

Also of note, the Wheelock School will now be hosting a small food pantry receptacle for the community to utilize free of charge. Partners in Kind of Chautauqua County set up the receptacle, which was designed and constructed by Chautauqua Lake/Erie 2 BOCES Class of 2023 student Josh Nuse. More information about what to donate and best practices can be found on Facebook through Fredonia Central School or Partners in Kind of Chautauqua County.