Lindholm welcomes our new Director of Secondary Learning with a familiar face!

 

This Wednesday, Rachel Hermann, former Lowell Elementary Principal was approved as our next Director of Secondary Learning. Rachel takes the place of Dan Keyser, who is now serving as the Interim Superintendent in the Beloit School District. This will be Rachel's 16th year in education. She started off as a high school English teacher for 8 years and then came to Waukesha in 2010, where she taught high school English at North and middle school English at Les Paul. Rachel then moved into a curriculum coordinator position in Waukesha, serving the 6th-12th grade Social Studies and English teachers. While in that position, she attained her Principal's and Director's licensure, and then made a move she never in a million years would have predicted and that was to become an elementary school principal. Serving in that role the past 4 years at Lowell, Rachel has learned so much about the importance of relationships, collaboration, family engagement, and of course, kids! It was the ultimate example of backwards design having taught seniors for many years, she got to see where kids ended their education journey in our schools and then being in elementary land, she got to see where they began. It truly was a rewarding experience for Rachel on many levels.

On a personal note, Rachel says, "I have 2 wonderful children, Sam and Sophie. Sophie is in 5th grade and Sam is starting 7th grade this coming year. My husband, Scott, is a Spanish teacher, and he continually grounds me as I navigate educational theory with the complex realities of teaching in a classroom. I have a strong passion for reading and writing, and in my free time, I imagine sitting by an ocean (it's been difficult to get to one this past year) and reading a good book. In reality, my free time mostly consists of watching my kids play on their various sports teams, which I also really enjoy!"

Please help me welcome Rachel Hermann to our central office team!

SAIL-ing into Summer 5.0

Tuesday and Wednesday of this week, I was inspired by having close to 250 Waukesha participants in our SAIL learning days!

It was GREAT to see so many of you in your indoor and outdoor spaces, but I missed being together with you as building that relational capacity as we all know is so very valuable.

THANK YOU!!!!

Thank you for really digging in to The 4 Disciplines of Execution as our anchor text with excitement! Our SAIL goals, those WIG'S...Wildly Important Goals...and deciding on only 2 of them...I can promise you will make a difference for your staff and make a positive difference for our students!

It is going to take a level of excellence from everyone in order to reach those winning scoreboards that we all want to see! I cannot wait to see how your hard work plays out in the Fall.
I feel blessed to be a player in this game, working alongside each of you!

Closing the Achievement Gap Consortium

We wanted to remind everyone, that the School District of Waukesha is a proud partner in The Closing Achievement Gap Consortium (CAGC). The consortium has a mission to eliminate the
educational disparities in all schools with all deliberate speed. The CAGC’s 36
public, private and parochial school districts recognize that the current state of
racial injustices significantly impacts education today. Our schools should be
learning environments where all students can grow and flourish. Unfortunately, this
is not the case for many of our students of color.  Policies, practices and procedures in our schools need to be changed. Our students of color, in each district, deserve better and we are committed to facilitating this change.

Racial injustices have no place in schools as well as in our state and nation. Racism
is a public health crisis and the CAGC members stand against racism in any form.
History has shown us repeatedly that we cannot be silent when injustices are
prevalent. The CAGC stands with organizations that denounce the systematic oppression
of racism and racial prejudices. The CAGC is committed to the educational
responsibility to promote policies that support this belief in our schools. 

George Floyd’s death and other senseless murders of African Americans have become
catalysts for a significant change in our nation. We must promote this change
together. In doing so, we will be the change we all want to see in the world. It is
with action that educational equity can be achieved. Our actions should be in direct
response to the voices of the historically marginalized. The CAGC members are
committed to this change and will continue to live out our mission through our actions.

AVMR Summer Virtual Training Opportunities

This summer, there will be an opportunity to receive training in AVMR Course 1 or AVMR Course 2 virtually.  The training will be spread out over two weeks including asynchronous learning and team meetings.  We will meet for three hours (8:00 - 11:00) on eight separate days (July 27, 28, 29, 30, August 3, 4, 5, and 6) 

Add+VantageMR® give teachers tools and assessments to use with students in order to identify their current understandings of number concepts and then provides activities to help support data-driven instruction. It is one of those professional development opportunities that changes how you look at students mathematically and how you can better meet their needs.

