The West Bend School District is currently reviewing online digital tools for reading and math for grades Kindergarten through 4th grade. Through an RFP process, the district has vetted several digital tools for potential use to support students in reading and math. The tools have been vetted by teachers and we are offering links for community stakeholders to also take a look at the tools. Once stakeholders view the tools they are welcome to give feedback on any of the tools. Links for the two literacy tools and the two math tools are listed below:

For Online access 24/7 visit our District website: March 14, 2022, through March 31, 2022. In addition, there is a computer located at the Education Service Center during regular business hours for anyone who would like to view these onsite. We will also have a discussion of the tools at the April 27 Curriculum Committee meeting.

Amira is software to assist students and teachers with analyzing and giving students feedback on their reading level and how to grow their literacy skills. We are currently considering this for use K-4th and possibly grade 5.

Links are no longer live

Lexia Core 5 is literacy software that takes students through 6 cores areas including phonological awareness, phonics,  structural analysis, automaticity/fluency, vocabulary, comprehension, and building their literacy skills. We are currently considering this for use K-4th. 
Links are no longer live

Happy Numbers is a K-5 numeracy and math problem-solving tool that takes students through areas of learning to gain math fluency. We are currently considering this for use K-4th.    Links are no longer live. 

Dreambox is K-6 online math tool that assists students in math mastery with a focus on problem-solving. We are currently considering it for use in K-4th. Links are no longer live. 

Holbrook Selected as Assistant Superintendent for HR & Operations
 

The West Bend Joint School District #1 has selected Russell Holbrook as assistant superintendent for human resources and operations.

Holbrook has deep roots in human resources and organizational leadership, serving most recently as sole proprietor with The Learning Organization, since 2011. Concurrently, he has also been serving Cardinal Stritch University as adjunct instructor of undergraduate and graduate classes through the university’s School of Business Management. Prior to those roles, Mr. Holbrook held the position of assistant executive director, human resources and membership with the American Society of Plastic Surgeons from 2003-2011. In addition to his other related professional experiences, Holbrook served the West Bend School District from 1979-1986 as high school choral teacher, and was the recipient of the Teacher of the Year Award presented by the Rolfs Educational Foundation. Mr. Holbrook holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, and a graduate degree from Marquette University.

“We are thrilled to add Russell to the WBSD team. His depth and experience in human resources and strong operational knowledge ensures that our HR department will continue to serve the staff members of the WBSD to the highest of quality levels. Russell’s leadership and forward-thinking approach fits perfectly with our vision of Excellence for All and ensures that our district remains one that recruits the best possible talent, while remaining operationally sound.” said Erik Olson, Superintendent of Schools for the West Bend School District.

Holbrook will begin his new role on August 7.  The Board will ratify his contract on August 14.

Ms. Jenny Gross, the 2017 Wisconsin Honey Queen visited Ms. Nieman's Gardening & Cooking summer school class at Green Tree Elementary on Wednesday!

The students enjoyed hands-on learning and fun facts about our state insect including: types bees that live in a bee hive, the body parts of a bee and how they are used, and how honeybees help our agriculture! 

The West Bend Joint School District #1 has named Ms. Darci VanAdestine as principal of West Bend East High School, and Mr. Ralph Schlass as principal of West Bend West.

Ms. VanAdestine’s administrative team for East High School will include Assistant Principals Jen Johannsen and Ryan Tomczyk.  Along with Mr. Schlass, the administrative team at West Bend West will include Tyler Wood and an assistant principal will be hired to fill the remaining open position on the administrative team.

In the coming days, the West Bend School District administration will be conducting a full search for the open assistant principal position. Additional timelines and communications regarding the transition will be forthcoming.

“The administrative teams at West Bend West and West Bend East are committed to building a strong culture and providing the leadership to ensure a smooth transition that builds on the excellence of the West Bend High Schools.” said Laura Jackson, Assistant Superintendent for Teaching and Learning. 

Board of Education Appoints Two High School Principals
 

The West Bend Joint School District #1 Board of Education has introduced Mr. Ralph Schlass and Ms. Darci VanAdestine as principals of the West Bend high schools.

Mr. Schlass has been an assistant principal at the high schools since 1999. Ms. VanAdestine has been with the WBSD since 2014 serving most recently as the assistant principal/director of high school teaching and learning.  Both are recognizable faces to the students and parents in our system, respected members of our community, and parents of students in the West Bend Schools.

“I’m delighted Darci and Ralph have accepted the offer of principals for our two high schools. They are dedicated, student-centered, friendly and approachable. They have a strong desire to see children excel through an array of academic and extracurricular offerings. Additionally, I am grateful for our Superintendent’s belief in the capacity of the high school staff to transition to two principals sooner rather than later.” said Tiffany Larson, School Board President. “The two-principal, traditional model for our high schools increases the principal’s visibility and lends itself to more meaningful relationships between students, staff, and parents. This model was in place within our district for decades with excellent results. We believe this arrangement will contribute to a positive culture and increase student achievement. In the end we must always ask, ‘What is best for kids?’ We have an exceptional team and a caring community that seeks to support our public schools, and that’s what matters most.”

