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. 

The end of the 2016-17 academic year has arrived, and I’d be remiss if I didn’t take this opportunity to say a heartfelt THANK YOU.  As I conclude my first year serving this wonderful community, I am pleased with the accomplishments of West Bend School District staff and students, and the support that we have received from our great community.

Thank you to our students for everything that you teach us as administrators, teachers and staff. Your creativity, enthusiasm and dedication is inspirational. Your accomplishments throughout the year are a source of great pride. Continue to practice kindness, leadership and celebrate the diversity that makes each one of you so special!

Congratulations to our 2017 graduates! You have reached an important lifelong milestone and have a blank slate ahead of you - one that I know each one of you will paint full of experiences, life lessons and achievements that shine just as bright as each of you. I’m proud of your accomplishments and wish you nothing but the best as you continue your journey into adulthood!

Thank you to our parents for your unwavering support and involvement. I recognize and appreciate the important role you play in your child’s education. From helping with homework or career planning, attending events, volunteering at the school, providing leadership in PTOs, or attending parent teacher conferences and keeping connected with school staff: your involvement makes a difference.

Thank you to our amazing staff:  administrators, bus drivers, educational assistants, learning coaches, maintenance staff, support staff, school nutrition staff, teachers, and those in educational services center office.  Each of you makes a difference as we strive for our ambitious aim of Excellence for All.  There are so many lessons to be learned both inside and outside of the classroom, and you provide students with many opportunities to blossom into inspired and engaged citizens and community members. I am so grateful for the care, support and guidance that I see demonstrated every day.

To our community members and business partners, I am thankful for your involvement and support in our schools. The commitment demonstrated reinforces my belief that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world.  

Students, staff, parents, community members and businesses are all an important part of the West Bend School District. Thank you for your continuous support and contributions to making our schools the great places they are to learn and grow, work and be.  Wishing all a safe and fun summer!

Erik Olson

The WBSD Encourages Families to “Take the School Breakfast Challenge.” Busy weekday mornings make it a challenge for families to find time for a healthy breakfast. However, US Department of Agriculture data shows that more students are starting their day with a nutritious breakfast in their school cafeterias.  To encourage more families to take advantage of the healthy choices available with school breakfast, the West Bend School District (WBSD) schools will recognize National School Breakfast Week during March 6-10, 2017.

The National School Breakfast Week (NSBW) campaign theme, “School Breakfast Challenge”, reminds the entire school community that school breakfast provides a healthy, energizing start to the day for students. Students will be encouraged to “Take the Challenge” from March 6-10 with special menus, give-a-ways, activity sheets, decorations, cafeteria events, and more.

“A healthy breakfast at the start of the day is one way to ensure students are getting the best education they can,” said Erik Olson, Superintendent of Schools. “National School Breakfast Week helps us educate parents and students about all the healthy and appealing choices we offer at the West Bend School District.”

The district serves about 500 breakfast meals daily through the federally funded School Breakfast Program. School nutrition professionals in the WBSD prepare breakfast and lunches every day that aligns with federal nutrition standards – limiting fat, calories, and sodium – and encourages students to choose from the fruits, vegetables and whole grains offered with school meals.

NSBW Events at the Elementary Schools and Silverbrook:

Monday: Giveaway item and a chance to pick up a Draw Your Healthy Breakfast sheet
Tuesday: Giveaway item and a chance to pick up a Draw Your Healthy Breakfast sheet
Wednesday: Breakfast activity sheets including matching activity and coloring sheet and a chance to pick up a Draw Your Healthy Breakfast sheet
Thursday: Giveaway item three and chance to pick up a Draw Your Healthy Breakfast sheet to enter the contest
Friday: Try a new menu item.  For every breakfast purchased, students will get an extra item. The winner of the Draw Your Healthy Breakfast will be selected from each school and will receive a trophy

At the middle school level, extra items will be available for students to try that could possibly be items added to the breakfast menu next year.  With the purchase of a breakfast meal,  students will get to try one new item each day during the week.  Middle school students will also use a punch card to win prizes.  

National School Breakfast Week was launched in 1989 to raise awareness of the availability of the School Breakfast Program to all children and to promote the links between eating a good breakfast, academic achievement,  and healthy lifestyles. The “Take the School Breakfast Challenge” is made possible by the nonprofit School Nutrition Association, Kellogg’s and Potatoes USA. Parents and students can follow the fun on Facebook.com/TrayTalk.

