001All right, I will call this meeting to order this Monday, April 13th, uh, Pewaukee Public Schools Board of Education meeting. Uh, roll call, Mary? Here. Travis? Here. Ashley? Here. Matt? >> Here. Larry? Here. And Stacy is online? Here. Was the meeting properly noticed? The meeting was properly noticed. And can I get a motion to adopt the agenda? >> So moved. Second. All in favor? Aye. Any opposed? Opposed. We'll do the pledge of allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America. And to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Thank you. >> [clears throat] [snorts] >> Well, we start out tonight by giving the oath of office to our newly elected board members. Matt? All right, I'll uh, have you raise
002your right hand and just repeat after me. I, Ashley Ross, who have been duly elected to the Board of Education of the Pewaukee Public School District, swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of Wisconsin and will faithfully discharge the duties of said office to the best of my ability, so help me God. I, Ashley Ross, who have been duly elected to the Board of Education of the Pewaukee Public School District, swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of Wisconsin and will faithfully discharge the duties of said office to the best of my ability, so help me God. >> [applause] >> Mary? I, Mary Larson, who have been duly elected to the Board of Education of the Pewaukee Public School District I,
003Mary Larson, who have been duly elected to the Pewaukee Board of Education, Pewaukee School District swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of Wisconsin and the Constitution of Wisconsin and will faithfully discharge the duties of said office to the best of my ability. And will faithfully discharge the duties of said office to the best of my ability. So help me God. So help me God. >> [applause] >> Thank you and congratulations, everyone. Next is our spotlight on learning and tonight we have Horizon. We have Christie Johnson, Kate Ryckoff, and Lexi Horvath. Um Thank you. >> Just Kate and I. >> Just Christie and Kate and I. >> Just Christie and Kate. Not Lexi. Um, so I am
004pleased to share with you, um, Kate Ryckoff, who is really going to lead the show tonight and tell you all about a wonderful event that she planned for an author visit and a book that the author ended up dedicating to Kate and to the students at Horizon. So, Kate, take it away. Thank you, Christie. Thank you so much for this opportunity to tell you about this authentic act- engagement activity for students to show how literacy, both reading and writing, can affect their life. So, first of all, here's my clicker. Um we last year, or for years, oh, let me start here. Over the years, when I was at PLE in third grade, >> [snorts] >> um we had in our reading curriculum to do a mystery unit and we started reading David A. Kelly books
005and we would read Fenway Foul Up and a couple of the other books and use their clues to help to teach the kids how to solve a mystery. Then, afterwards, we, in writing, we have a persuasive writing unit and the kids are like, why doesn't he write one from, at that time, Miller Park? So, we would start writing letters to him and contacted him and he would do some free Google Meets and talk about his writing at that time and it was it was wonderful. So, we would write to him saying, "Please write a book about Miller Park." And then the years went on and we changed the name to American Family Field and let's write him a some more. So every year that we could, we would write him a letter maybe as a
006whole class or individually and then finally this last year I see I'm friends with him on Facebook and LinkedIn. I'm like he finally wrote the sausage race. So I contacted him and I said I would love to do another Google Meet. He said, well I have started charging for him but I'll do one for free for you and I'm like excellent. So set it up with the whole third grade. Colleen Rooney helped everything get the set up so that would run it from [snorts] my room but everybody could watch it in their room and Christie sneaks in the room and I'm kind of looking at her as as it's going on cuz he does a wonderful presentation talking about his his research process and his editing process and he just did a fantastic job. So
007after the presentation all the teachers like wow that was really fun. You know the kids are really engaged and Christie said let's try to get him here. So I talked to him and he said when he was available kind of gave us a little deal and then I called my friend who's a principal in Waukesha and she said she'd take him for the morning. We got him for the afternoon so we got a much better deal and started planning. Katie Dirks um literacy coach jumped on board bought copies for each teacher so that they could read it to the class and Lindsay Krieger made an activity to kind of keep track as you're reading along. Um and then one day I get a email saying what do you think of this? And I start reading
008the email and he I'm like going to cry. He had this dedication. He goes what do you think of this? I go not only did you make my day you made my decade. We've been writing to you for quite a long time and it was just so thrilled. He had so much information about American Family Field the Brewers and Milwaukee that he decided to write two books. So he wrote the second book. Um so then we started planning on his visit and these were some possible ways teachers could prepare. We had copies of both books for the teachers. Um we had his website here. He you can watch these on your own if you want because he was interviewed by both of these TV stations and so I showed those to the kids just to
009get them more excited. Um told the kids about his website. We kind of dove into that just to get to know him as a person. Then Colleen Rooney the year before like she knew this was going to happen so she had planned all these great steam challenges. There was like six or eight of them but here's just two of them. Um and then Nicole Matkey, Victoria Syslak, Lisa from Books and Company in Oconomowoc jumped on board made a plan so that they could order books and I think they sold like 250 which was you know incredible for him. Um and then Andrea Smith and Melissa Medina in the office helped put everything on Skyward so it was for easy to do the orders. And then our big league day came and the effort of all
010these people helping was was fantastic. The music teachers taught the kids how to sing take me out to the ball game to that to greet him. And James Sevens here at the high school was super helpful and connected with him and made sure that they had all the right technology. So after they sang and great greeted him he had his wonderful presentation for the whole Horizon school and the kids loved it. They were really engaged. Then as a big surprise at the end Katie Dirks had contacted Brewers and Chelsea Roth who's one of our special ed teachers it her fiance used to be Bernie Brewer and so we got quite the deal and they comped the whole thing all of the mascots so that was a surprise. So we had talked about the kids having
011some questions that they came up with so every grade level came up with a few questions about three questions and they all lined up and Julie Reuter said I'll help with that with my hook junior kids. So they were all lined up and we saved these were authentic questions but one of the questions was who or what is your favorite sausage mascot? And so we saved that for last and he was kind of in on that that was going to be the last question so he took his time going oh I got to think about that. He said I I think I'd have to say the bratwurst and out comes the bratwurst and out comes Bernie and the kids just go nuts and they love it. Then the other sausages came and gave him a
012high fives up and down the aisle and it was just a great way to end this wonderful presentation. So um here's one of the pictures with David and the sausages and there's my class. Um then these are some of the people that stayed uh Katie came in special. She was on maternity leave but she came in special that day. Um and then Christina Swanson took over for Katie with a lot of the planning and she was in charge of the sausages and Bernie that day keeping them you know ready to go. Julie Reuter's in there and Kelsey helped with some of the decorations to greet him. Um Carly Getsky, Sarah Smith, Owen Lamp stayed late the night before and made that beautiful balloon arch and that was in our library so we had his book
013signing. And these are just a few pictures Miranda Koslik took so that she could put on social media. And then you can see a letter up in the top right. They gave him another letter with a new challenge. Please write a story about football and the Packers and sure enough he has already started that and he replied back that he will use some of the ideas. He'll look at that in his research. And he goes I'm not sure with all the football and baseball teams I'm not sure if I'll ever be able to get to the Admirals and the Bucks but then one of my own students writes this excuse her she did this at home and we had a little editing to do but it's very cute. It's to David Kelly for inspiring me
014to write I got to I got to excuse me my my glasses um to write these books. Do you want to read it for me Christie? >> because you came to our school and are telling us about your journey and making me feel like I could write anything I put my mind to. Thank you Maddie and then there's her first part of her first chapter. So she's working on that at home now and I sent that to him. And then Miranda called me and says hey do you mind if the Freeman um interviews you and most of the details are right. They kind of had the they said that one of our staff was actually Bernie but most of the details right but there's here's the article and it was a wonderful article. So it
015was a huge team effort and I thank Christie because of it without her support and figuring out how we could budget this in um it it wouldn't have happened and the kids are thrilled and then he stayed and signed all the books and then each kid also got like a bookmark if they didn't buy a book they still got something to remember the day by. So that was our our little 10 year planned. >> [laughter] >> I mean it it just all worked out perfectly cuz it's fun to do even with just the Google Meets but this just turned out like I I I can't even can't even say how I feel about the dedication. I thought that was but I wanted the kids to know like this isn't just to me this is to
016everybody and you can make a difference in the world by your writing. And I just want to add I know Kate recognized a lot of people throughout that but it was really Kate's efforts that brought this all together. She put together a tremendous amount of planning and effort into something that really connected kids learning to the real world and help kids see that their writing can make a difference in the world. So questions for us. I I just want to say thank you Kate for all the tremendous efforts that you put into giving these kids such an amazing experience and I'm curious do you know how many years you guys wrote letters? Well you know I looked back in all my Google things and I tried to find them in my files but I know
