School Staff Orientation Monday
By John Earp
This past Monday morning all staff from Jal Schools attended orientation for the new school year. Teachers, coaches, principals, cafeteria workers, and instructional aides were treated to breakfast burritos and assorted fruit for breakfast. Superintendent Brian Snider greeted the staff and started the orientation, as staff filled out all their paperwork for the 2026-2027 school year. Staff were informed of availability of credit union and legal defense insurance tailored for educators. A representative from First Financial spoke on numerous benefits available to school staff. Mr. Snider asked the staff to make sure the numbers on their contracts were correct before they signed the forms and turned them into human resources. Jal Elementary Principal Karen Komar mentioned the newly constructed classrooms that had been completed over the summer. She mentioned that the elementary staff meeting would be at 10:00 a.m. that morning and introduced new staff. Jal High School Principal Buddy Little mentioned that the junior high had been recognized in the top five most improved junior high schools in New Mexico last year. Little also noted that the 8th grade data from last school year showed Jal’s students were at 58% proficient in reading, in comparison to the state average of 41% proficient.