Badger Middle School FBLA members traveled to Menomonee Falls High School to compete at the Future Business Leaders of America Regional Leadership Conference which consisted of workshops to increase students’ business knowledge and compete in business events.  Participants also listened to encouraging words from State FBLA Officers and raised money for The March of Dimes. More than 120 different middle school students participated in the conference where Badger students placed first in Outstanding Middle-Level Regional Chapter.  Badger FBLA will now travel to  Appleton, WI to compete in the State Leadership Conference in April.  The WBSD is proud of the Badger FBLA students who represented Badger Middle School at the conference and did a great job of showing both Badger and West Bend pride!

The West Bend School District (WBSD) recently released results of its first Employee Engagement and Satisfaction survey, conducted district-wide in the spring of 2016, by a third-party partner, The Management Association (MRA).  According to the results, the overall satisfaction for WBSD employees was well within the MRA expected norm; engagement was slightly lower.

Erik Olson, Superintendent of Schools, will work with principals and district-level leaders to share the survey results with all WBSD employees and ask for their input into shaping the strategies toward continuous improvement.

“Our employees value a collaborative environment that encourages feedback,” said Olson. “I look forward to working with our employees as they use these results to identify solutions for improvement. The more we work together, the better our schools are going to be.”  

Satisfaction and engagement are two important, yet distinct measurements that provide valuable and actionable insights into a workforce.   According to Gallup, an industry leader in satisfaction and engagement,  “Overall satisfaction relates to other outcomes such as retention, productivity, profitability, and, to varying degrees, customer engagement.”  Satisfaction is, however, hard to act on, and some facets of satisfaction are irrelevant to performance.

Engagement, on the other hand, predicts satisfaction, as well as many other concrete business outcomes. According to Gallup, “Engaged employees are those who are involved in, enthusiastic about and committed to their work and workplace. It is the degree to which an employee is: involved in and enthusiastic about his or her work; committed to the values of the organization; and, how they go beyond the basic responsibilities to drive the organization forward.”

Many studies have linked employee engagement to workforce performance, customer satisfaction, productivity, absenteeism, turnover, and support of the organization—all of which can significantly impact the bottom line.  In the world of education, Gallup has conducted extensive research linking employee engagement to student engagement, and in turn, student achievement.  

According to Gallup research, “Teacher engagement and student engagement are intimately connected. In turn, a school’s student engagement level directly affects student achievement. A strategy that considers the people in our schools offers hope for higher student achievement levels and for making our students and the U.S. more globally competitive. And it all starts with the principal.”  (Gallup School Leadership Linked to Engagement and Student Engagement, July 2013 )

Although many organizations and even higher education institutions measure employee engagement and satisfaction, it has not been prevalent among regional school districts until most recently.  For the WBSD, the MRA survey will provide a benchmark for improvement and comparison data for the next engagement and satisfaction survey in Fall of 2017.

The MRA survey for WBSD included nine categories:  

• Supervisory management and effectiveness

• Organizational practices

• Work life satisfaction

• Operational effectiveness

• Employee commitment

• Employee development and recognition

• Communication

• Pay and benefits.

The 67-question survey received an overall response rate of 84 percent and measured both engagement and satisfaction.

The first measure returned was the overall satisfaction of WBSD employees.  WBSD scored within the expected norm in eight of the nine categories, with one category out of norm, communication.  The WBSD overall satisfaction was 70 percent compared to a norm of 79 percent.  

“This is a positive outcome for the WBSD, as MRA expects partners to be within 10 percent of the norm,” said Valley Elliehausen, Chief Operations Officer.  Communication will be evaluated further through a district-wide communication audit, facilitated in January through the National School Public Relations Association.

Employee engagement was the next measure provided by MRA.  According to Gallup and MRA research, employee engagement in the United States hovers around 30 percent and active disengagement around 17 percent  The MRA survey placed WBSD employees into three categories:

• Engaged - Employees work with a passion and feel a profound connection to their company.  They drive innovation and move the organization forward.  They give 100 percent of their discretionary effort to work.

• Partially Engaged – Employees are “on the fence” in terms of engagement; sometimes engaged, sometimes not.

• Disengaged - Employees are more than just unhappy.  They’re acting on their unhappiness and undermining the work of others.

The District scored below the national average of 32 percent for engagement, but better than the national average for disengagement of 17 percent.

“The majority of District employees are in the partially engaged category, and our work ahead will focus on moving  these individuals to full engagement in order to achieve our mission and the best possible outcomes for our students,” Elliehausen said.