0172018 for sure was one of the years. So if if that was the first year maybe. Yeah but I know 2018 was when it started cuz that was one of those pictures from I I put a letter in there and one of our first Google Meets with them. Um awesome. Thank you. You're welcome. Anyone else? Disappointed. I was out of town and I canceled my newspapers during that time period March 10th so it's like no wonder I didn't see that. I don't know where they normally get that at Waukesha Freeman so would have loved to see a great story that I missed so. Brian can I say something? Can you hear me? Yes. Yeah Kate I I'm in Florida zooming in and I just wanted to say, while you were doing that presentation, I got
018goosebumps. I just love how the community and the school and all of the people at the school came together for this. And what an exciting day. So, I thank you for your years of writing those letters and encouraging our students to to read and write to their to their favorite authors. What a great great just trajectory that you've done over these 9 years. It's really really super cool. And I thank you for all of that. Thank you. Yeah, when it's a tradition that third grades come over and work with Ryan Demers for like a cookie baking around Christmas time when we talk about traditions. And some of my kids were there, so I had to tell them, I'm like, "You remember when we wrote those letters?" So, that they were like, "Yeah." So, that that
019was just like a full circle. It was great. I also just want to thank you for go this is a great example going the extra mile, putting up putting your passion into something because that's a that's an anchor experience that your students will never forget. So, you know, there's a lot of great instructional learning that happens every day. But these are the kinds of things that that can really inspire. And like I said, they're not going to forget it. So, awesome job. Thank you. Thank you, Mike. Thank you. Thanks for being here, Kate. Good job. [applause] All right. Thank you. Next we have our student board representative report. So, I'll hand it over to Anna and Mora. All right. Hi, everybody. The weather is just beautiful today, and I'm really feeling like it's finally hit
020spring. Um all right. So, for our April board board report, our first topic is going to be the Play It Forward. So, I know I talked about the planning of this in past reports, but this happened Friday night through Key Club. It was just a fundraiser for Children's Wisconsin to get some money in. I think the fundraiser is still open if you still want to support that. Um so, like I said, yeah, fundraising for children and patient care at Children's Wisconsin is hosted by Key Club, but like primarily led by Yogashi Pathak and Argawal. I think it may have become an invite project, I believe. But with a lot of help from Key Club. Um there were games, food, raffles. I know some people that do like that are on tech crew for drama, they
021like DJ'd the event. And yeah, there were physical and monetary donations on the website. And just some packaged toys or books to give to Children's Wisconsin just cuz it's so like structured of what we can donate. We just we're trying to be really careful with what we can do. All right. And for our next topic, we have the Spring Craft and Vendor Fair. So, I really want to applaud Alyssa Simenow. She every year does this. She puts this on. She gathers the vendors. She does all of the marketing. And I just really think it's so special that she's able to put this on every year. And then of course the members of FCCLA also support her during this journey, but I just really notice every year that she's always there. She's she's there like the
022night before. And I remember last year she was having volunteers there like all night just setting things up and getting it ready. But yeah, so this was on March 21st from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. And donating a canned item lowered the entry fee, so it was also simultaneously a like donation type thing. So, she was partnering with a local food pantry for that. There were art, tote bags, clothing, cookies, wood carvings, and donuts. Just literally everything from local businesses and vendors to kind of put a spotlight on them and recognize them for the amazing work that they're able to do. And then Louie the Dachshund actually paid a visit. And just a huge thank you to PHS student volunteers for making it happen and just making it work and putting in the effort. So,
023Mom Brew was also at the craft fair. I know my aunt Jill wanted me to show up. She was real mad I had to work that day. But I know Hudson Brehmburger, Jill visited their marketing class, one of them that Mr. Staus has. So, Hudson Brehmburger was kind of inspired by her company and and called TMJ4 to come and surprise her. She didn't even know. She was real worried she did not look her best on the news. But I know we've talked about Mom Brew before. They package coffee. They they manage inventory. They fulfill online orders, marketing, delivering products. A lot of experiences that the special needs students might not easily find in the job market. Some student quotes was, "We met with Anodyne, ordered some ground coffee, and talked with the school board about
024making a business. And then we made it happen." from Jen Shrek. And Ms. Vandrei and my aunt Jill said it helps or Never mind. I'm reading the wrong thing. Um Gabby Sligas said that it helps her be more confident and talking to people. And then Ms. Vandrei and my aunt said, "Our student-run coffee shop provides students with employability skills and job skills to get them into the community." Which is really important cuz I know it kind of went in with the like job fair or the the job Olympics we did. So, that's just a big thing trying to like show special needs students that like there are so many jobs available to them even though they might live a different life from some other people. And I just think it's so important that like I
025know we kind of highlighted this earlier when it was first starting out, but just seeing the impact and the student quotes and seeing how it like truly makes a difference and they like like just helping them become more confident in talking to people and handling a business. Like I think that's something so special and that opportunity like it's just very very like special and I just think it's definitely something that needs to be recognized. And then for our last topic, we have the Pirates Got Talent. This was the second annual one. It kind of I know it happened a while ago as well, but then there was kind of a break in which it was happening and then it started again last year. And so, students and faculty actually participated in this and I wasn't
026able to make it, but I did watch it online on YouTube. And I just want to say if you haven't seen it, you should definitely go check it out. From everything to like slam poetry and seeing teachers playing piano. There's a lot of trumpet acts, which I was surprised about. I feel like it wasn't like that that last year. But just go and check it out if you're interested. I just think it was really great to see people who are interested in performing or have a special talent be able to be recognized for that. And then this also funded the fine arts program at the high school. So, it's just another great fundraising to support the high school fine arts program. So, for athletics and achievements, robotics competed at the district event in Appleton, Wisconsin
027and ended in third place. The Little Fold Camp won the leadership award at the event. And won the team also won the impact award, which they spent a lot of time working towards getting for the like during the preseason. And they won first during spring break and are headed to state with an 11-1 record. I know um for my uncle Rick, he's a mentor for the robotics team, so we got a lot of excited texts in the family group chat after that. Softball's been on a pretty good streak lately, varsity and JV teams both Brookfield Central. Um I know there's been quite a few wins in between from that. And then baseball won their first game of the season. FBLA had state conference. Track, we just started it well, we're going to start our season
028this week. Um Andy set a new school record with the 800 meter run. And Julia Piper set a new school record for the 55 meter dash. And I think set a new record this past week. That was even better than the other one she made the week prior. So. Hi. And then for just our salutes and recognitions, we had the freshmen sophomores taking the pre-ACT. I believe the eighth graders take that, too. But just kind of that future ready day planning and making sure that our students are prepared to actually take the ACT when it comes. And I actually didn't know this, but a lot of other schools don't allow the sophomores to take a pre-ACT. And the fact that we have that opportunity for students is just so amazing to just really do the
029academic planning and make sure that they're ready when it comes time to take it. And then all the Open Door Awards nominations. And I also want to shout out Adriana Plock for just doing so much work in preparing it, setting up the speakers. Just absolutely everything that it takes to go into it is so incredible. And then the yearbook committee submitted their final results. So, shout out to Mrs. Wacker and the yearbook students for just pulling that together cuz it's definitely not easy of collecting a year's worth of activities and recognitions in one book. The robotics team had a Culver's and Bubba's fundraising event. And then Owen Hanson and Kennedy Morgan Jones were selected for the 2026 Wisconsin State Honors Choir. And they beat out almost 900 students. So, that's a huge honor. Yeah. And
030then for our learning spotlight, we have AP testing preparation for all the AP classes. Model United Nations class with Mr. Douglas has a Nicolet conference actually coming up this weekend. It's an all crisis conference, so it's very difficult and it's taking a lot of planning, but it seems like it's going pretty well. Writing for the media, Ms. Wacker is working on their own magazine. So, just learning the idea of journalism, but also formatting um all of your articles correctly. AP Environmental Science, Mr. Gartman, this is interesting. He actually is doing albatross pellet dissection. So, he got in contact with the California lab and he was able to get albatross pellets for the class to dissect and kind of learn a little bit more about biodiversity and what it means to have a resilient ecosystem. And
031then advanced culinary with Mr. Demars had a student cook-off and 16 teams participated to create their best dish. Sports Marketing with Mr. Staus is creating their own major league sports teams and learning what it takes to manage and market a team. And then fashion and design class with Miss Simino received personal guidance from Ebony Woodson of WWP Design and Decor for their exhibit in the Milwaukee Art Museum's Art in Bloom fashion show event. So, just a lot of great things happening in the classroom and it's reaching that time of year where it gets pretty busy but it's obvious that the busyness is paying off because all of the teachers are really going above and beyond to make sure that learning is fun but also super beneficial for the students. And thank you. Awesome. Awesome report.
