Willard Central Elementary School

06/19/2026

🎉 𝐖𝐞𝐥𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐞𝐚𝐦 🎉

Our next staff member is one we are excited to welcome back to Central! Mrs. Collins will be teaching 1st grade.

"You may remember me as Coach Wallace from PE, and I’m thrilled to be returning with a new last name and a new role!

Since my time here, I’ve spent the last few years teaching 3rd grade. Along the way, I became a mom to my son, Mylo Elvis, married my best friend, and now our family is excited to be moving back to Willard.

As I begin my 5th year in education, I’m honored to return to this incredible school and community as a 1st grade teacher. This place has always felt like home. I can’t wait to make new memories and help my students grow throughout the year. Here’s to a year filled with learning, laughter, and lots of first-grade magic!"

Please join us in welcoming Mrs. Collins back!

06/17/2026

🎉 𝐖𝐞𝐥𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐞𝐚𝐦 🎉

We are excited to welcome our new staff members to Willard Central for the upcoming school year! Next up is Mrs. Shikany, who will be joining us as a 1st grade teacher.

"Hello! My name is Maggie Shikany, and I’ll be teaching 1st grade at Central. This will be my 11th year in education. I taught elementary P.E. in Texas for nine years before moving back to Missouri last summer. Last year, I taught 6th grade science at WISS. I'm so excited to return to elementary school!

I grew up in Branson and graduated from MSU. I have been married for nine years and together we have three wonderful children, ages 4, 6, and 8. My husband is a former Willard Tiger and our family is thrilled to be a part of the Willard Community!"

Please join us in welcoming Mrs. Shikany!

06/17/2026

🌱 A Huge Thank You! 🌱

We would like to give a special shout-out to Walmart Springfield - W Sunshine St and Lowe's Home Improvement for their generous donations of dirt, seeds, seed trays, and other gardening supplies. Your support is helping make our school garden a success!

We would also like to extend a big thank you to the middle school students and Cody Greenhaw for their hard work building the raised garden beds.

06/16/2026

🎉 𝐖𝐞𝐥𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐞𝐚𝐦 🎉

We are excited to welcome our new staff members to Willard Central for the upcoming school year! First up is Mr. Josh Neufeld, who will be joining us as our new Cross Categorical (Cross Cat) Teacher.

"My name is Josh Neufeld. I am a husband and a father of three. I have been teaching Special Education for seven years at Republic High School. In addition to teaching, I have been coaching baseball at Republic for 10 years. I enjoy spending time with my family and friends, golfing, and fishing. I am looking forward to working for Willard as a teacher and baseball coach."

Please join us in giving Mr. Neufeld a warm Willard Central welcome!

05/22/2026

There are a lot of great summer reading programs that allow students to earn rewards! Check out the list below!

05/21/2026

Today we celebrated the school year with our 4th Quarter Assembly! We recognized our Terrific Tiger award winners, honored our retirees, celebrated specials awards, recognized perfect attendance, and enjoyed a slideshow full of memories from an amazing year. Thank you to our students, staff, and families for making this school year so special. We hope everyone has a terrific summer! ☀️🎉

Check out the pictures for the reveal of next years theme! Special shoutout to Mrs. Thatcher and Arty Party for the new amazing floor design!

05/21/2026

05/21/2026

We are looking for families to help care for our school garden this summer! Volunteers may help with laying mulch, pulling weeds, planting, harvesting, and occasionally helping run our weekend FARMSTAND. It’s a wonderful way to spend time outdoors, support our school community, and help our garden continue to grow all summer long.

Families should come to the south side of the school to help with garden activities. Students do NOT need to be part of the Little Green Acres Student Action Team to participate — all students and families are welcome to help!

Please be sure to leave a good phone number in case of scheduling changes.

As a thank you for participating, families are welcome to take home a portion of the fresh produce they help grow and harvest. Whether you can help once or throughout the summer, we would love to have you involved!

We are looking for families to help care for our school garden this summer! Volunteers may help with laying mulch, pulling weeds, planting, harvesting, and occasionally helping run our weekend FARMSTAND. It’s a wonderful way to spend time outdoors, support our school community, and help our garden...

05/19/2026

Field Day is tomorrow! Please make sure to pack a change of clothes for your child. There will be some water activites. The temperature will be a little cold in the morning so we will have some alternative activities. Thank you to all the parents that volunteered to help run a station tomorrow. We are looking forward to a fun day!