001I will call this meeting to order. Our board of education for the Pewwaukee School District uh Monday, March 23rd. I will start with roll call. Mary >> here. Travis >> here, >> Stacy >> here, >> Larry >> here, >> and Ashley and Matt are not in attendance. Was the meeting properly noticed? >> The meeting was properly noticed. >> Can I get a motion to adopt the agenda? >> So moved. >> Second. >> All in favor? >> I. Any opposed? >> Opposed. >> We'll stand and do the pledge of allegiance. I pledge algiance 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. All right. Tonight's spotlight on learning comes from Asa Clerk and we
002have Michelle Stany here, our seventh grade physical education teacher. and I'll have you come on up. >> Hello Michelle. Thanks for being here. >> Hi, good evening. Thank you for having me. >> Um yeah, so I I was part of the action research um with Mr. Zindler and when that was presented to us, it was all um inviting us to do a project and some research on something you're really passionate about. And at the end of the day, um I want kids to love movement and activity and ma find a way to make that part of their world um forever, not just in their K12 experience with us, but when they leave our doors, I want them to love some sort of movement so they can make healthy choices. Um, and so my my research
003project I titled more choice, more movement in finding ways to keep kids active through PE throughout their day at school and what that looks like at a middle school level. So, um, real quick before we go into the research and kind of what I found, we're just going to go right right down the table. you could give me like one word that kind of describes your PE experience from whether it's good, bad, or in between. Loved it, you've kind of neutral, or you dreaded it. Um, I'd love to hear kind of what your what your memory of PE looks like. So, can we start on this side? >> Um, I feel like it was fun in PE or in like elementary school. I didn't have to do PE in middle school, so I don't know.
004>> Okay, Anna. Um, I think it was enjoyable. >> I liked it. >> No pressure. Was she your PE teacher at >> some years? I had a handful of students. Yes. >> It probably was fine in terms of because you were doing something in the PE classes. So, >> right. I was a bookworm, so I dreaded it. >> Okay. I didn't love it. And I'll say fitness testing. Hundred yard dash. >> Yeah. Okay. >> Uh, I loved it. The thing that came to my mind was rope climbing. >> Sure. >> And how they let us climb all the my Catholic grade school all the way to the top of the >> We go up and hug the horn >> with like a really thin mat at the bottom. Just like my my buddy to catch
005me if I >> Mr. Po >> loved it. >> Basketball. I remember >> basketball. >> I would say loved it because he got me out of class. >> Okay. >> Yes. >> Okay. So, lots of different experiences, right? Some of you um ball sports, some of you maybe fitness road. Um just a lot of experiences and a lot of um things that help you remember your PE days. Um so my why why is this my passion is I want kids to be active. I want kids to like moving. Um I want them to find enjoyment in it so that they continue to be active. And so when I did the research um it wasn't like earthshattering. It wasn't like we knew that it was going to say it's going to increase student motivation. It's going
006to increase their engagement. They prefer to have that choice. They like to make decisions on their own. Um they're more they're more apt to be engaged and fully participating when they're making choices. Um and then it does affect their long-term attitudes and perspective on PE and just physical activity in general was what I found doing research. Um the big piece for me was figuring out how do we make this work given space, giving um equipment um trusting students where we're in and out and and monitoring them and the the amount of space that we have, the amount of students we have at a time. So a lot of logistics played a role into my research and trying to figure it out. So what happened ultimately um when we gave students a choice, we saw all
007those things happen. So engagement was high. Um, we didn't have kids just standing on the side watching the ball go back and forth or whatever the activity may be. There was a lot of engagement. Um, participation participation jumped. Um, decrease avoidance. We weren't a lot of um, we weren't hearing a lot of excuses or medical excuses. It they came in and kind of ready to go and what are my choices today? Um, decrease resistance. Those kind of go hand inand but fewer power struggles overall. um increased gameplay, which was was nice because kids that tended to choose the basketball, those games amped up. That intensity amped up because it took out kids that weren't comfortable in that who chose to do something else that was to their liking. Um so even students that that stayed
008with the traditional um sport that we had going felt like there was an increase of um energy and increase of participation in those activities. And then the increase in accountability. Um we were still able to assess students when they were making their choices. We brought back some pedometers and we had goals set. Um so they were still being held accountable for their engagement and their participation overall. Um and like for us as teachers, right, it's just monitoring it and tracking it all and making sure we were organized well enough to to be able to provide choice. Um, but it definitely made students more willing to participate and be engaged. So, those are kind of the big takeaways that I would say Mr. Schultz and I were able to take um, from the research that we
