Wisconsin Education NewsJune 12, 2026A daily update of education news and events that are taking place around Wisconsin. Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance: Seeks applicants for next director MADISON — The Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance (WSAA) is accepting applications for the position of Director of Government Relations. SAA advocates on behalf of school and district leaders to ensure Wisconsin students receive the highest-quality education possible. The Director of Government Relations will serve as a key voice for more than 4,000 educational leaders across the state, representing the alliance before education associations, the Wisconsin legislature, the Department of Public Instruction, the governor’s office, and other agencies. When Sarada Weber began her teaching career 27 years ago in California, there was no mentor waiting to guide her through the challenges of her first year in the classroom. There, much of the learning happened through trial and error. Classroom management, lesson planning, family communication and the hundreds of decisions teachers make each day were often left for new educators to figure out on their own. Now, across the country in MMSD, Weber helps ensure the newest teachers do not have to navigate those challenges alone. JANESVILLE — Janesville parents whose students would attend Washington Elementary School this coming school year learned new details of how the year will look as Washington remains closed after massive flooding in April. District Superintendent Mark Holzman told parents the district has the summer to reconfigure space at Madison and Adams elementary schools — the two schools where Washington students were sent after the April 17 floods closed Washington. The game plan now is to configure the two buildings so Adams and Madison can absorb all the Washington class sections that will migrate to the schools for a full year in 2026-2027. VASD among state leaders in math growth, report says The Verona Area School District ranks among Wisconsin's top districts for student math growth, according to a recent report from the Education Scorecard, a national research project led by researchers at Harvard and Stanford universities. According to a VASD news release, the report found Verona, along with the Hamilton and Elmbrook school districts, was among the state’s leaders in math achievement growth between 2022 and 2025. Beloit School Board to discuss elevating assistant superintendent BELOIT — A former elementary school teacher who advanced to principal and assistant superintendent may be in line to be the School District of Beloit’s next interim superintendent. Current interim superintendent Wayne Anderson notified the school board last week that he will retire on June 30. The board met Tuesday to discuss in closed session their next steps. Wausau students head to Japan as musical ambassadors WAUSAU, Wis. (WAOW) - Twelve Wausau Schools students are taking their talents overseas as they begin an exciting performance tour across Japan. The students recently departed for the trip, which will take them to Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka, where they will serve as musical ambassadors while experiencing Japanese culture firsthand. School Board hears that Haugen Elementary's longterm outlook remains a concern The longterm outlook of its rural school remains on the minds of parents and community members at Haugen even though school is out for the summer. Another parent shared her questions and concerns with the Rice Lake Board of Education at its 20-minute meeting Monday, June 8. Angie Peterson said ever since the abrupt announcement that the School Board was voting on the potential closing of Haugen Elementary School she has been "taking it all in and still hasn't digested it fully." 50 electric school buses to transport MPS kids starting this fall Beginning this fall, thousands of students will catch rides to and from Milwaukee Public Schools by electric bus. At an event June 8, MPS unveiled the arrival of the new electric buses, 50 of which will transport about 6,000 students starting this September. MPS officials said its transportation partners will add another 100 electric buses to service by the 2028-29 school year. Fond du Lac elementary school Roberts School on chopping block to help alleviate district deficit The Fond du Lac School District continues down the path of possibly eliminating one of the schools in the city. Earlier this week, school superintendent Matt Steinbarth announced a recommendation to close Roberts Elementary School and consolidate STEM Academy with Woodworth Middle School, turning the Morningside Drive location into a shared facility. MPS, Mayor Hail Success of ‘Adopt-A-School’ From Milwaukee City Hall to Milwaukee Public Schools, more than 100 workers spent time in classrooms over the past nine months as part of a new initiative aimed at improving academic outcomes and student well-being. Adopt-A-School held 62 events across nine schools during its inaugural year, yielding a 1.7% attendance increase and a 7.4% decrease in disciplinary actions compared with the previous school year. The Wisconsin teacher who built America's first kindergarten in 1856 WATERTOWN — A little known history fact about Wisconsin is that the state is home to the country's first kindergarten. It was a German-speaking kindergarten created by Margarethe Meyer Schurz in 1856 in Watertown. Schurz moved from Germany to Watertown with her family. She started teaching in her home but quickly outgrew that space. MADISON, Wis. – The Wisconsin Department of Justice (DOJ) today joined a multistate lawsuit challenging the U.S. Department of Education’s (Department) discontinuation of awarded grants under the State Personnel Development Grant (SPDG) program. These competitive grants provide critical funding for the professional development of special education staff and support services for children with disabilities. In the lawsuit, the coalition urges the Court to find the discontinuation of funds to be unlawful and emphasizes the harmful impact of the discontinuation on essential resources for schools, educators, and parents to support students with disabilities. Madison schools buy $278K digital platform to track students’ feelings Starting next school year, Madison elementary students will take a weekly survey about their feelings on a new online platform, following the School Board's approval despite initial concerns. When district administrators first proposed the platform, called Sown to Grow, to the School Board this year, several members expressed doubts about using an online curriculum to gauge students’ social and emotional well-being. After an hour-long discussion in which some members indicated they would vote against the contract, the board postponed voting. Appleton-area schools miss out on millions of dollars after bill fails Reader question: How much money did the Appleton and Neenah school districts lose out on when Senate Democrats nixed the $1.8 billion tax relief and school funding bill? Answer: Before the Wisconsin Senate voted down the bill, the nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau calculated the additional special education aid and the additional general school aid