032I've got two things. I did watch part of the Pirates Got Talent and there were two brothers that sang and played ukuleles. >> Yes. They did a fine job. It was a really neat. It was really neat show. And second of all, I don't know if you've tried the Anodyne coffee but it's really quite good. Yeah, Jill was about to buy a whole jug of iced coffee for us for the house. Yeah. We're we're invested. Do you know where else that is sold locally? I know that there's a website for it. Uh-huh. Okay. They're trying to sell it though, aren't they? Yeah, there's there's some coffee club that the high school teachers have. Mhm. And now they just drink Anodyne. The entry fee used to be that you had to bring in your own bag
033of coffee but now it's a monetary donation so they can keep buying Jill's coffee. It's it's great coffee and it has a nice mellow flavor. Thank you. Just one one of the the robotics team actually won something in the cross and then now they're competing at a district level at Brookfield this coming weekend. >> Yeah, it's like it's not called state but it's basically state. State level, okay. Yes. They're just kind of rolling through with robotics. So I think this is the district championship. >> It's the district regional, I believe, that qualifies for the >> qualify, they go to the Yeah, then they go to Houston. And they're 11 and I mean they're Looking pretty good. They're having as good of a season as they've ever had. Yeah. I don't I I just know if
034it's good um depending on what emojis were sent to the family group chat. Any other questions? Thank you so much. Good report. So, tonight we have student and Eagle Scout Brett Weinant. And he's here to share his experience and his journey to becoming an Eagle Scout. Hello, Brett. Hi. Hey, how are you guys? By the way, I just have to say looking sharp. Thank you. Looking really good. So, I'm just going to give a little background about myself. So, I was born February 13th, 2008. I'm the youngest son of my parents, Brian and Liz. Currently a senior at Pewaukee High School and I'm graduating in May. Couple of my interests include football, basketball, wrestling and fishing. Played football since 2nd grade starting with flag football. I've earned four varsity letters, one for wrestling and three
035for football. I started at center for the Pirates for my junior and senior year as well as playing defensive tackle and offensive tackle. As a senior, I was nominated all-conference honorable mention for the Classic and I've been voted to the Wisconsin All-Star game which raises money for Children's Hospital of Wisconsin. In the fall, I'll be attending UW-Stevens Point where I'll be studying sports business and playing football for the Pointers. And then I joined Pack 13 in Pewaukee as a Tiger in 2014. I earned the Arrow of Light and then joined Troop 224 in 2019. While in Troop 224, I've attended summer camp seven times visiting Tesomas, Bear Paw, Lake Long Lake, Tomahawk and Camp Phillips. I also participated in high adventure earning the Grand Slam award by attending all four bases. I attended Bechtel Summit
036in West Virginia in 2022. I attended Philmont in New Mexico in 2023 where I backpacked over 130 miles. In 2024, I went to Florida Sea Base and then in 2025, I went to Northern Tier. I recorded more than 128 nights of camping and given more than 150 hours to community service. The leadership leadership positions I've held are assistant patrol leader, patrol leader, quartermaster, outdoor ethics guide, assistant senior patrol leader and senior patrol leader. Additionally, I'm an ordeal member of the Order of the Arrow which is scouting's national honor society having been elected by members of my troop in 2022. For my Eagle project, I refurbished a massive wood play set, 30 by 20 by 15 feet. Built four benches for parents to sit on and enjoy while watching their children play at the Okauchee Lions
037Park. I led a group of 30 different people through this project which amassed to more than 200 hours of labor and then I passed my Eagle Board of Review on September 14th, 2025. I'm I'm tired just listening to you. That's impressive. That's impressive, Brett. Way to go. So, of all of the challenges you've been through to become an Eagle Scout, whether it's camps or projects, what was the most difficult and what did you learn through the difficulty of that? Well, I think it was the the longevity and being involved in sports and stuff growing up throughout life, you know. I never thought of scouting as being like my number one priority, you know, it's never going to get to the end, you know, that kind of stuff. So, there was times where I would want
038to quit, want to, you know, just skip it, whatever it may be. I thank my dad for, you know, holding me accountable, making me go cuz now being able to claim that I'm an Eagle Scout is a fantastic achievement. Two questions for you actually. So, one of the things that I had the opportunity to serve as a mentor to someone else who was not an Eagle Scout but in the Boy Scouts, what are some of the key values of being in the Boy Scout program? I think being, you know, a leader, dedicated, kind of loyal. Being able to be leaned on by your troop and whatnot. I think those are all super important in scouting and life. You know, it kind of takes you further in life than just, you know, graduating high school and
039being an Eagle Scout but I think those are like the main things. You share that with your Boy Scout troop and then the younger groups, the Cub Scouts as well. So, okay. So, this is the most important question. Given that you're going to play football at Stevens Point, what is the name of their mascot up there? Do you know? Uh You can maybe guess maybe but I know I know it's a dog. I know it's a >> [laughter] >> I think you I think you did say it. When you said you said you were going to be a Oh, a Pointer, yeah. Yeah. Stevie Pointer. Stevie Pointer is the name of the mascot. I didn't know that either. And I only know that cuz my nephew played at Stevens Point when he was in college
040back a few years ago. So, Stevie Pointer. Remember that. Will do. >> [laughter] >> Anything else? Congratulations. No, Brett, I I want to congratulate you. I think it's extremely rare to get to Eagle Scout but then for someone like yourself who is involved in a ton of different sports. Pretty sure you have a job as well because I know you checked me out at Fleet Farm one time. So, I mean like very impressive that you've been engaged in so much and been able to excel at a lot of different things. So, Congrats. Thank you. Anthony, you know this. How many Eagle Scouts do we have? I don't know that, Mary. Pewaukee. It can't be a high number. Well, we usually have them present here, correct? So, we haven't had I can't remember in the last
041couple years we haven't had I think Brett might Maybe Brett knows. His brother older brother. We had in his grade what, two or three? Yeah. Yeah, cuz it was Bryce and um So, probably in the last three, four years, five, six. Yeah, you're in an elite group. That's what I come to understand about that achievement. Thank you. And Brett, how I mean you probably said this in your comments. How old were you when you first started in with scouting? I I know it starts with Cub Scouts. 12 years ago. 12 years. So, five or six. So, the sustained, right? That's you talked about this, the sustained commitment and working through all those levels. I just that's that's why we really this is one of my favorite recognitions. Mayor said this, it's pretty rare. Pretty rare
042accomplishment. The leadership that's involved and, you know, you're a leader on your football team. I I think that's probably no coincidence, right? It translates there but it just what a well-rounded experience you have and the number of the hikes that you guys have went on and the number of nights outside and the self resilience that you developed through this. It's it's impressive. So, congratulations. Thank you. One more question. What's your major at Stevens Point? I'm going for sports business. I believe it's the first in the Midwest and it's a brand new major they're bringing in this upcoming fall. So, That's awesome. Yeah. Nice. Well, congratulations. We're so proud of you. >> [applause] >> Next, salutes and recognitions. Does anyone from the board have anything? Admin? John or Anthony? I I have one. Um I just
043want to recognize Rachel York, Adriana Plock, Sandy Karkosky, and Miranda Koslick. Um each year, this would be this will be year three, we host a regional AI summit for educators. Uh we've partnered with CESA 1 this year for that summit, and those four individuals have just done a great job at helping organize organize and coordinate um and get things um ready to roll. Registration opened today, so [snorts] excited for that. August 4th is the date, right? So >> August 4th, correct. >> August 4th. At WCTC. Yes. Awesome. I had a couple, but I think you guys really hit them with your uh board report uh for our student reps. Just uh just in general, the acknowledgement of everybody that's involved in FOFA, congratulations to FOFA, and Pirates Got Talent. Uh that was uh an impressive
044event from everything that I've I've heard. Um and what a great opportunity for students to get to to go out there and show their talents, and I was going to mention First Robotics and the success run that that they're on as as just groups to to recognize, but that's been that's been talked about already. All right, thanks everyone. >> [snorts] >> Um Tammy, I have one citizen comment. Do you have any additional? I have no additional. All right. You can come on up. I'll just let you start by stating your name. No problem. Hi everyone, I'm Chris Krasovich. Thanks so much for allowing me to speak tonight. Hard act to follow. So many great stories. And those very stories are some of the reasons I'm so proud to live in Pewaukee, the home of this
045outstanding and award-winning district, as everyone knows. I'm really at ease here knowing that our students, including my son who's going to be returning to district this fall as a part of the special needs um 18 to 21-year-old program, are supported by the extraordinary professionals like the staff members who are here tonight, in front of us and behind us, um who have really dedicated their lives to serving the educational needs of the developing minds. I'm grateful also to the hardworking board members who give their time so freely to serve the families of the district that they represent with such integrity. When I think of the members of the Board of Education in particular, some words that come to my mind are principled, disciplined, curious, respectful, conscientious, and [snorts] I would say that those adjectives pertain to
046all but one of the sitting board members. Unfortunately, that board member is the reason that I felt compelled to speak tonight, as during far too many previous meetings, I've observed some deeply concerning behaviors that really have no place on this board. When a board member fails to understand that their personal views are not relevant to the discussions here, it's clear that there is a misunderstanding of the role that board members play. You're here to represent not your own personal interests, but mine, and that of the children and families and individuals of this district and community. When you display a lack of appreciation and understanding of the way the board work is done by refusing onboarding, by ignoring tours, by skipping trainings, and by failing to follow board norms and procedures, you reduce the board's power
047and efficacy. When you ask inappropriate questions that reek of conspiracy theories, and belligerently refuse to move on, even when those questions are patiently answered by multiple individuals, you derail meetings and limit the board's ability to be productive. When you insert inappropriate and even discriminatory comments and questions, you demonstrate a lack of respect for student privacy, and put our district in a position of incredible risk. When you act with hostility, and overtly insult other members of this board, and the incredible educational professionals that you are here to learn from, you embarrass yourself, and you embarrass every single family you're supposed to be representing. When you engage in childish antics like walking out of meetings, you abandon your responsibility to the students of Pewaukee, and the residents who elected you. At the last meeting, the person I'm
048speaking of called their fellow board members frickin cowards. But what is truly cowardly is refusing to do the honorable thing. When your temperament, your demeanor, and your actions make it clear you are not suited for the role you hold, you've become a distraction to the important work that the Board of Education is to be doing. Mary, I am speaking to you as I'm sure you're aware. Your inability to engage effectively requires that you resign, so that our kids don't continue to suffer. Thank you, Mary. All right. Um I will move on with consent agenda. It does contain um minutes from previous meetings, um March 23rd, the regular board meeting and business affairs. Um also um any correspondence that was included in your packet. Um also some very generous gifts. Kiwanis of Pewaukee donated $2,608 to
049Pewaukee Lake Elementary School to support the enhanced literacy program. Thank you. $2,500 was donated from Jerry's Automotive for the Pewaukee High School Robotic [snorts] Team. And a donation of 4,000 was received from Power Nation as a combined donation from Jim Hausch, Sam Gerard, Marty Finn, and the Power Nation Company for the Pewaukee High School Robotics. I cannot say thank you enough. It is just amazing to me um the donations that we get for our school, but all I can say is thank you, thank you to those individuals and those companies that reached out with your funds to help our students. Also, um on consent agenda are some policies that we're looking to accept tonight. Do you have anything to add? Nope, I did not get any questions. All right. >> Request that those policies be
050pulled out of the consent agenda and voted on separately. Okay. Can you just restate that, Mary? Request that the policies be pulled out of the consent agenda and voted on separately. All of the policies or just a single policy? Just which one? A single policy or all of the policies? Pull all the policies out. That would mean we'd have to go through each one of them separately to vote yay or nay on each single policy, is that correct? Or could we if you want to make a motion, could she make a motion, and if it were seconded, to pull the policies out and vote on that group of policies separate from the consent agenda? Is that what you're asking? No, I'm not looking for an a motion. The request is is not to be denied.