AVMR Course 1 involves teachers learning about Math Recovery® assessments and focusing on a continuum of learning in relationship to the Learning Framework in Number. Teachers learn to use a series of three assessments to develop a profile of number knowledge for children: number words and numerals, structuring, and addition and subtraction. The profile then assists teachers in making informed instructional decisions to advance students' knowledge and skills. (Recommended for Kindergarten on up)

AVMR Course 2 is a continuation of the numeracy continuum of learning in regards to the Learning Framework in Number. You will learn about place value and multiplication/division assessments that can be administered to your neediest students to know exactly where they are in their numeracy development so you can make instructional decisions that will help to move the students along in their learning. (Recommended for first grade on up)

If you are interested in participating, please fill out the Google Form and indicate which course you would like to join. You NEED TO take course 1 before attending course 2 and must attend all of the dates/times for each particular course.

If you have any questions about this training, please contact Rose Palmer.  (rpalmer@waukesha.k12.wi.us)

We See You, We Hear You and We are Listening to You: Stronger Together

As we approach day 11 after the heinous crime which contributed to the death of George Floyd, now causing our country to be in a very unsettling state and even more divided than before, change is on the way.  Although we are facing COVID-19 and the police brutality of a black man, this is our opportunity as educators, leaders in the community and role models to connect, and become even closer with our students of color and their families.  It is time to take action as for too long, we have witnessed over and over again injustice, discrimination and racism that has been unchecked and not dealt with.  The only difference now is that these crimes are being recorded and broadcasted to millions.

I can attest that the School District of Waukesha shares the community’s anger, frustration and uncertainty with the killings of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor to name a few Black Americans.  We as a district must come together with our parents and community partners in a peaceful manner to show that we will stand in solidarity with them to get through these disturbing events that are taking place across the nation.   As educators in this district, it is our duty to create a system, with a foundation built on equity allowing everyone to feel safe regardless of the color of their skin.  We will continue to work to eliminate institutional racism and break down the lifelong barriers that have impacted students and people of color for years.   

We as educators have a civic duty to confront racism when we see it, address it head on and hold each other accountable to prevent this epidemic from spreading throughout our district, community and nation.  As a district, we will continue to expand our learning on cultural competency, dig deeper into culturally responsive teaching strategies and continue to recognize our own implicit biases.  We will continue to have professional development around race and equity while getting students and parents involved in this process.  

The School District of Waukesha should be proud and encouraged by the diversity our district offers and we will continue to build from this great asset.  We are Stronger Together! 

Demetri Beekman

Director of Equity and Educator Development

Important TDP Process Update

In order to be more supportive to our teaching staff, we have decided to end our partnership with Virtebo because the value of an outside agency accrediting our program is no longer beneficial to teachers.  We are able to continue to offer what we have always offered without an outside agency dictating our contact hours. The School District of Waukesha will continue to lead our own professional development program as it was in the past while also decreasing the cost for credits by more than 50%. Beginning now, the registration process will remain the same:  the only difference is that payments will be made to the School District of Waukesha versus Viterbo College.  

How is this different from before?

* Payments will be due at the end of each course (typically at the end of each month but may vary with collegial studies).

*. Payment cost has been decreased to $100 per credit (check payable to SDW).

*. Completion certificates will be administered upon course completion (instead of a transcript).

*. You can finish your 9 credits and immediately apply for your step increase instead of waiting for the semester to close.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Demetri Beekman or Sara Orcholski.

On Solid Rock We Stand

"On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand"....this song came into my head this week because it reminds me of ROCK-esha! As a Christian, I will celebrate this upcoming Easter as a remembrance and a renewal of daily hope that those who believe in Him shall have eternal life.

And as we take pause and reflect on our teaching and learning from our homes over the past few weeks, I am so proud that we have such a solid foundation to stand on in Waukesha.
Our equitable access to learning for ALL students is strong.
Our commitment to making decisions on what is best for students is unwavering.
Our dedicated teachers and administrators have strong communication, collaborative teams, and structures that allow us to not have to overreact and change so many things, like a lot of other districts have.
This has been an example of thoughtful and intentional systems and structures that are able to withstand the ever changing and fluid situation that we have been tested with.

You display hope daily in your words, thoughts and deeds.
You are courageous in the outrageous love you show not just your own family but your school families.
May each of you take pause this weekend and allow yourself to be proud of all you have accomplished! This work we do with humans is so complex and yet there is no better profession, in a time when the world needs us more than ever, on solid rock we stand!