April 2012 District Administrator Update

As always, the spring of the year brings increased activity as we begin to close out one school year while at the same time planning for the next.  I am sure you are experiencing that same level of busy-ness in your homes and yards!

Our time and attention has been focused on a few key areas in recent weeks that will continue as we plan for the new school year.  One of the areas we tend to throughout the school year is student achievement.  We read with interest the April Milwaukee Magazine article on ranking area schools using WKCE test scores.  We were disappointed to see that we Fox Point-Bayside was not listed in the top ten K-8 schools or in the top thirty-three K-12 school districts and therefore looked closely at the study methodology.  Unfortunately, Fox Point-Bayside, the other feeder districts to Nicolet, and Nicolet High School were not eligible to make the list in the top thirty-three K-12 schools because the authors did not consider any schools that were not a part of a K-12 district.  In terms of the top ten K-8 schools, the only factor considered was WKCE test scores which are acknowledged as limited in terms of measuring student achievement.  We also use MAP scores and other indicators to measure student progress year over year in our district to more accurately gauge student performance.  Also, school districts in the Milwaukee metro area have a more diverse student population than you might find in Waukesha or Washington Counties where most of the top K-8 districts cited are located.  This is not to take away from the success of those districts, but to acknowledge that one data point cannot possibly tell the whole story around student achievement. Nevertheless we will continue to look at our efforts in the context of other high performing schools and adopt those instructional strategies and practices that best assure our students’ success in high school and beyond.

When we look at the fall 2011 WKCE scores as recently published in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel we outperform almost all other North Shore school districts when you look at the overall math and reading scores grades 3-8.  Again, this is not to diminish the performance of other districts but to again point out that depending on what variables are considered, the results will differ.  That said we are very focused on increasing the level of academic rigor in our K-8 curriculum and instructional practices.  We have put a particular emphasis on literacy (reading & writing) in the coming year with math another target we will be focusing on in the near future. There is always room for improvement and we take seriously the need to continue to evolve our instructional program to meet the needs of students in today’s world.  Academic standards continue to be raised and we are working to respond to those standards with increased focus on K-8 curriculum alignment, clearly identified learning targets and the development of common assessments.  This requires not only a change in the content being taught but also the way in which it is taught.  Our teachers are working hard to assure our instructional program keeps pace with current best practice and ever-increasing expectations.

We are proud to offer our students a well- rounded education that offers not only high academic rigor, but also the arts, physical education, foreign language, technology, special education, gifted education, and a host of in-school and out-of-school experiences unique to Fox Point-Bayside.  Our teachers are very committed to their students, focusing on academic, social, and emotional growth for all students, no matter what needs and experiences students may bring with them.  All of these elements make for a high quality school experience.

Other areas we are working on in preparation for the 2012-13 school year are school schedules assuring we are giving adequate amount of time to reading & writing literacy and mathematics in particular.  In addition we are looking for ways to use the school day more effectively to assure that all students have access to enrichment and support activities without having to miss their regular class instruction.  We will be establishing a middle school committee made up of parents and staff to look more closely at options available for 2012-13 and beyond.  At the elementary level there is a little bit more flexibility and the increased focus on literacy and math will be evident in the coming school year ideally along with time focused on enrichment and support activities that do not take away from classroom instruction.  These efforts are directly related to how well our students perform on the various academic measures we use to assess student achievement and so are important areas of focus for us.

We continue to work on developing the 2012-13 budgets, with staff in each building submitting their budget requests to that they can be considered in the final overall district budget.  As always there are many more requests than there are resources so choices have to be made as to where to best target our resources.  We have made it a high priority to keep teachers in classrooms and as a result there will not be any teacher lay-offs this year.  In addition we are working hard to rebuild budgets in the areas of facilities and capital improvements, curriculum & instruction, and technology.  All of these budgets have been reduced over the past few years and need to be built up in order to assure long term maintenance and support of our buildings and our instructional programs.

Next month, I hope to share with you a table that outlines all of the state initiatives coming our way, the timeline for those initiatives and our response to those initiatives.  It is indeed a time of change in our district and in the state overall.  It is important that parents and community members are aware of these initiatives and how they are impacting our decisions as a school district – so stay tuned for that! 

Thank you for your continued interest in assuring our school district remains a top-performer; parental interest is a hallmark of a high quality school district.  We are proud to count ourselves among school districts that have great parent involvement and support…certainly in the top ten!  Have a great spring break as we all enjoy the new growth and green of the season.

Sincerely,

Dr. Rachel Boechler

District Administrator