WWW.KEWASKUMSCHOOLS.ORG KEWASKUM SCHOOL DISTRICT EDUCATING WITH AN EYE TO FUTURE SUCCESS
EDUCATING WITH AN EYE TO FUTURE SUCCESS KEWASKUM SCHOOL DISTRICT AT A GLANCE KEWASKUM SCHOOL DISTRICT WHAT: A small but thriving school district serving 1800 students WHERE: Kewaskum, Wisconsin WEBSITE: www.kewaskumschools.org ENGAGING STUDENTS AND IGNITING A PASSION FOR LEARNING 1 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 06, ISSUE 08
Kewaskum School District may be small in size, but it is raising the bar in Wisconsin. This student focused district takes a thoughtful and proactive approach to everything from staff engagement and community partnerships to literacy and technology, ensuring that every learner has access to a relevant and high quality education. 2 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 06, ISSUE 08
Superintendent Mark Bazata shares, “In the Kewaskum School District we work hard to be an exceptional place to work and learn, and that drives everything that we do.” PRIORITIZING STAFF FOR STUDENT BENEFIT With teacher shortages on the rise, Kewaskum is setting itself apart through exceptional staff engagement. “There’s been national teacher shortages, and Wisconsin is no different,” Bazata acknowledges. “So, we’ve been focused on making sure that our staff feel like they are part of the school district. Right now, we’re very proud to say that we’re about twice the national average on staff engagement according to the Gallup Q12 survey.” Efforts are made to ensure employees feel heard and supported, involving them in decision making, providing materials to do their jobs well, and offering continuous opportunities to learn and grow. “ We want them to be able to develop in our district, and we try to make sure that they feel like they’re being engaged in the work that they do,” he adds. “We have a variety of different levels of support for our staff, from our mentoring program, to hiring and having instructional coaches that work with them in different aspects of literacy and math.” FROM GAPS TO GROWTH The post COVID era has brought new challenges to learning, including a sharp rise in chronic absenteeism.“Those are students who’ve missed 10 or more percent of the school year,” Bazata outlines. To address this, Kewaskum School District has hired a family liaison to work with those who have barriers in getting their children to school on a daily basis. Making sure that every student has a connection to at least one adult in the school is another part of the effort. “This way, they’ve got one trusted adult at school who has their back. We feel like those connections help kids feel more comfortable, maybe even reduce the anxiety some students experience coming to school,” he explains. “As a result, we ended up dropping our chronic absenteeism almost in half.” Literacy has also been an area of concentration. 3 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 06, ISSUE 08 KEWASKUM SCHOOL DISTRICT
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“We realized that we had some gaps in our learning and how our students were performing,” states Jody Heipp, Director of Student Learning and Services. In response, the district launched a curriculum adoption process across all grade levels. “We did a pilot with the entire elementary staff, which most districts do not engage in, but it was important that we had the training, data, and support from them on that,” Heipp adds. A similar process was followed at the middle school and high school, expanding from a small pilot to a schoolwide trial before the new resource was formally adopted.“It’s been a really positive experience,” she noted. “We took a close look at the data and had strong support from our teachers. They are fully on board and committed to doing whatever it takes to help our students thrive and succeed.” “It’s been a really positive experience of really examining that data and getting the support from the teachers,” she notes. “They were so on board, and they wanted to do whatever we can do to help our students thrive and learn.” Math is another evolving area at Kewaskum, and a new screening tool helps identify both learning gaps and academic strengths. Additionally, a math coach works closely with secondary teachers to meet their support needs. 5 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 06, ISSUE 08 KEWASKUM SCHOOL DISTRICT