051We've been through this before, so they have to come out, and then you can go from there. Okay, so you're saying all the policies are separated out, right? Correct. Pull all the policies out. All right. So, I will ask for a motion to accept the consent agenda minus the policies. So moved. Second. All in favor? Aye. >> Aye. Any opposed? No. Okay. So then you just take them one at a time. So then [clears throat] we will take the policies one at a time. Um 6300.03, release time for students. Can I get a motion? Move to approve. Second. All in favor? Aye. >> Aye. Roll call vote, please. You need to make a motion and I'll need a motion on that, Mary. I don't know what to do. You need a motion. >> do. You
052need a motion and a second. Parliamentary inquiry. My understanding [clears throat] is for a roll call vote, uh that you would have to make a motion, it would need to be seconded and approved by the majority of the board. Right, but we've had roll call votes here before that were not followed that way when we did something with the uh building and the um the money. When we got the money in, we had to have a roll call vote. That was not a board decision, that was forced forced upon us. Mary, that's because it's a required that they have a roll call vote for the financial situation that you described in terms of what John brought forward. So, that is by state statute that needed a roll call vote. That did nothing to do with
053what you're just describing, so. So you say. I would like a roll call vote on the release time policy. Can I get a second on that? I'll go ahead with it, so. All right. I don't think you need a motion. I I just really am am going to Parliamentary inquiry. It has to be correct. Uh I've heard one uh discussion from last time we had this, which was I think Mickey brought that forward. But there were other folks who said, "No, that is not correct." A roll call vote has some sort of priority to it, and either way, we can table this till we know what that is. But I'd like a roll call vote on the release time policy at some point. Or or know the reason why not. You're just a got We've
054got a motion and a second to go ahead with a roll call vote. It's a roll call vote. So We do have to complete the motion. We have to >> Yeah, yeah. All in favor? I. I. Favor of what? Of your motion for a roll call vote. Any opposed? I don't have a motion for a roll call vote. All right. >> I'm requesting a roll call vote and a parliamentary inquiry if you say I can't request it. I will take a roll call vote now. >> you don't want it, parliamentary inquiries have absolute total control. The meeting stops until you get that straight. If you don't want to do that, we can table the release time policy vote. >> that's accurate. >> [clears throat] >> I think you >> Does anyone on the board agree
055with that? Otherwise, I will move forward with the roll call vote. There's no point in agreeing with it. You need a parliamentarian to say if that is accurate or not. If you can't get a parliamentarian to tell you that that's accurate or not, table it. I don't think you're right. I want a roll call vote on that policy. >> on the release time policy. Unless you have no objection to that and then we can move on. I don't know why the board would object to roll call vote on the release time policy. >> You've already approved doing a roll call vote. We've already approved a roll call vote. I will start with the roll call. Larry? Yes. A roll call vote for what? The policy. Matt? Yes. Ashley? Yes. Yes. Travis? Yes. Mary? Confirming this
056is a roll call vote to approve policy for the release time? That's correct. Uh oppose. Thank you, guys. I think there's Stacy still on or not? Stace? Stacy? Yes. Thank you. Uh policy 5500.10 head lice. All in favor? I. I. I. Any opposed? Question. The remainder of the policies I understand correctly they've made no changes. Correct? All the the rest of them, Larry. Coming from the policy committee. Um I don't know that we can say that there were absolutely no changes. >> But you've asked for a vote on each policy, Mary. So we are going to go through each policy at your request. I asked for the vote. I asked for the policies to be pulled out of the consent agenda. You folks went and decided that they should be taken on separately, which is
057fine. But I was just wondering if there are any changes in the remainder of the policies as a point of inquiry. My understanding is the only one that had change was the one we just voted on. You don't know. >> Yes, we just need to go ahead with the vote. Okay? We're We're just going to go ahead with >> know if there are any changes in the policies you're about to you're about to vote on. >> are in your packet. As pre- as presented as they were reviewed at first read and moved forward. I know, but they were Yeah, sorry, Mike. Go ahead. >> So you've you've had opportunity to review the policies as presented. Correct. Absolutely. So I would expect that the board would absolutely know as it's about to vote on that that
058it would know if there are changes in the remaining policies. Every board member has had these policies um to review and ask questions if they had any. I don't believe anyone's asked any questions, Ashley. So therefore, we are going to proceed with the vote for 5500.10 head lice. All in favor? I. I. Any opposed? 5300.04 school police relationships. All in favor? I. Any opposed? 3400.13 district response to alleged sexual harassment under Title IX. All in favor? I. Any opposed? 6300.01 school calendars and schedules. All in favor? I. Any opposed? 6500.01 instructional planning. All in favor? I. Any opposed? 6900.03 part-time open enrollment. All in favor? I. Any opposed? Thank you. Then I will take a motion to um adopt the rest of the consent agenda as presented. Can I get a motion? >> That was
059already passed. Did we pass that in the Sorry. Sorry. So much. So now we're on to business first. Thank you. Thanks, Mike. Next, we'll move on to business affairs committee. You didn't approve the consent agenda. Yes, you did. >> We did. That was the first thing that we did. >> Prior to doing the policies. Prior to separating out the policies. We approved the consent agenda and you opposed it. Business affairs. Um Stacy, are you reporting on this or John, are you going to speak? I'm going to do it as long as you guys can hear me and everything's working. We can hear you fine, Stacy. >> hear you great, Stacy. Go ahead. All right. So in our business affairs meeting, we John answered a few questions we had on check registers and the financials. Our
060financial position is we have collected about 58% of our revenues. Spent about 64% of our budgeted expenditures. Um we had some revenue money come in this month related to the equalization aid. It was another installment. Brought us up to about 16% or 2.5 million was received. Um the rest we'll get in late June, I believe the last week of June. Um and we received a $2 million payment under per pupil aid. Um John shared that I think you if you remember from a previous report, we talked about that our health care costs were running a little high higher than expected. Um fortunately, um they came in a little lower this month. So after 2 months of high expenses, they came down a little bit. We are still projecting um an increase from this year compared
061to last year of about 6.5%. Uh and we uh John um gave us an update on the monthly capital projects. Uh we are on track for the um projects to be completed by fall 2026, 100%. Um and we just discussed the um status of of the projects and you how we're doing financially with everything and it's all looking very good. So I'm very pleased to give this report. John, is there anything you want to add? Besides the the last piece of review that we did at the meeting was some of the budget parameters of where we're in the process and where we're at in developing the budget. Reminder to the board that it'll be presented to you on April 27th in its entirety. Um you can anticipate that the budget executive or the the summary
062document for the budget uh to be out uh late this week or early next week to give plenty of time for review prior to the meeting on the 27th. Um and we do anticipate um having that Well, we will have a balanced budget that will be delivered to the board and then going to any more finite details at that presentation on the 27th. Thank you, John. Does anyone have any questions? Otherwise, I'll take a motion. I move to approve the business affairs report as presented. Second. All in favor? I. Any opposed? Oppose. I thought we just accepted business reports. There's nothing to approve. Thank you. New business. Um tonight we have a field trip up for consideration and approval, a field trip to France in June of 2027. Um Chris >> Mr. Kent, come on
063down. Bonjour. >> please come down and tell us. Hello, Chris. It's good to see you all. How are you tonight? Good. Yourself? Good. Uh I'm sorry I'm dressed in my baseball gear. Come right from the coaching field. So excuse me for my Understandable. It's the season. Yeah. Thank you. Uh what [clears throat] else I'd like to say thank you for honoring a Eagle Scout this evening. It's near and dear to me and my fellow scout. Eagle Scout is in fact Oh, fantastic. I'm just delighted that you guys are doing that. So thank you for that. Um okay. Well, I'm here to talk about a proposed trip for 2027. Uh Allison Gernhardt and I are looking at an opportunity for students to immerse themselves abroad in France. Uh namely Paris and Nice, those two areas specifically.
