Wisconsin Education NewsJune 1, 2026A daily update of education news and events that are taking place around Wisconsin. Meadow View Elementary School, in the Sun Prairie Area School District, has been recognized as a National Leader in Me Lighthouse School by FranklinCovey. The distinction was announced in May and celebrated during Meadow View's fourth annual Leadership Day on Friday, May 29, when students showcased leadership projects, shared their learning, and demonstrated the habits and skills that have transformed their school community. Meadow View is the first school in the Sun Prairie Area School District and the first school in Dane County to earn Lighthouse Certification. There are approximately 872 Lighthouse Schools worldwide, with 727 of those schools being in the United States. Meadow View is the third school in Wisconsin to receive this distinction. Evers visits Suring schools in aftermath of relief failure Gov. Tony Evers paid a visit to the Suring School District to check out the impressive work teachers and staff are doing with younger and older students alike, even as he feels the sting from the defeat a bipartisan bill he negotiated with Republican leaders in the Wisconsin Legislature. That bill would have, among other things, helped reimburse schools for special education expenses. During a tour of the school, Evers got to join a class full of kindergarten students as they learned to scribble their feelings in various colors on coffee filters. He got to see the inner workings of Suring’s crown gem, the Suring Marketing and Agriculture Center, filled with items from students and community members to sell. His final stop was to meet the student organization REDgen, which raises resilience, reduces stigma and helps to bring up mental health and well-being for middle and high school students. Report shows DeForest School District's chronic absenteeism rates dip below state average A report on the learning environment in the DeForest School District showed strengths and areas for improvement. The school board heard a presentation on the issue at its May 11 meeting, which included news that the district’s chronic absenteeism rate now sits below the state average of 17.3%. A focus on providing proactive attendance information to families seems to have played a role, according to Dyanna Kadrich, director of student services. Interns graduate Project SEARCH with new confidence and job skills EAU CLAIRE (WQOW) – A year ago, Sadie Alger didn't see herself talking in front of a crowded auditorium or working in a job with a lot of social interaction. "I used to not be social and hide in a corner," Alger said. Now, she has a job she loves, working in food service at Mayo Clinic hospital in Eau Claire while utilizing some of her new skills. "I did job skills together as a team and I feel like that really impacted my life," she said. Alger is one of this year's interns graduating from Project SEARCH, a program through the Eau Claire Area School District (ECASD) and Mayo Clinic Health System for students with disabilities across the Chippewa Valley to develop and grow job and social skills Amery School District projects fund balance recovery after $2 million in cuts The Amery School District's financial picture is improving, according to budget projections presented Tuesday by a financial advisor who told the school board the district is on track to rebuild a fund balance that has been shrinking for four consecutive years. Debby Brunett of Baird Public Finance presented a budget forecast model showing the district projected to carry a fund balance of nearly $5.4 million, or about 29% of expenditures, by the end of the 2026-27 fiscal year — up from a negative $221,582, or negative 1%, at the close of 2024-25. Superintendents of state's largest school districts call for more support from lawmakers MADISON, Wis. — The leaders of the five largest school districts in Wisconsin are calling on the State Legislature to do more for public schools. Part of the failed $1.8 billion budget surplus spending plan included more than $600 million for public schools in two separate categories. About $300 million would have gone towards increasing the special education reimbursement rate to a record high 50%, resulting in a $6.9 million boost for the Kenosha Unified School District.Superintendent Jeff Weiss said that money would have created more flexibility for his district. Fond du Lac schools range from 25 years to almost 120 years Fond du Lac STEM Academy opened in 2012. The building previously contained Franklin Elementary School. Year built: 1907. MPS Budget Closes $46 Million Gap, Adds 159 Teaching Jobs The Milwaukee School Board approved a $1.6 billion budget plan Thursday night that eliminates the $46 million deficit identified earlier this year. The budget includes adding 159 more teaching positions and more paraprofessional