009did. My students did this for the whole semester. Um, that would have been first semester of the school year. And then we added Mr. Schultz as one of his seventh grade sections just for the second quarter. So, we had a little bit more um student take on it kind of once we got into the routine and the process of um having kids make choices. Um so, when we were all said and done, we did a student survey. Um and these next couple slides kind of represent the the thoughts and the feelings that we had. Um but some of the quotes that I was able to get from students um I feel like people who were picked the sport were more engaged, so it made it more fun. Um was a comment made by Victoria, a
010student named Meline. and I participated in more than the act more in the activity instead of just kind of standing there doing nothing. Um, and then Adam being able to do something I actually wanted to do motivated me to actually try in every activity. And that was the common thread like students just wanted to have choice um and a say in what what their options were and what their um what their interests were in. Um, another question, did having choices make you want to come to PE class more? And we have two charts here because one was um from my class that did this the whole semester and then one was um from Mr. Schulz who did that for a quarter um but ultimately um a lot of kids preferred having that choice and having
011that option um versus not just because it opened up the doors for them to do more things and um try new things and learn new things. Um, which takes us right into that next slide. Um, where students did choosing your activities help you improve your skills or learn new ones? And ultimately, yes, like I was a lot I was able to have kids bring in mountain bikes and helmets and we stored them. And um they were doing that when other kids were playing tennis and walking around the prairie. And so just a lot of variety um that when we're we're on the campus like this and we have the space like this that we need to allow our students to do and and like they owned it. They they were excited. They were coming in
012and like let's go and where's my stuff? And um so it was really exciting to see that um versus not participating and standing there or watching watching the ball and not really being engaged. um just like the connections we made and the connections students kind of made. This came from um their survey that we did at the end of the semester. Um so overall they're feeling that it increased their engagement and motivation. Um comfort and collaboration with their peers. So who were they working with? They felt comfortable in their groups or their teams. Um improved team dynamics. So it allowed our teams to be a little bit more um intense and engaged and just the performance in some of those team activities was much stronger. Um and then of course better understanding of skills. We
013were kind of able to meet them more at their level and ch if there was a group that needed more challenge to kind of pump them up and energize them to work harder. um or if we then we could separate a group that was still learning and developing the skills and it just allowed us to make those connections a little bit better. Um so overall the kids the kids bought in. They really enjoyed it. They like the opportunities that we we had. Um so this platform is like how did I make this happen? I found this this organization um it's a K12 platform um of curriculum and opportunities for students and I really the material that they push out is really really solid and it's it meets the kids at their at their needs like
014it's it's made for middle school students it's made for high school students it really grabs their interest. Um, so there's boxing and there's dance and there's yoga and and then there's the sport side of it, like athletic side of it where it's it might be um a conditioning or a speed day and things like that. Um, so they have all these different tiers of videos and curriculum that I can pull from and it it was really powerful and that's some of the material that we used. Um, and I can see where this would transition from middle school to high school very nicely for the fact that um, like students can have their own accounts and they can track their day-to-day stuff and they can track um, whether they're in the weight room or they're they're
015doing a workout in the gym and they're shooting hoops for 20 minutes and they can track all these different things. Um, so it's just a nice progression. I don't feel that middle school students need that. Um, I think the resources that are there for middle school students um are appropriate for Mr. Schultz and I to use to be able to push out to students, but maybe if this continues on, that would be a path we would look at as to all the tracking and individual um fitness I guess check offs that students could do. But this platform has kind of been how we've implemented this in the program that we've used. Um, a couple pictures in here of different activities that students have done throughout the semester. Um, the the one playing >> capture the
016flag and I know the videos will stop here, but they're kind of circling that cone. They're guarders, but they're wearing pedometers. So, the the choices during that were cross country, capture the flag, um, and then I had a body weight exercise going on, which was more video based off a platform. But those were the three choices. And the kids um playing capture the flag had pedometers on because I knew how many steps I wore. I went out to the prairie and did as many laps as they would have done. So I had an idea of how many steps they needed for that alternative activity knowing capture the flag was probably going to be the highinterest activity. Um so I wanted to challenge them as equal as I could to the kids that were were completing