that would have been sent to each school district in the state over the next two years. The combined amounts for area school districts are listed below. Common Council approves school district appeal of Emerson historic designation LA CROSSE (WKBT) -- La Crosse's Common Council voted on Thursday to approve the School District of La Crosse's appeal of the Heritage Preservation Committee's decision to designate the Emerson Elementary property as a historic structure. In a vote of 7-4, the council approved the district's appeal of the historic designation. Emerson Elementary is located at 2001/2101 Campbell Road. Shawano schools look at library curriculum The Shawano School District is looking at implementing a new library curriculum for its four libraries as part of a three-year plan that is expected to be approved by the Shawano School Board on June 22. The plan is a requirement of the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, according to Aleksandra Hernandez, the district’s new library media specialist. It is slated to be on the board’s consent agenda and will not add any cost to the district, as the library funding is provided through Common School Funds — a permanent, state-funded trust established by the state constitution in 1848. Fond du Lac School District exploring closing two school buildings FOND DU LAC (NBC 26) — Following two failed referendums, the Fond du Lac school board is recommending the closure of Roberts Elementary School and the Stem Academy building. The Stem Academy however would be housed inside Woodworth Middle School for the 2027-28 school year and beyond. "And then we looked more in depth at those schools," Moder said. "And when we looked at enrollment, that really put Roberts at the top." MMSD announces school leadership transitions The Madison Metropolitan School District announced Friday numerous principal and assistant principal assignments for the 2026–2027 school year, and several new leadership appointments. “These transitions align the unique strengths of each of these leaders with the evolving needs of our schools,” said Superintendent Joe Gothard in a statement. “I am excited to see the impact these leaders will have as they step into new roles and opportunities across MMSD.” Menasha picks Slowey as next schools superintendent MENASHA, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — An administrator from Green Bay schools is in line to lead the Menasha school district. The district has selected Dan Slowey to be its next superintendent. The move still needs to be approved by the full school board next Tuesday. Medford High School looks to recognise alumni veterans with "Wall of Honor" MEDFORD, Wis (WJFW) - The Medford School District was visited by Bill Vach of the Medford VFW last year. With the idea to add a “Wall of Honor” to the high school, to honor former students that served in the military. “It’s one way to recognize the men and women that were willing to sacrifice their lives to keep this country safe.” said Vach, a Marine veteran from the Vietnam war. DPI awards charter school grants to NE Wisconsin schools The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction awarded $18.5 million in federal subgrants to support the planning, opening and expansion of 27 charter schools across the state. This marks the third round of funding under a U.S. Department of Education grant designed to strengthen and grow charter school opportunities in Wisconsin. District adding open enrollment seats for ‘26-27 The Oregon School District Board of Education voted at its Monday, June 8 meeting to open additional open enrollment spots based on current enrollments and available space in classes. The board had decided the number of spaces for the acceptance of open enrollment students in January, however the board can now accept additional applications even though multiple applications were denied in January. Dept. of Workforce Development: DWD awards $1 Million in teacher training and recruitment grants MADISON – The Wisconsin Department of Workforce (DWD) today awarded $1 million in grants to four organizations to train 84 educators through the Wisconsin Fast Forward Teacher Training and Recruitment Grant Program. This funding supports efforts to train and recruit teachers where shortages are most prevalent in Wisconsin. MSPD Facilities Committee To Look At Middle And High School Buildings The Manitowoc Public School District’s Facilities Advisory Committee will be getting back to work soon. That was the committee that worked to right-size the district, which included closing two elementary schools. Sources of Strength program finishes year eight At North Crawford NORTH CRAWFORD - Katrina Johnson has been instrumental in driving the development, funding and implementation of the ‘Sources of Strength’ program at North Crawford, and other school districts throughout Southwest Wisconsin. At North Crawford, the evidence-based program for suicide prevention, bullying, mental health, sexual violence, and alcohol has just completed its eighth year. Johnson and a team of students and staff provided an update to the North Crawford School Board at their May 20 meeting in the ‘District Showcase’ portion of the agenda. Hi-Mount school seeks turnaround after years of decline “All eyes fixed on Hi-Mount,” the newspaper headline read. The school was “the city’s showcase of school reform,” the story said. That was then – November 1995, to be specific. The story on Hi-Mount Community School, which I wrote, was part of an extensive project by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel examining the state of Milwaukee Public Schools. Why did we single out the school? Because at that time, the kindergarten through fifth-grade school near North 49th Street and West North Avenue was pioneering ways to create vibrant school culture. The school had high energy and positive involvement. MPS superintendent: There is 'absolutely' hope for future of north-side schools Who cares about Hi-Mount Community School? Who cares about a list of around 20 other schools on Milwaukee’s north side where student achievement is low, enrollment has fallen, and resources and vitality have ebbed over the last quarter century? There has been little in the way of large or bold efforts to make things better for these schools in the Milwaukee Public Schools system. The only big and bold effort on Milwaukee’s education scene in the last generation has been the rise of schools outside of MPS, private schools where publicly funded vouchers support much of the school budget, or charter schools, publicly funded schools with a large degree of independence. Lawsuit alleges Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction violated open meetings law A new lawsuit from the conservative Institute for Reforming Government alleges the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction violated open meetings law when it held a conference in the Wisconsin Dells in 2024. The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in Adams County Circuit Court, focuses on a four-day conference at the Chula Vista Resort where DPI met with educators and Data Recognition Corporation, the vendor for the Forward Exam, to work on standard setting.
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