064Looking at dates of June 9th approximately through about the 16th, an 8-day trip in the summer of 2027. Um we are looking at a company called Prometour uh out of Quebec, Canada. So they have the French-speaking connection. Um but we are really excited about this opportunity with them uh for the following reasons. Uh we are looking as always to create real and immersive opportunities for our students with the French language. We're also um always cognizant of feedback that we get from parents and students. We had a trip planned, if you may recall, [snorts] that was going to be in Canada with a home stay and immersive opportunity that way. Um for better or for worse, we didn't have that uh level of interest that we needed for that. And so we took that feedback into
065account and then we have replanned this trip here uh for an offering for 2027. Um so part of what this means is that we have a more expedited expedited timeline if this were to pass. So we're cognizant of cost and what that might mean for families. And so we were looking for opportunities that might have a little bit of a reduced cost there. So if you look at the numbers here, um depending student uh enrollment on this planned trip, uh we could be as low as 3800 um getting into the lower $4,000 range potentially. But again, we wanted to do something that would be affordable and an option that could serve parents and students in this way. Also taking that feedback from them. Trip would start in Paris, do some of the main things in
066that area, the Louvre, Notre Dame, etc. All those things you're familiar with. Move down to that Nice area with some cultural opportunities in culinary down there with a further opportunity to engage in a little medieval city called Eze or potentially even into the Provencal area, which is in between. It sounds wonderful. >> [laughter] >> Does anyone have any questions? >> Can I just what do you know what tour company you guys are working with? Uh Prometour. I'm sorry. >> Okay. All right, that's fine. Prometour. Okay, and we've worked with them in the past. >> We actually have not worked with them in the past, but we have Allison and I have been working with them in relationship for over 18 months. I think that relationships really matter. Our particular representative, his name is Sure, he's
067been very kind and patient with us. Um Coming from a business background myself, I understand how important relationships are, and he has been standing by us, patient, very helpful in this whole process even though we've had to pivot on these trips. They are insured. They are the safety measures that we would of course go by from that. We have looked at other testimonials to ensure that this would be a good opportunity. They're a little bit of a smaller base company, but again, we vetted the all the standard groups, you know, EF, ACIS, etc., and thought that this was the best balance at this time given the timeline coming up in 2027 given cost considerations, but also offering some keys like having a guide on the ground with us. So, they provide a person that's there
068the entire time with us. We're not on our own. They take care of a lot of the insurance, the background aspects so that we don't have to worry about some of those things as well. So, to answer your question candidly, no, we have not toured with them before, but we feel like this is a strong relationship and have confidence in this particular company. And kind of what what are you guys anticipating for group size? I would I'm looking about 15, I think, would be my my goal. I'd love to see up to 20, but I think realistically, we're going to target about 15 and perhaps grow it beyond beyond that is our our target goal. Sounds great. Wonderful. Does anybody have any questions? Um I just have something I'd like to say. I just want
069to applaud you for going above and beyond for your students. I think it's really amazing that you're really seeking out this opportunity for them. Again, like especially with world languages, getting that immersion into it, and I'm just being able to I'm experiencing it firsthand is really valuable and I think it's something that's a great idea and they'll remember it forever. Thank you. Ms. Berry, can I count you in? >> [laughter] >> I would love to go. I mean, I did just go to Paris, but Thank you. She could be another chaperone. She could go back as a as a post-grad. All right, if there are no further questions, um I'll take a motion. Move to approve uh field trip request for the PHS students to travel to France from June 19th to the 16th of
0702027 as presented. Second. All in favor? I. Any opposed? Abstain. All right. Thank you so much. >> you for your time. Yep, good luck with everything on the trip. Next, we have a mathematics progress and improvement strategies presentation from Anthony. And Anthony will take it from here. Just a point just a note for the board. This report is provided in relation to Board of Education goal number six and Superintendent goal F. Um and Mr. Pizzo and team will take it from here. So, the best part about this tonight is we have some of our math experts from across the district. But I'm just going to kind of open things up and then I'm going to turn it over to each of the building principals and then the instructional coaches that work within those specific buildings.
071But the one thing that I can say, if you recall, this is the first year that we have used AIMSweb Plus as our universal math screener as well. It was a requirement per Act 20 from the literacy side of things. So, then we have selected to use that so there is consist- consistency with math and literacy for all of our students in grades two through eight. Those are the grades we really focus on. We use that universal screener to then identify students that potentially would have a greater need for additional supports that would occur outside of the traditional classroom or someone supporting pushing into a specific classroom. So, if you look at some of our data from grades two through eight that was shared in your board packet and it's also in the presentation here.
072Um you can see that that assessment really is taken three times a year. We took it in the fall. That was the first experience for our students with the AIMSweb math assessment. Students took it again in the winter time and they will also take it in the spring time. So, three administration windows per year. Like I said, we then use that to guide some goal setting for students that need additional supports. The last two years we have also asked each of our buildings to identify specific math goals for each of the buildings. So, in a second here I'm going to turn it over to Brian Siegel and he will kind of start us out with PLE. We'll work our way up to Pewaukee High School and then on the back end there'll be some opportunity
073for all of you to ask any questions you might have. Stacey, I know you did have a question. Brian's going to help Brian's going to help answer it cuz he's he starts and you will see that term a couple times. Awesome, thank you. Evening, everyone. I'm joined by Tara McNamara and Nicole Ebert, both of our math coaches and interventionists. Um so, our goal is split into two parts because we have 4K through first grade doing the CGA. Question was about what is the CGA? CGA stands for comprehensive growth assessment. It's based on the Bridges curriculum and looks at end of the year targets for students. So, we're looking at end of the year, where should they be and the growth they're making within those specific targets. The full CGA, which we implemented the very first
074year that we did Bridges, had a lot of pieces to it. We felt like the work that we were doing, the proficiency scales we were doing hit [snorts] at those assessments and track that progress. So, we really narrowed down to some key concepts within the CGA so it could be more directed at some of those skills that weren't necessarily coming through in the curriculum as often. So, our two goals, the first one is with 4K through first grade, is that 80% of our students will be proficient in these standards in the CGA by the end of the year cuz they're end of the year standards. And then second grade, they're piloting AIMSweb Plus Plus. As Anthony said, we want 70% of our students to either maintain or increase their percentile. So, if someone's at let's
075say the 40th percentile, one year's growth would mean that they [laughter] end the year also at the 40th percentile because those standards and expectations grow throughout the year in AIMSweb. So, we're looking for them to make a year's growth or even more by maintaining or exceeding their percentile. So, we can see here in 4K for the CGA, there are two measures they do as a part of it. Um proficiency, you can see the growth there, 30% from fall to winter. [snorts] Um 5K to be proficient, they have to be proficient across seven different measures. And you can see a growth there of 35% from fall to winter. And then in first grade, across four measures, a growth of 33% there. And because kids took it AIMSweb for the first time in the fall in second
076grade, there's no comparison there. And in the winter, we had 68% of our students either maintain their percentile from the fall or increase their percentile. Um so, based on this data, I'll turn over to our coaches to talk about what next steps we have to keep these numbers trending in the right direction. As part of this math work, we have implemented in-house professional development. And we've called them our math data analysis days. Grade levels teams came together and unpacked standards, identifying prerequisite skills, and analyzing areas that needed additional support or extension for students. And then they also collaborated around plans focusing on engagement for students, reviewing instructional resources related to Bridges and Advantage Math Recovery, and then they also observed other classrooms looking for ways to strengthen their own practices. And then our math data
077analysis days, they're just a one time where we pull the grade level and work with them. So, we wanted to continue some of that work through PLCs. Our PLCs grade levels meet twice a month and talk about not just math, but also other subjects as well. But when they're working on math, a lot of times they'll reach out, ask us to kind of continue some of that work that we've been doing. So, you can see up there some of the things we've been doing. We'll look at both for our unit, we have a screener that kind of tells us um if kids are going to have success in there. If they're not um performing well on that screener, we come up with different ideas and activities to do with the students. If they're already mastering
078all of those skills, Um, think of ways to differentiate to make sure that they're still having a challenge in the classroom. Um, and that during the PLC time, grade level teachers also share different ideas. Um, they go around, have a talk with what they're doing. Um, so teachers can collaborate and take some of those ideas from each other if they're having success. Turn over to Horizon. I'll be talking on behalf of myself and our uh math instructional coach, Bryn Jackobowski, who was not able to be here this evening. Our Horizon math goal this year was based around by the end of the year having an increase of at least 10% in the percentage of students that are able to meet at least two out of four of our math expectations. So, those math expectations include
079their math course proficiency, which is their grade. So, we're looking at a grade of a three or a higher. Um, the AIMSweb composite score proficiency. So, looking to be at the 50th percentile or higher on that proficiency score. Um, the CGA proficiency, as was described, that's an end of year assessment for So, for looking for students to be proficient at those end of year skills. And then maintaining or increasing that AIMSweb composite percentile, just as Brian described, to be able to show that students have gained at least one year's growth in one year's time. Our data so far, um, in terms of our math course proficiency from fall to winter, we went from 72% to 74%. Our composite score proficiency on AIMSweb went from 82% of students proficient to 85%. Our percent of students proficient
080on the CGA, and again, while those numbers look low, that is based upon end of year standards, went from 13% to 40%. And then the final one, that maintaining or increasing that composite score, we don't have a measure from fall because it is a growth measure. So, our data in winter showed us that so far 67% of our students were meeting that growth measure. Some of the actions and focus focus areas that we have around this, um, a focus on PLCs, just like um, PLE mentioned, focusing on helping teachers to analyze data and use that data to plan for small group and whole group instructional activities. Um, focus on helping teachers to use data to be able to make evidence-based decisions around their students. Um, our MTSS processes have focused on helping students who are
081showing that they need additional support or extension in the area of math, making sure that they're receiving those supports. We've done a roll an additional roll out of our instructional playbook, making sure that our core teaching strategies in the area of math are in place in all of our classrooms. Um, during our PD days, so each professional development day we've done a building focus around um, fidelity to our Bridges math program and adding in the building thinking classrooms piece, making sure that our teachers are utilizing some of those practices to extend children's thinking in math. Um, we've also had a focus on using our WIN or tier 1.5 to provide additional support to students who are not yet proficient in math. And then finally, our math coaches um, math coach Bryn has been focusing on
082coaching cycles. So, supporting teachers in the classroom to continue to help students grow. Um, really focusing in and zooming in on uh the student data and how they can work together to help students move from below proficiency to proficiency or from proficient to advanced or helping our students who are advanced continue to grow as well. So, with that, I will turn it over to Asa Clark. Good evening, everyone. Katie Spidoni, principal at Asa, joined by Melissa Schultz, our math coach, um, grade six through 12. So, at Asa, our goal is based upon five different measures. Really trying to balance and to honor both proficiency and growth for our students. Our goal by June of 2026 is that 78% of our students meet two out of five of those identified measures that you see listed there.