017their laps. Um and so we were successful in that and that's why there was that purposeful movement. um around those cones just accumulating their steps doing the activity that they chose. So where are we heading now? So this semester we've continued using platform um being able to pull some of their curriculum and their videos um into our seventh grade classes. That's kind of the the group that we've started with. Next year we hope to expand it into eighth grade and allowing those choices and that ownership when they come to PE. um that will then continue to help us set goals um set some fitness tracking ability um so we can see their progress as time goes on. As far as sixth grade um we we give sixth graders choice within the sport that we're in,
018but we still feel very strongly that as that transition occurs from Horizon to ASA, we still need to hit that traditional PE setting and we need to introduce them to all of our activities. make sure we give them an good introduction to all the skills and it sports and things that we introduce that might be new and then let that grow from there. Um so that's kind of the progress and the stepping stones that we have going forward. Um but it's been really exciting to kind of see the kids take some ownership and be a little bit more excited for their movement and their overall fitness and health when they come to PE. So any questions? Any thoughts? >> Can I jump in before you ask any questions? Really? So, I just wanted to kind
019of talk about the purpose of Michelle standing up here. So, it's uh when we think of school, right, we don't think PETA is not the first thing that comes down. However, when you think about middle school and adolescence and the developmental level that they're at and what physical That's part of what we're talking about. We think about UDL. Um, this is universal design for learning in a PE setting, right? And we're building the foundation for not only sixth grade, but in seventh grade and eighth grade. And with platform, the idea is that they will be able to have choice in their physical activity um and have those opportunities to seek what they um want to do, probably more than what they need to do. And like in our whether it's climbing ropes or playing basketball
020or whatever, when everybody's doing the same thing, it doesn't always shape out nicely for everybody. So, um, those are some elements of what I wanted to make sure from a leadership standpoint in our building, what you're understanding the connection between why we have Michelle up here talking about her research with you tonight. So, >> thank you. >> Just before we get into questions, one of the things and and maybe I know Anthony, maybe I'll have you speak a little bit about the action research opt option for professional development for staff. >> Yeah. So ultimately our high performing staff members who sit in our really our two highest career band levels um they ultimately go through a truncated process almost like if you were to like defend a dissertation or something like that. So they start
021with an idea um and then they ultimately meet with a review committee um and right now that is myself, Colin, Robin, the three of us and Dave Zindler who runs runs the program. They present their idea to us um and based on their proposal they move forward. Uh from there they do a re research review and a lit review. Um and then come up they further kind of define what their focus is going to be. Ultimately the goal is to get to the end and to be able to take what they've learned and have an impact on our system. So in Michelle's case she has learned some things through this process and she is having an impact in the middle school PE spaces. >> Yeah. So much like your students experienced you had the choice
022as a professional. Um Michelle's a very good teacher. She's met very high standards. So you know we have our our um established professional development model which has a lot of choice in and of itself with different pathways and those things. But uh teachers who have u uh had established uh success can then choose to say you know I challenge myself differently and and do that in lie of uh some of these other uh approaches. And the whole idea is right to learn something and make a contribution which is what any research is. If you do a a thesis or a dissertation right your your task really is to make a contribution uh to the body of research in this case action research is about make a contribution uh to our practices here by trying to
023learn something about what works. So anyway just want to give some background before I start asking questions. So to make sure you're familiar with the action research uh option. >> I have a couple questions. >> Sure. So on the slide that you had where the engagement was that engagement just within the PE or do you think there's any carryover into their other academic courses and areas? >> So the the way the question was worded was engagement strictly within PE. But I think the more engagement and the more buyin we have in physical activity and the more they're moving yes is ultimately going to better their day, right? It's going to help them sustain their attention and their learning and um throughout the day just naturally. So I I would hope that we would over time