positions to reduce class sizes and continue offering students art, music and physical education classes. Wausau seniors take one last walk down memory lane WAUSAU, Wis. (WSAW) - Graduating seniors in the Wausau School District said goodbye to their old elementary and middle schools Friday morning. Seniors from Wausau East and Wausau West walked the halls of their old schools one last time in what has become an end-of-school-year tradition. Students and staff lined the halls to cheer them on. Class of 2026 Makes History for Beaver Dam's GPS Education Partners Program (BEAVER DAM) Fifteen students from the Class of 2026 are making history as the first group to complete both years of the GPS Education Partners program at Generac’s Beaver Dam facility, gaining valuable workplace experience while still in high school and positioning themselves for success after graduation. The students spend half of each school day taking classes at Generac and the other half working at the company through a youth apprenticeship model that blends academics with hands-on career training. Eleven of the students are from Beaver Dam High School, while four attend Dodgeland High School. School District of Janesville moves administrative staff, board meetings amid remodeling JANESVILLE, Wis. -- The School District of Janesville is moving its administrative offices and staff while the Educational Services Center gets a makeover. The remodel includes safety and accessibility improvements such as installing ADA-compliant restrooms, removing asbestos and upgrading the HVAC sysem. The work is expected to take up to a year to complete. Milwaukee schools add hundreds of paraprofessionals to new $1.6B budget (The Center Square) – Milwaukee Public School managers are moving ahead with their plan to cut jobs at its central office, but the school district has changed its mind about classroom cuts. Milwaukee’s school board recently approved a new $1.6 billion budget for the next school year. Originally, MPS Superintendent Brenda Cassellius wanted to cut 260 non-classroom jobs. On Thursday, Cassellius said she’s still planning to make those central office cuts, but her budget now includes hiring hundreds of new paraprofessionals. School district looking at budget surplus next year SHELL LAKE — The Shell Lake School District 2026-27 budget is looking good so far. At the School Board meeting Monday, May 18, Supt. Todd Felhofer said that they are still working on next year’s budget, but a surplus is projected due to the operational referendum that passed in April. The referendum is to exceed the state revenue limit by $650,000 annually over four years, non-recurring, to help with operational expenses. Felhofer said they plan to stockpile this money over those four years. High schoolers tackle a new media frontier: a newspaper When you think of teens producing media, you might think of short-form videos on the latest social media platform. But a group of Wisconsin high school students has been working in an older format. They’re producing a new student newspaper — not as a website, but an actual print edition. The creators of the Prairie Hawk Press released their first print edition in late May as their semester wrapped up. It was produced by students at Madison Country Day School in Waunakee. Student Design Plan Selected for 2026-27 SASD Student-Built Home Plans are moving forward for the next home to be built by high school students in Sheboygan. The Sheboygan Area School District has announced that Sheboygan North senior Madeline Gilson’s architectural design plan has been selected for the 2026–2027 student-built home. School board approves multi-age classrooms at Haugen Elementary School At its meeting Tuesday, May 26, the Rice Lake Board of Education approved two multi-level classrooms at Haugen Elementary School for the 2026-27 school year. Current kindergarten teacher Renae Ekstrand will teach students in 4K and K. There was no 4K teacher this school year. Fourth-grade teacher Michael Brown will teach the combined grades of 3 and 4. Current third-grade teacher Craig Derousseau has taken a job with Ascension Academy's satellite school in Cameron. An open house to familiarize families of students in those grade levels with multi-age classrooms is Monday, June 1, starting at 4:30 p.m. Early Educator Collective crosses districts to support teaching careers The University of Wisconsin-Green Bay is offering the first-of-its-kind coaching program designed to support teachers within their first five years of teaching. The collaborative program will be led by experts in education and coaching including Vicki Bayer, current Green Bay Area Public School superintendent and Kerri Gremminger, professional career coach. The Early Educator Collective is focused on resilience, connection and long-term career sustainability.
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