Olson emphasized, “This targeted work starts with our leaders.  The West Bend School District believes that every employee is a leader and should be committed to its mission and values.  Engagement must be supported and driven by our principals and district leaders, and research continues to support and strengthen that engagement is a two-way street with employees being involved in the process.”  

“Engagement may be simple in concept but is difficult in execution, and as a result, it is never achieved or finished, only improved.” Olson said.  “The District will continue to monitor employee engagement by conducting surveys, collaborate  with staff, develop action plans designed for improved engagement, and monitor progress.”

Since joining the District in July 2016, the leadership of Erik Olson, Superintendent of Schools, has concentrated on understanding the strengths and opportunities for improvement within the West Bend School District.  On November 30, 2016, Olson shared a summary of findings and next steps in his Listen and Learn Community Update, which included meeting with District leaders to understand existing programs and processes.  

"Focusing on strengths while addressing opportunities for improvement are essential to fostering positive, student-centered environments," Olson said.  "By further exploring options, conversing about possibilities, and delineating steps and strategies for improvements, the District can realize its ambitious aim of Excellence for All.  Through systemic change, we can focus on the ultimate goal to Prepare All Students for College Readiness and Career Success."

After collaborative discussions and input from the 2016 listening sessions, Olson provided the WBSD Assessment and Accountability department with a directive to focus on reviewing the District’s balanced assessment system.  The Director of Accountability and Assessment, Kurt Becker, will lead the review process.  

Recognize and honor exceptional teachers and support staff members by nominating them for the 2016-2017 Rolfs Educational Foundation Award and the Support Staff of the Year award. The Nomination deadline is February 24, 2017. Visit the staff awards web page to submit a nomination and view award details and criteria.

Rolfs Educational Foundation Award: This is the 46th year the Rolfs Educational Foundation Award will honor exceptional teaching ability in the West Bend School District. The Rolfs Award is granted to qualifying teachers in the West Bend School District.The Rolfs Educational Foundation gives four awards of $1,000 each to a teacher in each of the four categories: elementary school, middle school, high school, and special services educators. Nominations can be submitted by peers, administration, students in grade 5-12, parents and community members. Students may nominate their current or former teacher. Nominations by immediate family members will not be accepted.

Support Employee of the Year: Nomination criteria for the Support Employee of the Year award includes: Learning for All, Innovation, Visionary Leadership, Results/Data-Driven Decisions, Customer Satisfaction, Our People, Commitment and Engagement, and Stewardship. These criteria are based on the West Bend School District's core values. Support employees must have at least three or more nominations to be considered. Nominations for the support employee award can be submitted by peers, administration, students in grade 5-12, parents and community members. Nominations by immediate family members will not be accepted.

Greetings staff, families, and community members:

Last July, I began my role as West Bend’s Superintendent.  As a new community member, my initial goal was to learn about the West Bend School District and genuinely listen to a variety of opinions.  One of my top priorities has been to visit with teachers and staff, meet the students and families at each school, and meet with community members.  I have had the wonderful opportunity to see children learning and creatively thinking in their classes and to talk to educators about their opinions of our school climate, interpersonal dynamics, and areas of concern.  

While learning about the community is an ongoing goal, over the past five months, my focus was on:

1. Understanding the strengths within the West Bend School District

2. Understanding the opportunities for improvement within the West Bend School District

3. What the district would be known for in five years, and

4. What indicators would signal I am off to a strong start as your superintendent.  

From my listening sessions, themes emerged and are summarized in the attached link.  The ideas generated will inform my next leadership steps.  As an example, I will meet with District leaders to understand existing programs and processes, and then collaboratively explore areas that can be improved.  Through understanding various opinions and reasons for current processes, then change can be carefully considered to strengthen the organization.  From this “deep” dive, I will  be able to leverage strengths, prioritize opportunities for improvement, focus on five-year goals, and continue to reflect on my leadership style to help support our learning environments for all students and work environments for all the District’s employees.  

Regards,

Erik

To all qualified electors of West Bend Joint School District No. 1:

A school board election will be held on Tuesday, April 4, 2017 to fill three at-large seats on the West Bend School Board, each with an expiration date of April 2020.  Interested individuals are required to file a DECLARATION OF CANDIDACY FORM and a CAMPAIGN REGISTRATION STATEMENT.  These completed forms can be dropped off at the Education Service Center, 735 S. Main Street, West Bend (across from Badger Middle School).  The deadline for filing is 5  p.m. on Tuesday, January 3, 2017.

Please note that the Education Service Center office will be closed December 23, 26, 30 and January 2, 2017.  If you have any questions, please call 262-335-5435.