083You'll also see that acronym expanded of the comprehensive growth assessment. Uh, what we learned last year after administering that is it's a really powerful tool to use three times per year and students make phenomenal growth for that measure as well. So, instead of just the proficiency, really want to honor kids, um, who who make that growth. So, hence the reason for the fifth measure added. We also look at math proficiency score for semester one and semester two and then rely on the Wisconsin Forward assessment and the pre-ACT assessment at the end of the year as an indicator of um, student progress at that 78% mark. So, how are we doing so far this school year? You'll see some areas that are um, highlighted in gray and that is our AIMSweb composite score. You've heard of
084that assessment as well. We don't know what the correlation to that with Forward is yet because it's a new assessment for us, but it's information that we have, so we look at it. Um, the Forward data we won't have until the end of the year. So, we're using those AIMSweb just to look in conjunction with our other data measures to see if it's matching or if it might tell us something new and different. So, you can see that um, for first semester, 73% of our students were proficient or higher, grade six through eight, in their math course summary. 22% were proficient in that CGA and again, that's that end of year standards that they are mastering, while 39% are meeting their growth target already. So, each student was identified a band um, for growth and
085so by mid-year, 39% of those kids had already met that expected growth target for the end of the year. You'll see our math composite for proficient and then that growth for the math composite through AIMSweb as well, which is really encouraging um, for our goals for the end of the year. So, I'll pass it off to Melissa to talk about some action steps at Asa. Hello. Good evening. Um, I attend all of the weekly PLCs, sixth grade, seventh and eighth grade every single week and in each of those PLCs, Mike had um, the ability to join us one week. We bring a lot of student data so that as a team we can collaborate on how students are achieving. Um, and we can calibrate as teachers. So, we bring assessments, exit tickets, entry tickets. We
086talk about them. We talk about um, how students look between our classes. We talk about instructional practice and things that maybe worked in my classroom. Um, and if a teacher is kind of wondering what they can do for a group of students, we share a lot of ideas. Um, we work on the four PLC questions every single week when we meet. Um, two of those that we're really really hitting hard this year are what are we doing when students are not learning with our tier one instruction and then what are we doing with students who have already learned that. So, an example would be our sixth grade teachers, um, we're really noticing that some foundational pieces students were forgetting coming over from Horizon and we started implementing a spiral review weekly for the students and
087it's just kind of previewing some concepts that they had already learned in fifth grade. And it's going to help them support them for the upcoming units that they're going to need that material for. Um, in seventh grade, they've really been focused around um, kind of a mid-unit check-in and then an end of unit review day. And what happens is we are allowing students to, in addition to the teacher assessing their current level of understanding, teachers are or students are taking ownership of their level of understanding as well. And then we have separate trajectories, differentiating for what those student needs are at that end of unit so that everybody is prepared, but also challenged if they are um, have all of the learning already. Um, so that's really our PLC um, data cycles as well as
088our 6-8 focus this year. Um, for the assessment literacy, Bridges is an amazing resource. Um, if you ever look at math resources, um, they are very very plentiful in terms of what they provide K-5. When you start to come to this side of town, 6-12, um, there's less and less that is provided in those resources. Um, and so we took what um, PLE and Horizon was doing with the CGA and we created our own CGA because we saw how powerful it was to help drive um, to assess the students, but then also to see how they're doing with that one year's growth in time. So, we created one. Last year was our first year of implementation. Um, we refined. We vertically talked about what each of those grade levels is assessing and so our teachers
089feel a lot more confident about the CGA and how it's driving our instruction to help support students learning that content over the course of that year. Um, for our instructional practice, I did come to the board last year and talk about building thinking classrooms. Um, I've done PD pathways for two years prior to this one about building thinking classrooms and teachers are still continuously um, implementing ways in which students are up at the vertical boards, collaborating with each other, extending on ideas. Um, that work is not stopping. It's continuing and it's um, launching other content areas and it has spread into a lot of different places. Um, and then we look at that AIMSweb data really to just um support kind of what we're thinking. So, with our data measures of our course proficiency along
090with um what we're noticing in our PLCs, that AIMSweb data is really aligning with what we're currently seeing. Thank you, Asa. Yeah, thank you. >> [clears throat] >> Melissa Melissa gets to stay. >> [laughter] >> All right. Hello, everybody. Um at the high school uh our goal is we Oh. Sorry. All right. Here we go. Uh so, at the high school, um our goal is focused on math one. Uh as we looked over the last couple of years, this has been an area that I think we've been uh struggling a little bit and we needed to make sure that we improved. Uh we wanted to make sure that our freshmen were growing throughout their freshman year. Those that are in math one. You have to remember that we accelerate a lot of students in the
091school district, and so slightly over half of our freshman class are in math one. The rest are already in math two or math two three um in an accelerated uh program from their experience in the middle school. Um so, uh our uh statistics were low over the last couple of years. So, we set a growth uh goal of 60% as we headed into this year. Uh then in the fall, our uh ninth graders actually came in at 83% being on target. And so, uh thanks to the work of all of these folks, uh our freshmen are looking very strong this year, which makes me happy that we focused on growth because just because they came in at benchmark, doesn't mean that we're just going to be able to sit back and say, "All right, we're
092in good shape." We have to see them continue to grow as uh they experience their freshman year. And so, that's why uh we set this particular goal. Now, um our presentation regarding uh data is going to be a little shorter because we don't have AIMSweb and some of those uh um uh reliable uh resources throughout the year. We only have the fall pre-ACT and the spring pre-ACT. And if you were paying attention to the student uh rep report, yes uh last week is when they took the uh spring pre-ACT, and we simply don't have those results back yet. And so, we'll be able to follow up later with um with that update and how uh we did throughout the course of this year. However, um I do want to say that um our ACT results
093have come back, and while I can't get into the details of that, uh I would do want to say they're very promising and looking great. So, we're very excited about our ACT results this year. And so, uh that suggests a little bit of some of the great work that we've been doing. Similarly to Asa, although different, um the high school structure is set up so that um teams don't have as much time together as K-8 teachers do. Um we have a resource time on Fridays, and that gets filled with staff meetings, it gets filled with department meetings. So, Brian was kind enough to allow two Fridays a month um to focus on PLC work. And this is the first year that high school teachers have been a part of a true PLC where we're actually
094talking about student data and talking about instructional practice and what we would do if students are performing a certain way and how we can help extend student learning. Um so, this year has been a really amazing step for high school teachers. Um the high school math department um our focus is formative assessment. So, utilizing formative assessment to drive instruction. So, at twice a month, we come together and we talk about formative assessment. Um it is difficult because we have teachers that are teaching math one, we have teachers that are teaching calc BC. So, that formative assessment that a math one teacher has is very very different than the formative assessment that a calc BC teacher has. And so, it's been more about the types of formative assessments that we could do within a classroom, and
095we've had groups of teachers and individual teachers share uh what they've done in their class and how it's worked and then what were their next steps and then how did they utilize resource for students? And we've had some great conversations about um instructional practice and then utilizing the times within the day to help support students who need more support or extension. Um because the math one had a very specific goal and we knew that that was a need in our building, the math one um has come together. Uh we were able to do the schedule so that just the math one team was able to meet weekly. And so, we have committed this entire year so far meeting weekly to talk about math one formative assessment data. Um we come to the meetings with data.
