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