What's Next
Other Parent Focus Groups scheduled are:
• Thursday, April 3 - noon
• Tuesday, April 8 - 7 p.m.
• Monday, April 14 - 5 p.m.
• Saturday, April 26 - 8 a.m.
Parents interested in being involved can contact Cindy Rupnow at 328-7109 to pick a date and time that works best for their schedule. Additional groups may be added if needed.
MONROE - District Administrator Larry Brown began listening in the first of his series of parent focus groups early Wednesday morning.
Parents in attendance, with children ranging in ages from grade school to high school, pointed out some of their most pressing concerns about their schools, as well as their praises for the district's teachers and administration.
Their main area of concern was curriculum enhancements. The Gifted and Talented Program and Advanced Placement (AP) classes were examples.
"The Gifted and Talented Program was a huge loss to this school," said Joe Tomasiewicz, who has two children in high school and one in grade school. But he said the "teachers go above and beyond."
Tomasiewicz also said he would like to see more AP classes, which he said are important to some kids.
Steve Gellings agreed. While his two older children were more sports-oriented, he said his youngest gets excited about "add-ons for academics."
The enhancement kinds of things, he said, are a "big reflection on the community."
Janel Bader added another academic suggestion. The grade school reading program used to have three levels, and Bader said she saw her daughter grow in that situation. However, "now they're all thrown together and I don't see the challenges," Bader said.
Suggestions for better customization of lessons for particular students were smaller class sizes, which would make customization easier for teachers, and "looping," which would allow teachers to have the same students two years in a row.
The district's virtual schools got good reviews.
"Virtual schools are so important for the state of Wisconsin and it's great for our district," Tomasiewicz said. "But also the homeschooled could benefit. Virtual schools, for who it's good for - it'd be a shame to take that way from them."
Programs that didn't measure up on parents' lists were a K-12 foreign languages program, the amount of grade school science and social studies, the number of high school math classes and a more intense high school physics course.
Parents also decried the lack of exposure to "real life" experiences, which they saw as being replaced with studying for testing.
Gellings said "the atmosphere in the classrooms changed" when the No Child Left Behind and other testing-based education came.
Gellings comes into the schools to do experiments, bringing in equipment that schools don't have.
"That adds a lot to the school experience," he said. "Community volunteer help makes it more real," and shows students how they could use their education in life, he said.
Tomasiewicz said he was disappointed to see the Capstone Program go away. The program "encouraged local business," and "kids would end up staying in Monroe" he said.
He suggested more "programs that will keep kids in the area."
Brown said 50 to 60 parents have signed up so far to participate in the parent focus groups, and at least two sessions have 10 participants.
He was optimistic about the Wednesday meeting.
"Some of the things you said, I've heard before," Brown told the parents. "We have a culture change to work on. This kind of data helps make those changes.
"We're not going to get there tomorrow," he said. "We're too big of an organization to have things go right all the time.
"As district administrator, I do worry a little bit. In recent history, we've had our meltdowns. And there are some very negative feelings for what the schools are all about," Brown said. But he said the district needs to get focused and get moving.
"We have a lot of challenges," Brown said, "and I love challenges."
Parents in attendance, with children ranging in ages from grade school to high school, pointed out some of their most pressing concerns about their schools, as well as their praises for the district's teachers and administration.
Their main area of concern was curriculum enhancements. The Gifted and Talented Program and Advanced Placement (AP) classes were examples.
"The Gifted and Talented Program was a huge loss to this school," said Joe Tomasiewicz, who has two children in high school and one in grade school. But he said the "teachers go above and beyond."
Tomasiewicz also said he would like to see more AP classes, which he said are important to some kids.
Steve Gellings agreed. While his two older children were more sports-oriented, he said his youngest gets excited about "add-ons for academics."
The enhancement kinds of things, he said, are a "big reflection on the community."
Janel Bader added another academic suggestion. The grade school reading program used to have three levels, and Bader said she saw her daughter grow in that situation. However, "now they're all thrown together and I don't see the challenges," Bader said.
Suggestions for better customization of lessons for particular students were smaller class sizes, which would make customization easier for teachers, and "looping," which would allow teachers to have the same students two years in a row.
The district's virtual schools got good reviews.
"Virtual schools are so important for the state of Wisconsin and it's great for our district," Tomasiewicz said. "But also the homeschooled could benefit. Virtual schools, for who it's good for - it'd be a shame to take that way from them."
Programs that didn't measure up on parents' lists were a K-12 foreign languages program, the amount of grade school science and social studies, the number of high school math classes and a more intense high school physics course.
Parents also decried the lack of exposure to "real life" experiences, which they saw as being replaced with studying for testing.
Gellings said "the atmosphere in the classrooms changed" when the No Child Left Behind and other testing-based education came.
Gellings comes into the schools to do experiments, bringing in equipment that schools don't have.
"That adds a lot to the school experience," he said. "Community volunteer help makes it more real," and shows students how they could use their education in life, he said.
Tomasiewicz said he was disappointed to see the Capstone Program go away. The program "encouraged local business," and "kids would end up staying in Monroe" he said.
He suggested more "programs that will keep kids in the area."
Brown said 50 to 60 parents have signed up so far to participate in the parent focus groups, and at least two sessions have 10 participants.
He was optimistic about the Wednesday meeting.
"Some of the things you said, I've heard before," Brown told the parents. "We have a culture change to work on. This kind of data helps make those changes.
"We're not going to get there tomorrow," he said. "We're too big of an organization to have things go right all the time.
"As district administrator, I do worry a little bit. In recent history, we've had our meltdowns. And there are some very negative feelings for what the schools are all about," Brown said. But he said the district needs to get focused and get moving.
"We have a lot of challenges," Brown said, "and I love challenges."