DOWAGIAC — New faces will be teaching children at Dowagiac Union Schools come September.

At its regular meeting Monday evening, the Dowagiac Board of Education approved the hiring of six new teachers for the elementary and high school who will begin teaching once school starts again next month.

The new hires include:

• Hannah Kadrich, who will teach elementary music at Sister Lakes and Kincheloe elementary schools. Kadrich will be taking over the position from Shane Oakley, who recently accepted a position as band director for Dowagiac Middle School and Dowagiac Union High School. Kadrich graduated from Western Michigan University in 2016.

“We are excited to have her on board,” said Superintendent Paul Hartsig at Monday’s meeting.

• Kimberly Polym, who will teach second grade at Sister Lakes Elementary. She has a master’s of education and a bachelor’s degree from Saint Xavier University in Chicago. She previously taught at Eau Claire Public Schools.

• Ashley Kovalcik who will teach first grade at Sister Lakes Elementary School. She graduated in 2009 from Western Michigan University. Previously, she was the Great Start Readiness preschool teacher for Van Buren Intermediate School District.

“She has a good background in working with young students, so we are excited to have her on board,” Hartsig said.

• Ashley Horvath, who will teach elementary art at Sister Lakes and Kincheloe elementary schools. She is a former teacher for Dowagiac Union Schools, having taught fourth grade at Justus Gage Elementary School and served as a paraprofessional at Kincheloe Elementary School in the past.

“We are excited to have her back,” Hartsig said.

• Amy Ott, who will teach biology at Dowagiac Union High School. She has previously taught honors, AP and marine biology.

“We are happy to have her on as our biology teacher,” Hartsig said.

• Rebecca Phelps, who will teach secondary Spanish teacher at Dowagiac Union High School. She has previously taught at Eau Claire Public Schools and Grace Christian School.

“I actually graduated from Dowagiac and two of my three kids went to Dowagiac,” Phelps said. “This feels like coming home. I’m excited to be a part of the Chieftains.”

In other business:

• The board approved a price increase in adult meals for the 2018-2019 school year. Now, adult breakfasts will cost $2.30 and adult lunches will cost $3.85. The cost increase does not affect children’s meal prices, as all student qualify for free meals for the 2018-2019 school year.

• The board approved the resignations of first grade Sister Lakes Elementary teacher Lorenne Witham, Dowagiac Union High School English teacher Maya Lesniak and Dowagiac Middle School physical education teacher Brittney Reist on Monday.