024we would start to see that connection take place. I didn't track that. I didn't go from like PE to the classroom and track that data, but I would think that there would be a carryover. >> Well, Paul might have experienced it in terms of behavior >> behavior for sure >> stuff like that. So >> yeah, >> the other question and this might date me really badly, but in terms of presidential fitness awards, is that still out there yet or not? Well, >> that was actually my favorite. >> I don't know that it's officially like a required element at this point. Um, I know there was some talk over the summer in the government out out east that they were bringing it back, but I don't know if that's like a >> I'm not sure where
025that stands. >> The shuttle run always got me. I couldn't quite couldn't quite hit the time of the shuttle run. Well, you cracked me up that you're talking about climbing that rope. You're like 1% of the population that can climb that rope. >> I the strength stuff I was get, but you know, the shuttle run I wasn't quite >> right. >> Um I just I appreciate your creativity. Um and I feel like you're if you've got three different activities and there's one of you, I appreciate your ability to supervise and keep that all going. >> So that that was the biggest piece is part of this research is like how do we how do we structure this? So, how we kind of made it work is we still have our traditional sports going on. So,
026let's say um like if I was doing bad mitten and Mr. Schultz in the aux gym might have been doing um speedball or something, right? We have two more main sports and then I might have had dance and he might have had boxing. So, we really had like four different things going on that kids could choose. Um but they they had to stay with their main the two um alternative activities they could switch between um but they couldn't switch between the sports which kind of kept them in their original class >> for the most part because otherwise we ran into too many kids just trying to be with their peers. >> Um but it worked really well. So it was we talked to the kids at the beginning of the semester about being on we
027have to trust you and we have to trust that what you're doing is going to match what the expectations are and if that didn't happen like there were consequences laid out and they understood that. So um it's been the kids have taken it really well. There's been very little very little um poor behavior because of it. So, >> I'm intrigued to see if it helps participation in the high school. >> Like, as these kids move forward that they have a better >> attitude, unlike me that just did all those years hating it, like maybe they're going to have a better attitude going forward. Sure. >> That'd be really interesting. >> I know that if you had been my teacher, I would have loved. >> Thank you. >> Yeah. And that was going to be my
028question and I think maybe you've kind of already answered it is uh what's the barrier or the challenge? So as other teachers look to I mean is it the planning? Is it the supervision? Yes, all the above that makes it um more challenging to build in that choice because right there's more moving parts. >> There's definitely more moving in the space right and you got kids obviously moving. So it it is that we have to have really strong structure in place and stick to that and keep the kids accountable for following that. Um and as long as we do that, I feel like our problems have been pretty minimal. Um but yeah, definitely planning and laying out who's going to do what, what are their options. We ask that they stick to that option for
029those two weeks, which really only ends up being about three PE classes. Um and then they have choice again. So um even if they end up not loving what they chose, at least they experience something new. They thought maybe they would like it and in two weeks they choose something else. >> So the but the students are so your students are still remaining with you for that unit. Correct. >> Yes. >> Because there was a point in time where I remember you and Tim kids selected almost at the beginning of the quarter or something. >> Not not Yeah. So they would stay with me um unless this is where it gets a little This is where it's a little gray. So, I have my class. My class is doing pickle ball and then I'm also
030offering dance. >> And then Tim is offering um speedball and um boxing. My kids could go to boxing. >> His kids could come to dance, but they can't choose the opposite sport, >> the traditional sport. >> Yeah, pickle ball. >> So, yeah, it it works like we have a really good system. We just have to be really organized. The kids need to understand the the boundaries and they're doing really well with it. >> Just a quick comment that so at the very start of my teaching career, I did a little subbing before I landed my first uh classroom job and I remember getting an assignment to sub fed one day and thinking this is going to be because I coached I coached swimming and I coached all these like this totally different. It was it
031was it was one of the hardest things I ever had to sub for was like, "Wow, this was not what I expect." So that's what I say, managing all of that. Um I don't think people recognize what a challenge it is. So appreciate you taking that on. >> Thank you. Thank you. Any other questions? >> I just wanted to add like I think it's so great that you're giving them that opportunity to choose. like producing that autonomy so young is so important that when you get older and having the ability to be confident in the choices that you're making like even in just like a class in middle school like it's just so essential for them to have that experience young so that they can be more confident when they're making >> that confidence thing
