MONROE - The list of potential goals and themes generated in the first of two community forums for the Monroe school district brought an array of ideas - from developing more business and community partnerships to investigating innovative educational models, such as year-round school and ways to attract and retain teachers.
In attendance were 58 community members, teachers and various district administrators who were divided into nine groups to complete a series of tasks in a three-hour forum Wednesday night in the Monroe High School LMC. Their objective was to begin developing goals for the district to target over the next five to seven years.
"We want to get feedback from everyone in the room on how we can make the Monroe school district better and how we can move it forward," Monroe District Administrator Rick Waski said.
Matthew Urban, coordinator for Blackhawk Technical College Workforce Development of Green County, pointed to an increase in school and business and community partnerships as a goal to target.
"The area of education is so dynamic when it comes to change," Urban said. "Because there is such an openness now in the delivery the opportunities for Blackhawk Tech to partner with school districts is growing even more. There are so many ways for flexible delivery (of educational instruction) whether it's face-to-face, online or flexible lab times that it will create greater access for high school students and non-traditional students."
Heather Fish, the director of school improvement for Cooperative Educational Service Agency 5 in Portage, facilitated the meeting. A list of goals will be finalized at the second community forum Dec. 6. District administrators will draft a proposed list of goals based on input from the community forums, which the school board will have to approve.
"We will have some discussions on how we can measure future success with those goals and throughout the journey," Waski said.
The nearly five dozen participating were asked to write mock headlines they would see in the newspaper in 10 years for what they would like Monroe to be known for as a district. The nine groups then had a brainstorming session and wrote goals and values on sticky notes they used to create a word wall. The groups then generated a list of programs, concepts and opportunities they would like to see in the district. Dividing the lists by general themes, each group prioritized them by importance.
Five of the nine groups cited developing business and community partnerships as one of their top two themes. The other themes that drew the highest priority include developing, retaining and evaluating teachers, developing wellness and life skills in students, studying innovative teaching models and schedules, modernizing school facilities for collaboration and safety, offering a dynamic curriculum and teaching employability skills to students.
Monroe school board member Amy Bazley was encouraged by the work during the community forum and the ideas shared.
"The people who were here made it pretty clear that those two issues (business and community partnerships and attracting and retaining teachers) are two issues the district has to work on and focus on," she said. "I think this was a very productive meeting in terms of finding out what our goals are as a district."
Bazley said her group had innovations in education as one of their themes.
"That could take the form with what we do with our schools, schedules and our school year," Bazley said. "The next step would be figuring out if we want to make that one of our goals we will work towards."
Brad Saugstad, a fourth-grade teacher at Parkside Elementary School, said he is looking forward to tracking the progress once the district finalizes its goals.
"I think it's been productive hearing a lot of community members' opinions," Saugstad said. "I heard a lot of family, school and community partnerships. It will be interesting to see how our school board and administration go forward with this. I think it's great to have a plan in place for the next five to seven years."
Saugstad, who has been a teacher in Monroe for 12 years, expressed interest in exploring whether student achievement is enhanced by moving to year-round school. Due to a state law, schools in Wisconsin are prohibited from starting before Sept. 1. However, districts can apply for a waiver to start earlier.
"It would be interesting to see what would happen," Saugstad said of year-round school. "It would be interesting to dig into that research."
In addition to Bazley, school board members Dan Bartholf, Les Bieneman, Cheryl McGuire, Mary Berger, Rich Deprez and Jim Plourde participated in the forum.
In attendance were 58 community members, teachers and various district administrators who were divided into nine groups to complete a series of tasks in a three-hour forum Wednesday night in the Monroe High School LMC. Their objective was to begin developing goals for the district to target over the next five to seven years.
"We want to get feedback from everyone in the room on how we can make the Monroe school district better and how we can move it forward," Monroe District Administrator Rick Waski said.
Matthew Urban, coordinator for Blackhawk Technical College Workforce Development of Green County, pointed to an increase in school and business and community partnerships as a goal to target.
"The area of education is so dynamic when it comes to change," Urban said. "Because there is such an openness now in the delivery the opportunities for Blackhawk Tech to partner with school districts is growing even more. There are so many ways for flexible delivery (of educational instruction) whether it's face-to-face, online or flexible lab times that it will create greater access for high school students and non-traditional students."
Heather Fish, the director of school improvement for Cooperative Educational Service Agency 5 in Portage, facilitated the meeting. A list of goals will be finalized at the second community forum Dec. 6. District administrators will draft a proposed list of goals based on input from the community forums, which the school board will have to approve.
"We will have some discussions on how we can measure future success with those goals and throughout the journey," Waski said.
The nearly five dozen participating were asked to write mock headlines they would see in the newspaper in 10 years for what they would like Monroe to be known for as a district. The nine groups then had a brainstorming session and wrote goals and values on sticky notes they used to create a word wall. The groups then generated a list of programs, concepts and opportunities they would like to see in the district. Dividing the lists by general themes, each group prioritized them by importance.
Five of the nine groups cited developing business and community partnerships as one of their top two themes. The other themes that drew the highest priority include developing, retaining and evaluating teachers, developing wellness and life skills in students, studying innovative teaching models and schedules, modernizing school facilities for collaboration and safety, offering a dynamic curriculum and teaching employability skills to students.
Monroe school board member Amy Bazley was encouraged by the work during the community forum and the ideas shared.
"The people who were here made it pretty clear that those two issues (business and community partnerships and attracting and retaining teachers) are two issues the district has to work on and focus on," she said. "I think this was a very productive meeting in terms of finding out what our goals are as a district."
Bazley said her group had innovations in education as one of their themes.
"That could take the form with what we do with our schools, schedules and our school year," Bazley said. "The next step would be figuring out if we want to make that one of our goals we will work towards."
Brad Saugstad, a fourth-grade teacher at Parkside Elementary School, said he is looking forward to tracking the progress once the district finalizes its goals.
"I think it's been productive hearing a lot of community members' opinions," Saugstad said. "I heard a lot of family, school and community partnerships. It will be interesting to see how our school board and administration go forward with this. I think it's great to have a plan in place for the next five to seven years."
Saugstad, who has been a teacher in Monroe for 12 years, expressed interest in exploring whether student achievement is enhanced by moving to year-round school. Due to a state law, schools in Wisconsin are prohibited from starting before Sept. 1. However, districts can apply for a waiver to start earlier.
"It would be interesting to see what would happen," Saugstad said of year-round school. "It would be interesting to dig into that research."
In addition to Bazley, school board members Dan Bartholf, Les Bieneman, Cheryl McGuire, Mary Berger, Rich Deprez and Jim Plourde participated in the forum.