096We talk about what's working. We talk about what next steps need to be. We talk about what to do when students aren't learning. We talk about those extensions. We've had teachers for the first time, I think at a high school level, working with small groups. We've had teachers for the first time utilizing an entry ticket in the moment being able to then split the class based on the needs of that group. Um that just hasn't happened in prior years. And so, our toolbox is growing the more and more we're able to have these really powerful instructional conversations. Um we've also been really um involved with building thinking classrooms, and that's something that we also continue to also have in the back of our minds every time we're talking about instruction, having students working together, collaborating,
097including everybody in that conversation because students can grow um beyond what our expectations are. When they have each other and they can build off of ideas, um the possibilities are endless. So, Melissa, just to >> [clears throat] >> make sure that in case not everybody is familiar with the terminology, can you talk about what a formative assessment is? Absolutely. So, uh formative assessment is an assessment that provides information to students and to teachers um where a student currently is in their learning journey within a unit. It doesn't go Well, it could go in the gradebook. It doesn't affect their grade in any way. It's really just guidance to tell the student what they know and what they still need to learn. Um and then it also tells the teacher if the majority of students have
098not yet learned this, I need to spend more time, I need to teach in a different way. If everybody is showing proficiency on that skill that was just taught, then we are ready to move forward. So, it's just in the moment formative feedback to then drive the instruction beyond. Yeah, another way to think about it, it's assessment There's assessment for learning and there's assessment of learning. Formative assessments are really to help drive those instructional choices so you can kind of be diagnostic. Of learning is more for determining a grade. So, that's That's the difference, and I didn't want to assume everybody knew that. >> And I I and I think the nice thing um for I think some of the progress that has made been made from a formative assessment standpoint, both teachers and students
099should have a pretty good idea of how they're going to perform going into that end of the unit test. Whereas prior if or if you don't have very good formative uh practices in place, they're they're not quite sure yet. Neither is the teacher. Like, am I hitting the mark or am I not hitting the mark? So, I the high school has done a phenomenal job, I think, of leaning into, you know, a couple new focus areas and structures. Right. Questions? Yeah, thank you. Could uh you correlate one, two, and three with algebra, advanced algebra, and geo, and trig? How are they Uh like how does the content line up? Uh sure. So, um in the most basic sense, uh what takes place is that you see uh pieces of algebra one, uh geometry, and and
100algebra two sort of woven throughout those three courses. So, it's just a rearrangement of those topics. Now, from the standpoint of the pre-ACT as one of our measuring sticks, the pre-ACT measures all of the different standards. And so, if we only focus on algebra one as a freshman, there are geometry topics that are going to be on that assessment. And if we wait until uh sophomore year, that becomes problematic. So, the advantage of doing math one, two, and three is the idea that we are tending to all of those major strands of mathematics each year rather than isolated pockets. The other piece is that probability statistics tend to get sort of left off at the end of uh most of the textbooks that you'll see in a traditional uh program. They're more woven in throughout
101uh the en- the entirety of the of the program. So, does the three include the trig? And then you've broken off calc. Okay. How does that square with the state requirements? You need to have algebra, and you need to have geo, or two years, I guess. You have to have two years of high school math. Um uh so, an integrated program and a traditional program are both acceptable at universities uh through the state expectations. Uh both are are fine. Because again, they they're over the course of three years, they're addressing the same content. Okay. It Is it now three? We require three years? Um >> In high school? Yeah, we That's what That's what we require, yeah. We Here we do. >> And And in any university any four-year university that you see is going
102to expect you to get to algebra two or math three. >> Correct. Correct. Understood. Um last question. Um the correlation of the forward and the AIMSweb. Uh I think Katie spoke of end of the year, and I'm thinking it's Feb- in November. What is What are your thoughts there, Mike? Oh, as far as when you guys get the forward data? Right. Katie thought she couldn't speak to it because they don't come out until She said the end of the year, and I understood we were doing that in November. Our Our students are actually, depending on the building, engaged in taking the forward like right now. Right. Traditionally, the state hasn't got us that data until like August. Um however, if you recall last year, we did get it by the end of the school year.
103Um so, that at that point in time, we did put a presentation together for the board, and we always try to get it to you as soon as it's unembargoed. So, the state gives us that date and says, "You can't share it until after this date." Yeah. >> And I thought that was pushing us until November. Okay. Thank you. Depends on what when they set the date. We usually have the data for internal purposes at the end of the school year. Okay. >> But that is that was new last year. Prior to that, it didn't come till like the end of the summer. Okay. Yep. And you have the ACTs, Brian, you said, but you can't speak to that. Why not? >> They're also embargoed. Oh, okay. Thank you. >> So So, we can make
104some planning and do some things within, but we can't advertise [clears throat] it at this point. And they will you will be able to advertise at when? What's the way forward? Um So, we recently received those. I want to say normally it's in this in the summertime is when that can be more widely shared. Yeah, I remember we made the pivot this past year to do as opposed to Candace's really big data presentation, we broke it up. So, you guys look As as they become available. If it still meets your needs, we will continue in that same manner. Um cuz I think you guys said said that it was a little bit more digestible. Yeah, so you received a specific ACT based presentation, a forward based presentation, um advanced placement. Um so, as those data
105kind of larger data pieces come out, those have been presented. Thank you. Thanks, Brian. Anthony. Yeah. Um that formative assessment, I think I saw it on a learning walk in Asa. Is that that AI tool where students can go in and interact and then eventually take practice test to see where their knowledge level is at before they actually take a test or is that two different things? Two different things. I mean, there could be a use of that for from a formative standpoint, but a formative assessment also could be here's one question on a piece of paper as you walk prior to you walking out the door, I need you to write down your answer on the paper and hand it to me as the teacher. Um that is formative assessment as well. >> can
106be more structured or more informal. It can be could be like you said, a couple of practice problems at the start of class, I'm getting a a sense where the class is. It could be a pretest at the start of a unit to see what the kids already know, for grouping. It could be using that tool like you saw where again you're you're getting some data as to what kids know so that you can have an instructional approach that that fits the needs of the group. So, it's it can look like a variety of things. >> Yep. I have a couple of questions that I might start with uh Anthony first, but so the curriculum that we're you're following in terms of the math curriculum, it is the name of it. It's a Bri Bridges.
107>> Bridges, okay. >> Bridges goes up until fifth grade. Okay. >> and then we move into open up uh resources with some differences at the at the high school level depending on the class. >> just because Bridges is not available for beyond that? So, but is there consistency and alignment with that in terms of as we move our way through? So, >> There's there's a good transition. Yep. >> Okay. >> And what we are currently involved in We're involved right now in the process of curriculum renewal for math. Um so, part of that is looking at up-to-date research research, uh best practices, um really looking at are there resources out there now that we feel like are better for our students than you know, 5 years ago. So, when we get to the point where
108we're looking at potential adoption, that would then come to the board and it may be the same resources, it may there may be adjustments. But I think one of the questions that may have come up in the past about this that we [clears throat] know that there's certain school districts that we do comparisons with. And now I think one of them might have been Muskego Norway in terms of they've had some good results, but not that we didn't get good results here, I think in the last year or two. But is that something when you look at those best practices, is that where you try to find other districts that are doing well in terms of the math performance and then potentially look at curriculums, look at teaching practices within those districts as well? Yeah,
109so um at the high school level, I think we looked at I want to say up to 20. Well, here, I can tell you. Whitefish Bay, Kohler, Arrowhead, Cedarburg, Elmbrook, De Pere, Kettle Moraine, Slinger, Grafton, Sussex-Hamilton, Oconomowoc, Wrightstown. Those are the districts that we looked at to see to learn a little bit more about just their general math practices, but for for the purposes of curriculum renewal, we were really looking at two things. What's the primary resources that they're using and then are they Do they have an integrated math approach at the high school or the traditional algebra geometry algebra 2 sequence? And this is the big question for the group out there. So, within the last year or so, we've gotten introduced to this concept of the professional learning communities. If you guys had
110to identify one thing within each of your buildings, what is the best thing or is the most that you've learned in terms of using the professional learning communities in your buildings and how it has helped the students in the elementary, Horizon, Asa, and high school with your professional learning communities? Um so, we're probably the the um the back burner on the learning curve here when it comes to professional learning communities just because of the way we were structured. I can say the thing that's, you know, the most telling as you walk around the building on Friday morning and you listen to what teachers are talking about. In department meetings, there's a lot of procedural stuff that they were doing and and it wasn't focused on student learning and student data. And now when you walk
111around and you hear what they're talking about, that's very specifically what they're talking about. The structures are there. So, it has significantly improved the sort of collaboration and conversations that are taking place in all of [snorts] our meetings across the building. So, um just in the most basic sense, that's that's where I would say we've grown the most. And the rest of them can come up and join you and tell me the cuz I think this is one of the things where it's like when we think about how we make process improvements in an organization, this is one of the things that you guys brought forward as being something that would help us get better at teaching. And so, from your perspective, what did you learn in terms of using the professional learning community model,
112if you will? Yeah, so PLCs have been in place at Asa for a few years and they've gone through a few different iterations. Um our teams have been accustomed to bringing data together and looking at it collaboratively. Um the shift this year has really been thinking proactively. So, before we assess students, thinking what misconceptions might there be, what barriers to the standard kids might encounter, what does the standard actually say, and do they need to do it in a certain way or is there flexibility? So, teams are really intentionally thinking through their instruction to reach more students. Um so, that in addition to then formatively assessing, gathering that data, and saying who got it with that way I instructed and who didn't and who has a different idea of a way to reach, you know,
113these particular students. One of the other big shifts we're seeing at Horizon is in how teachers are collaborating. I think previously in grade level team meetings, teachers were collaborating in that they were just sharing with one another what they were doing in their classrooms. At this time now, teachers are looking at data and seeing what their students are doing and seeing who has common needs in their students. They've started grouping students together across classrooms and are able to better meet groups of students' needs because we know how students across our grades are functioning. Thank you. I think by this point, it's going to be a bit iterative of whatever Donald said, but collaboration is a big thing for us. Um really focusing on those PLC questions of those kids who are not there yet and
114those who have it and really looking at the standards and how do we stay within that standard and stretch thinking or even one of those prerequisite skills that they need to be able to reach a standard and sharing um across a collective group of all of us are going to have better knowledge base than just one of us. So, really focusing on what are we all doing, what have we tried, what has worked, what has not worked, sharing ideas, then coming back to the group to reflect on I tried this, here's what did work, here's what didn't work, and let's move from there. What are those four basic questions again? Yeah, uh so, what do we want to instill? What do we want all students to be able to know and do? How are we
115going to know when they've done that? What are we going to do with for the students that aren't there yet? And then what are we going to do to extend the learning for the students that are already there? Almost like those should be put on a plaque somewhere, right? Yeah, so it's really I mean, PLCs is just it's a continuous improvement framework. Exactly. >> And and those those questions just structure the conversations and keep you focused on on the right kinds of conversations, data driven, uh diagnostic kind of approaches. And then it's you know, around those collaborative structures and I think Brian Siegal said this that I mean, all of us is always better than one of us. Um no matter how good any individual teacher is, I mean, we have tremendous expertise uh among
116our teachers, with the coaches that we have in place. Um and kids present complex challenges. Uh every group's different. And um so, that that team approach is gives you the greatest opportunity to be successful. Well, and for me, I mean, those four questions are like the fundamentals and basics of what we do in education, but I think you're absolutely right, Mike, in terms of it's like we're really not here just to be satisfied with status quo. It's how do we continuously improve what we do in terms of the classroom to give our students the best advantage in terms of opening the door for them. But also, Mike, you know I have to throw this in there. It's one of the things that has made the Pewaukee School District an award-winning and oh, by the way,
117a Malcolm Baldrige Award-winning school district and it would sure be nice if we could continue that tradition thanks to the great work of these people here. So, thank you. I wanted to tag onto that too, Larry. You took a lot of words out of my mouth, so I'll just simply say that I want to thank the coaches for all of their hard work, creativity, um their dedication to our students. And then I thank the administrators both in the buildings and at the district office for the support that they provide to that. Um I think it's exemplified by Brian's um change in those Friday meetings that he was able to Now we have those coaches giving that time twice a month to do this work and and see the changes and the improvements that are happening.