032I think is huge right as you as you leave our our doors here in PWA and being confident to go play a pickup game of something or go into a gym and lift weights and exercise and just and just be confident in what you're doing I think is so important when it comes to wellness and fitness and sport and whatever it is, whatever path they choose. Um I think that confidence I think you you just nailed it on the head right there is really important. >> I think similar to that how you're talking about their need to be responsible. I think it's a nice opportunity for them to do that in a controlled environment and make good choices and then have the consequence for the bad choices because it's a little more unstructured than a
033classroom. Right. Right. So, I think that's a really good thing for that age group, too. >> Yeah, the kids have handled it well. So, um hopefully our our system can go on and we can So, now some of these seventh graders have experienced it this year, right? So, we wanted to follow them into eighth grade and then we'll continue to build from there is our hope. >> Thanks, Michelle. Michelle, >> good work. >> Thank you. class. Thank you. >> Like, holy cow. >> All right. >> Next, we have our student board representative report. Gals, I'll let you take it away. >> All right. >> Only a couple of these left. Anna, >> make them count. >> Exactly. All right, everybody. Happy March. Um, can't believe we're already in March. It feels like it's gone by
034so fast this year. Um, so our first topic this month, we'd like to talk about the winter wellness week that we had. This was a kind of schoolwide assembly um day, but then we also had our week that was kind of designated. Classrooms had different activities that they were asked to fulfill maybe in the last five minutes of class. Um, just kind of promoting that mental wellness and how important that is to your success and understanding how to take care of yourself. um even as a high schooler like just having those skills as you enter the real world. Um so our schoolwide assembly we had MC's Bobby Edwards, Trinity Smith, and Ashton Warner. Um we got the opportunity um as we had talked about in a previous meeting, we had the pop tabs committee who
035were collecting pop tabs at all of the schools. Um so they actually ended up unfortunately Mr. Dalt got pied. Um he was the one that had the most pop tabs in his bucket, but um he was such a good sport about it. So, props to him for putting up with that and doing something for such a great cause. And then the drama club had the opportunity to perform their um Matilda song. That was really exciting to just kind of see a preview of the musical and um just kind of promote the drama committee and kind of see all the hard work that they'd put in in the last couple months. Furthermore, we have the winter court. So, we had Queen Vanessa Johnson for basketball and King Brady Lawrence representing NHS International Club and art club.
036Um, and then our cheer team had the opportunity to perform their cheer dance routine, which they actually went to state for um I think it was about two or three weeks ago. So, that was really exciting to just kind of get to all rally around them. I feel like that's something that we don't really get to see outside of football season. So, just getting to kind of celebrate them for that was really exciting. We also had our student versus teachers trivia contest that got a little heated, but it was very enjoyable. It was just a great way to get staff and students um just in a more fun and positive environment um where you're working hard all day and then just kind of rewarding to see everybody in a more I guess enjoyable light. Um
037and then >> wait, who won? >> Who won? Um it was actually students that won. >> Wow. >> Yeah, we had a group of three that won. It was >> okay. >> Two senior boys and a junior boy. So very very interesting. Um and then also United Way um volunteer engagement team donated mental health kits to every single high school student. I have no idea how they managed to do that, but it's so incredible. It was like little bags that had a zipper on it and they had fidgets inside and just like positive messages. So it was just something really nice to see once again partnering with local organizations through the Hope Squad um seeing that support from our community. And then Hope Squad also had free hope grams that were sent. There were so
038many like hundreds sent throughout the week um just reminding people that they're cared for and um to take care of themselves throughout the week. So that's a little bit about our winter wellness week. Um next we have our plant a page initiative. This is kind of a newer one. I didn't see this last year so I thought it was really interesting. Um, so through March 1st, um, to March 20th, we have all donation bins at the Pewwaukee Public Library and you can drop it off at the Pewwaukee High School Library. Um, but just kind of supporting Pewwaukee Public Library. I think that's another great thing of being so close in partnership with our community and having that opportunity to just um, kind of support them. So people bring gently used books to this book drive
039to kind of just support a local initiative. So, um, we also had Warriors Were Read this past month, which was organized by Cassie Hyman this year. I believe her sister started it in years past. Um, I don't know if it was new this year or last year, but we combined it between student council, which Cassie is on, and Best Buddies. Um, it's held every year during a basketball game. And the halftime this year, some Best Buddy members did like basketball challenges and drills. So, it was a mix of the special needs students and just members of Best Buddies like just playing together, which was really great. You know, we do some donations for both the club and I think just the Best Buddies organization because it's a national thing. So, I always think that's really