“Assistant Superintendent for Teaching and Learning, Laura Jackson, and I will immediately begin working with Mr. Schlass, Ms. VanAdestine, and the staff at the high schools to ensure that processes are in place so this change is a positive experience for our students and families. I’m confident that West Bend High Schools will continue to provide a great high school experience for the children we serve.” said Erik Olson, Superintendent of Schools for the West Bend School District.

Mr. Schlass and Ms. VanAdestine will begin planning for this transition tomorrow. The Board will ratify their contracts on August 14, 2017. 

Fun things are happening this summer in Ms. Nieman's Gardening & Cooking summer school class!

Last Friday, the class enjoyed a very special visit from Mrs. Barbara Schulz-Kluever, agriculture ambassador of Washington County. Mrs. Schulz-Kluever taught the students about the importance of making healthy choices and creating healthy eating habits, using tools like the MyPlate food guide, and the food pyramid. At the end of class, the students enjoyed building nutritious parfaits (made from vanilla yogurt, granola, almonds and fruit cocktail) with Mrs. Schulz-Kluever!

This week, the class has been enjoying playing with their food while remembering the healthy food lessons they learned last week!

Traditionally, summer breaks include fun in the sun, summer jobs, adventures with friends and the occasional luxury of staying up all night and sleeping all day. For 20 of West Bend High School Band’s student leadership team, they have the privilege of adding the WBHS Band’s Student Leadership Summit to their summer agendas this year.

Lead by WBHS band directors Leah Duckert-Kroll and Corey Murphy, this annual, two-day summit provides drum majors and section leaders in the WBHS bands the opportunity to explore what it means to be a servant leader, a philosophy modernized by Robert Greenleaf and a quality that can often be an underdeveloped character trait, yet is so imperative to a successful future in any career path.  The servant leadership philosophy means that in order to lead, you must first be willing to serve others. One must have a genuine desire to help, and lead in a way that empowers others by making sure that their needs are met.

In this philosophy there is an inherent difference between wanting to be a leader and wanting to help others, a key difference that Ms. Duckert-Kroll is very passionate about. “Our band’s motto is Excellence with Pride. Effective leadership and positive influence exhibited by our student leaders creates a ripple effect amongst our band members, which ultimately translates into success at every level.” said Duckert-Kroll. “This summit gives our student leadership team the opportunity to grow as individuals and function as a cohesive unit. I love watching the students challenge themselves and each other, while having fun and creating important memories. It’s rewarding for both Corey and me to watch these leadership transformations take shape.”

During the two-day summit, student participants are taken on an immersive journey through a variety of interactive leadership activities including round-table discussions, team-building exercises (including a custom “Escape Room” experience designed by Mr. Murphy himself!), jigsawing John Maxwell’s “21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership” and exploring lessons on band leadership from the philosophy of Dr. Tim Lautzenheiser.  Additionally, the students participated in exercises using nonverbal communication methods in order to complete a desired task, as well as completed the Communication Response Style assessment, a 20-question survey designed to help identify and understand each of the student's communication styles.

Student participants in this summer’s two-day summit included:

Recently, the West Bend School District partnered with the National School Public Relations Association (NSPRA) to help provide clarity and guidance of our communications initiatives. NSPRA was employed by the District to conduct a thorough audit of our communication efforts both internally and externally; identifying our strengths and weaknesses in communicating with our parents and students, our staff, the Board, our community, and business partners.

The end product of this process with NSPRA is a comprehensive communications audit report, which reviews WBSD’s communications, analyzes the feedback from the listening sessions, and then transforms that information into a prioritized list of recommendations for improvement.

The final report from NSPRA, can be viewed here.

We are currently reviewing the recommendations outlined in this report, and have tentatively scheduled a public presentation of this information by WBSD and NSPRA for Monday, August 21. Once details have been confirmed with NSPRA, we will provide an update and invitation to attend.

Last week, five East and West students, packed their bags and flew to Anaheim, CA to compete in the 2017 Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) National Competition! 

Accompanied by their advisor Allie Holtzer, the fantastic five joined 12,000 students from across the world for several days of competition, networking, learning opportunities and a little bit of fun! The FBLA program provides students with a unique opportunity to develop leadership and business skills that can be used in a variety of careers.

The East and West student participants included:

• Kara Conley
• Claire Frick
• Victoria Hunt
• Adam Lucka
• Kelsey Nowack

Special congratulations to Claire, who placed 4th in the nation in the elite category of Future Business Leader!