118So, I just want to thank all of you. Good job. Thank you. Thank you. Thanks, everybody. All right. Next we move on to personnel issues. >> [clears throat and cough] >> We'll start with employment. We have two. Yes. Um so, employment, uh we have Amy West, uh art teacher recommendation uh from the high school to replace Jean Bjork who's retiring. And Nick Hall is the recommendation from the high school for physical education to replace Mike Basile who's retiring. So, I'd seek your approval of those new hires uh to our district. Move to approve the hiring of Nick Hall and Amy West as recommended. Second. All in favor? Aye. Aye. Any opposed? Abstain. Uh next we'll move on to resignations. Um yes, uh Shannon Bishop, 5K teacher. Um been a great teacher for us, but uh
119you know, life uh changes and she wants to be staying home uh with family. We certainly respect that and who knows, maybe someday the opportunity for Shannon to come back will be there cuz we would love to have her. Uh but we certainly wish her the very best. So, uh we'd seek your approval of Shannon Bishop's resignation. Move to accept the resignation of Shannon Bishop, 5K teacher at Pewaukee Lake Elementary. Second. >> [snorts] >> All in favor? Aye. Aye. Any opposed? Abstain. And finally, leave of absence. We have two. Yeah, so um uh we have two teachers uh looking for a year leave of absence. Um and in talking to principals as well, they support these recommendations. Uh life circumstances, um kind of situations with each, both highly effective uh teachers that have served the
120district well. Um so, Katie Kopinski, special ed teacher at Pewaukee Lake Elementary, uh and Liz Donald. So, the way that this would work is uh leave of absence for a year would be approved. Um a replacement would be hired on a limited term contract for each. Um they would have a a deadline. Uh Colin would work that out uh with them uh uh kind of early spring of next year to make a commitment to return or not. If they don't, then a permanent hire uh would be um would be put in place for those positions. So, uh be happy to take any questions that you have, uh but otherwise I'd seek your approval for 1-year leave of absences for Katie Kopinski uh and Liz Donald. Uh Mike, just one question. What is the uh monetary
121considerations attached to leave of absence leave of absence? Um yeah, good question, Mary. Um I and John, you can maybe jump in. I don't believe there really is uh any. They would have no compensation on their leave, no benefit eligibility. Throughout their leave, they would simply have um the opportunity to return after a year. Um so, uh it just kind of versus terminating their connection with us, it gives them 1 year to decide to return. Thank you. Yep. Move to approve Katie Kopinski and Liz Donald's request for a leave of absence for the 20 6-27 school year. Second. All in favor? Aye. Any opposed? Abstain. Okay. Did we get both of them [snorts] on that motion? >> yeah, did Did you Did we get them both of them? Okay, I wanted to make sure. Thank
122you. Thank you. Um next uh review of upcoming activities. Um so, on Thursday uh at 3:00 we will be doing the student board representative interviews. Um I know Larry and myself are part of that. So, looking forward to the two candidates. >> try to replace Anna. I It's going to be really hard. But guess what? We have maybe a legacy. Yeah, that would be neat. So, that is on Thursday. Um Monday, April 20th, uh one of my favorite um events of the year. Um it was formally known as the Honors Banquet, but it's the Kiwanis Awards Ceremony. Um it's being held at WCTC. Um as a board we're um giving away four scholarships that night. Um it's just a really neat event. Um I don't know um Tammy who is all signed up to come,
123but if you aren't, you can still RSVP, correct? Um so, if you haven't, there's still time. >> Yes, that space at WCTC That's been a nice switch to there. It's We're not crowded. >> Yeah, it's much much roomier. The video boards that they have there are really nice that you can see, so space should not be an issue. Is there still no dinner? It's not a dinner. No, no dinner. It's just um Mhm. I think it's like 7:00 or 7:30, too, so Yeah. >> There's refreshments, kind of a thing. >> Then um next Tuesday, the 21st, is a new board member gathering through WASB here in the learning commons. Yep. I don't think that we're Are we required to RSVP or can we just show up? >> No, you can just show up for that
124if you want. So, and what it includes, it's all of the uh school districts within both my region, which is region 15, which goes all the way out to Port Washington to Open and then walk to Hustisford and Mayville and all over. And then because the region 11 [clears throat] includes the Arrowhead and the feeder districts there. So, I team up with uh Kathy Wied Vincent from the region 11. And so, she'll be out here as well. And actually, Dan Rossmiller, who is the executive director of WASB, will be the presenter here next week, too, so Okay. >> [clears throat] >> Cool. All right. Monday, April 27th, uh the next board meeting. Um that is a 6:00 p.m. policy committee meeting, a 7:00 p.m. board meeting, and that is also election of board officers that
125night. Wednesday, April 29th. Oh, this is exciting. At 5:30 we have the ribbon cutting for a brand new space. I'm so excited for that. >> And then um 6:00 to 7:30 I think is the tour. Yeah, so the idea is uh and so we had a fairly extensive invitation list, um direct invitation to the ribbon cutting at 5:30, and then it's just kind of open for self-guided tours. Uh but we'll have students here activating the spaces. There'll be some food um provided uh by our um ProStart students and Mr. DeMars. Um there'll be some music uh being played with one of our phenomenal uh state um award-winning musicians on the piano. Uh there's going to be some singing from some of our choir students, so it'll be a great event to celebrate the event. But
126yeah, but then it's just it's open. If you talk to people in the community, they would like to come and see the spaces, that would be a great night to do it. Yeah. Absolutely. Um Tuesday, May 5th, is the Open Door Awards at Sharon Lynn Wilson Center. They can still RSVP for that. So, if you haven't and you have interest in going, you can still RSVP to Tammy on that. And lastly, Monday, May 11th and Wednesday, May 13th, um is our strategic planning. Correct. So, similar format to last year. Um did we get Have we done the invitations on that yet? Yeah, we are. Okay, so having been traveling, I can't, you know, my brain's still in Italy a little bit, so I couldn't remember if we did that one. Um but uh we'll get
127invitations out to people. If you do have uh someone um that you would like us to directly invite uh from the community for those round tables, uh please let Tammy know. Uh we have kind of a list that we've maintained from past years. Um so again, if there's um or, you know, and feel free to reach out to someone personally uh if you would like to invite them to participate in those round tables. All right. Um any legislative updates? Um well, we're anxiously awaiting some of the the results of some of the conversation um which has a significant impact on us if there there is this discussion around the surplus. Um there was some information today that maybe there's an agreement that's getting closer, but we've heard we have heard that before as well. Um
128the big uh thing that's being discussed that really has the most direct impact on us is um if they're going to fully fund the special ed at the percentages that they had originally committed to in the biennium. Again, they had done that under some certain versus a some sufficient standard which the you know, 42% is like really going to be what 37, 38% and then the 45 is going to be just under 40 probably. If they don't do something, so it sounds like there's fairly good potential that'll happen. Um that that definitely has an impact on us. It's it's fairly significant dollars if that happens or if it doesn't. We have contingency plans we went through this morning um in terms of some of the cost reductions we would need to make if that doesn't
129happen. Um so that's the piece that that we're waiting on. So that's the And I know there had been some bills that had been vetoed and and signed in the last uh week or two. Uh but this is the the piece that we're waiting on that's going to have the most impact on us. Okay. Uh Tammy, any comments from citizens? No comments here. Thank you. Well, then with that I will take a motion to adjourn. Moved. Second. All in favor? Aye. Aye. Aye. Any opposed? Thank you. Ezra, when when are you going to do a citizen's comment? Yeah.