040fun that we do it every year. And then our fourth topic is future ready day, which happens every year. I was not excited for it this year because I had to take the ACT, but it was March 10th this year at freshman job shadow. I remember my freshman year I like I ended up leaving late because I was talking to the teacher I was shadowing for because I enjoyed it so much. Um sophomores toward colleges so WCTC Madison and Whitewater were the options that I knew of and then the juniors took the ACT and seniors participate in reality store. So some athletics and activities. The hope squad had eating disorder awareness week. The cheer team went to state for their cheer dance routine. Academic Decathlon placed third at state. Owen Hansen tied the state record
041and set a school record for a perfect essay score. Devanchu earned an invitation to Inerson nationals in Garden Grove. The wrestling team set a school record this weekend with all six state qualifiers winning matches, which was also a lot of qualifiers to send. At least in the years I've been here, we've never sent that many. Um, so Keegan, Henry, Brody, and Bobby all placed eighth. And then Best Buddies had a partnership with the Special Olympics. So March 4th was speak out day. Um we all signed banners at lunch to pledge kindness to everyone. And then girls basketball won their fifth consecutive regional title 84 to 45 win over Germantown. And they went to state. It's okay. Still went to state. Um drama did they had their opening weekend for Matilda and the show was really
042great. Then spring sports began March night starting with track. I know baseball is happening. I softball. I think soccer may have started already today. >> Soccer rolling. Soccer is probably going. Yeah. >> Right. And then for our salutes and recognitions, we wanted to recognize all the counselors and teachers for getting the future ready days um ready and just running smoothly. That's obviously such a big um hassle for our counselors, but they do such a great job every year. And the job shadows are always so amazing. I always hear such great things from the freshmen and they always enjoy it. Same with the college tours and I just think that's something really special that our school has. I haven't heard of really any schools having that opportunity. Um and then the spring craft and vendor fair
043was is was Saturday March 21st. We had a lot of local businesses and vendors and even students who had their own businesses. I know a lot of students had their own bakeries and at home like businesses similar to that. So they were all selling stuff there. And then um the community volunteers for the reality store. That is always such a big thing and I know that it takes a lot of time out of people's days. So just having that commitment to our school is so important. And then teachers, bus drivers, and administration for stepping in to help during the early dismissal as that was not expected, but it ran so smoothly and I feel like it couldn't have been done better. I mean for something that was so out of nowhere, it was handled perfectly.
044And then for our spotlight on learning, we wanted to recognize Model United Nations, um, Mr. Douglas's class for he took his students to Michigan State Conference last weekend. Um, so they got to participate there. Again, such an amazing thing that we get to do every year. And um, just going out of state and having that inerson ability to participate in something like Model UN. Um, experiencing Wisconsin with Mr. Yoscus. They were tapping maple trees outside during winter wellness week. I think that's also something really cool. It's not something that you hear about often. And then psychology CCHS with Mrs. Buddy. She paired with second grade classes to create children's books. Um, again, just another great opportunity and the benefit of having such a close campus. Um, and then personal finance, Mr. Prowl, learning about investments
045and creating diverse portfolios, which is such a life skill that I think everybody needs to know. Also just having the opportunity to learn it at a young age is so essential and yeah, thank you. >> Great report. >> Awesome report. Thank you. >> Any questions from anyone? >> All right, we'll go on to our own salutes and recognitions and I'll start us out. Um, a big kudos to the Matilda production. I mean, seriously, I've always loved the story, but Mr. Sevens, the cast, the crew, parents, faux fa, this was a really great production. I seriously could have gone every performance. That's how much I liked it. So, kudos kudos on that. Anyone else on the board? >> Yes, I have a couple. Actually, I'll add to it in terms of So, yes, indeed. I've been
046involved in the school board, but Mr. sevens intentionally tries to bring in plays and things like that that include ensembles she referred to them as so it includes more students and he said yeah we could do plays that have six or seven students in them but that doesn't benefit a whole lot of kids so it's great I mean I can't remember >> were there like 30 or 40 some kids in the play kind of thing that was there >> a Wisconsin tech edit Kazik to Ben Graham. Um Miranda was just sharing with me how like Ben just does everything she asks him to do. And now Miranda is very influential. Uh but with all of our Thank you.