When it comes to STEM and STEAM offerings, the district integrates technology at an early age. “At the elementary level, we are focusing on that digital literacy piece, to find out different ways to incorporate technology use,” says Heipp. “Children are utilizing technology earlier than ever before. This means we need to prepare them to use the materials and resources appropriately and safely, including incorporating AI.” .” A PATH TO OPPORTUNITY The district has also built clear career pathways, guiding students to choose an area of interest and follow it through to graduation. “We know things change,” says Heipp. “Based on this, we have to initiate these conversations early, with ACP already starting in elementary school, where counselors are talking to them about what they want to be when they grow up. We have a curriculum scope and sequence , starting at the elementary level,, and then they engage in various programs that show where their strengths and passions are, and we try to align those together .” With this in mind, students can explore their interests through volunteering, school-to-work programs, and youth apprenticeships. Notably, over the past five years the district has tripled the number of students participating in work-based learning opportunities. “We are really proud of that,” Bazata touts. One highlight is a technology class where students teach senior citizens how to use smartphones. “We also have students who volunteer at our local retirement community,” he relays.“We feel like having those generational connections is really important for our community.” 6 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 06, ISSUE 08
SOUND FINANCES AND SMART FACILITIES At Kewaskum School District strong programming is backed by equally strong fiscal management. “Wisconsin school funding has been tough to work with over the last decade,” points out Business Manager Keith Brightman. “But this district has sound budgeting and fiscal practices and no deferred maintenance. We have facility maintenance that we need to keep up with, but we don’t have things that we haven’t done that we should have done. That’s a good indicator of things being well managed in the past. We want to continue that trend as we look forward.” Unlike many districts, Kewaskum has kept food service and custodial work in house, finding both cost savings and staffing consistency.Although Kewaskum outsources student transportation to Johnson School 7 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 06, ISSUE 08 KEWASKUM SCHOOL DISTRICT
Bus, that has been a 50 year partnership.“We’ve had a strong working relationship with them for many years, focusing on safety, reliability, and efficiency,” conveys Brightman. Making sure students have access to up-to-date technology is another priority. “We’ve been very good about keeping pace with what those needs are and replacing things as we need to. We don’t have deferred technology needs. We’re just keeping up and planning into the next steps, which is included in our operating budget that we have,” Brightman expands. Currently Kewaskum is planning a kitchen renovation at an elementary school, collaborating with Boelter, a foodservice design firm, to develop an updated layout that supports its focus on health and nutrition. This project follows the recent installation of a new 8 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 06, ISSUE 08
cooler at the secondary school, completed with the help of CD Smith Construction. Bazata recounts,“One of our main goals is to try to incorporate as much fresh fruit and vegetables as we can, to help promote healthy eating in our school district. We were able to add that addition onto the high school so that our Food and Nutrition Director would have enough space to provide nutritious meals to students.” GROWTH AND PREPARATION As Kewaskum School District looks to the future, its goals reflect the needs of students, staff, and the greater community. “We always want to make sure that our students are learning and that they’re prepared for the diverse futures that are ahead of them,” asserts Bazata. Getting the best return on the community’s investment is also key, along with creating a workplace where staff feel supported. “If the teachers and the staff are excited about coming to work and working with kids, then we’re going to see that translate to kids excited about being at school.” A focus on continuous improvement is at the core 9 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 06, ISSUE 08 KEWASKUM SCHOOL DISTRICT
PREFERRED VENDOR/PARTNER n Risetech Partners www.risetechpartners.com Risetech Partners provides Managed IT & Cybersecurity Services to organizations based in SE Wisconsin. Our Managed IT Services framework is ideal for organizations with 20 to 250 employees that want to increase productivity and reduce risk. We leverage inhouse expertise and strategic partnerships to deliver a comprehensive approach to cybersecurity. of Kewaskum School District’s continued evolution. “The one thing we know that’s going to be constant is change,” Bazata imparts. “We need to be able to equip our students and our staff to be able to adapt and learn and pivot when necessary.” That adaptability, combined with a strong sense of purpose and community support, sets the district up for continued progress. “I love coming to work each day because we’ve got amazing kids, dedicated staff, very supportive families, the community, and a forward-thinking board that really sets us up, not just for success now, but in the future as well,” he concludes. 10 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 06, ISSUE 08
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