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WASB_boarddocspro_8.25”x10.75.pdf 1 02/04/2019 21:30 F oc u BECOME EVEN MORE EFFECTIVE WITH sed. Accou WASB BOARDDOCS PRO! Take your meeting management to the next level with the most robust board management tool available. Designed to fit the needs of school Some features include: Advanced document workflow with electronic approvals from an unlimited number of document submitter C Integrated strategic plan and goal tracking n M Automatic generation of minutes and live meeting control panel Y for all board actions t CM ab MY Integrated private annotations for executive users CY CMY Much more! K l e. D a t a-S a vvy. Learn more! BoardDocs.com (800) 407-0141 December 2020 | Volume 74 Number 15 THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE WISCONSIN ASSOCIATION OF SCHOOL BOARDS, INC. John H. Ashley Executive Editor Sheri Krause Editor Director of Communications n REGIONAL OFFICES n 122 W. Washington Avenue Madison, WI 53703 Phone: 608-257-2622 Fax: 608-257-8386 132 W. Main Street Winneconne, WI 54986 Phone: 920-582-4443 Fax: 920-582-9951 n ADVERTISING n 608-556-9009 • [email protected] n WASB OFFICERS n NORTHLAND ELECTRICAL SERVICES DONATED ALTERNATIVE SEATING TO THE NEW LONDON SCHOOL DISTRICT John H. Ashley Executive Director Bill Yingst, Sr. Business Honor Roll 2020 We Are Listening! Durand-Arkansaw, Region 4 4 School districts and businesses 16 Lynn Armitage President partner up to lend support and RERIC partners with Sue Todey create opportunities for students. rural Wisconsin. Sevastopol, Region 3 1st Vice President Barbara Herzog The Voice of Students Your Superintendent Oshkosh, Region 7 8 Sharon Belton, Ph.D. 20 Matchmaker 2nd Vice President Returning to school in How WASB Superintendent Brett Hyde a COVID-19 environment. Search Services helps boards Muskego-Norway, Region 11 find the right fit. Immediate Past President Exit Interviews Done Right n WASB BOARD OF DIRECTORS n 12 School Perceptions survey helps Linda Flottum Mike Humke districts reveal why employees Turtle Lake, Region 1 Dodgeville, Region 9 are leaving, and how best to retain them in the future. Capt. Terry McCloskey, Bill Wipperfurth USN Retired Lodi, Region 10 Three Lakes, Region 2 Tom Weber Jim Bouché Sun Prairie, Region 12 DEPARTMENTS & COLUMNS Wausau, Region 5 Rosanne Hahn Mary Jo Rozmenoski Burlington, Region 13 Black River Falls, Region 6 Tony Baez 2 News Briefs Andrew Maertz Milwaukee, Region 14 Reedsville, Region 8 Cherie Rhodes 3 Viewpoint — Using Evaluations to Build Strong Relationships Slinger, Region 15 24 Association News — Upcoming Workshops, WASB Member Wisconsin School News (USPS 688-560) Level 5 Recognition, WASB Organizational Services Changes, is published 10 issues per year by the Wisconsin Association of School Boards, Inc., WASB Annual Board Development Tool 122 W. Washington Avenue, Madison, WI 53703. Contents © 2020 Wisconsin Association of School Boards, Inc. Subscriptions are available to nonmembers 26 Centennial Anniversary — Highlights From the New Millennium for $85 per year. Periodicals postage is paid at Madison, Wis., and other additional entry offices. The views expressed in Wisconsin School News are 28 Capitol Watch — 2020 Election Analysis those of the authors and do not necessarily represent WASB policies or positions. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to 30 Legal Comment — Legal Implications of Employee Handbooks Wisconsin School News, 122 W. Washington Ave., Madison, WI 53703. NEWS BRIEFS Neenah High School REPORT: Black Students Miss 5 Times Recognized for More Class Time Due to Suspensions Inclusive Athletics lack students nationwide lost days per 100 students. eenah High School has been nearly five times as many days Minnesota’s gap was just over named a Special Olympics Unified to suspension as white students half of Wisconsin’s. The report Champion School on the 2020 in 2015-16, according to an includes some good news for Wis- N B October 2020 report from the UCLA consin. The state’s Black suspension ESPN Honor Roll, one of 36 schools across the nation (and the only one in Civil Rights Project. rates dropped by 27% from 2011-12 Wisconsin) to be given the honor. Wisconsin had the sixth-highest to 2015-16. The program’s three main compo- gap in days of instruction lost between The report, which is available nents, according to a press release, Black and white students in middle online, suggests educators pursue are inclusive youth leadership, whole- and high school. The state’s Black “nonpunitive strategies — alternatives school engagement and inclusive students lost 134 days of instruction that teach responsibility, enhance social sports among students with and per 100 students, compared to 10 days and emotional learning, and help without disabilities. for white students, for a gap of 124 students improve their conduct.” N One highlight of its athletic program is an annual unified basket- STAT OF THE MONTH ball game between faculty and Neenah High School’s Special Olym- pics team. The high school is one of only a handful in Wisconsin with a Special Olympics program. The district’s efforts start early, 124 including a youth athletes’ program where children with and without Number of lost days of instruction that Wisconsin middle and disabilities participate together. N high school Black students lost due to suspensions in excess of what white students lost in 2015-16. Source: UCLA Civil Rights Project Hackers Increasingly Targeting School Districts riminal groups are ramping up McFarland District Receives attacks on local school districts, C according to cybersecurity Million-Dollar Racial Equity Grant experts quoted in a recent Detroit Free Press story. he McFarland School District has Partnership Program’s oversight com- Doug Levin, founder of the K-12 received a $1 million grant to mittee, told the McFarland Thistle that the Cybersecurity Resource Center, told support the social and emotional award recipients “were chosen based on the newspaper that districts tend to health of its Black students. The their intent to address and acknowledge use older equipment and software. Tgrant, awarded by the University of the correlation between societal/mental They may also not devote as many Wisconsin’s Wisconsin Partnership well-being and racial equality.” resources to cyber defenses as private Program, will be used to help close “The award recipients address issues companies do. the achievement gap in part by that are key to our societal well-being: Student personal information can funding an expansion of a mentoring health disparities, including those directly be valuable, he says, because crimi- program, Natural Circles of Support. worsened by COVID-19, and the impact of nals can open credit using the records The program began in 2017 with racism on health,” Kind said. “By of students, who may not monitor mentoring circles that allowed students of addressing the building blocks of health, their credit. Alternatively, criminals color to share their experiences. It has including social connection, employment, may hack into a school system and demand ransom to regain access. grown into a collaboration between stu- economic stability and access to care, More than 1,000 cyber attacks dents and staff with the goal of improving these initiatives have the potential to on K-12 school systems have been the school’s racial climate. forge new and innovative paths that reported since 2016. N Amy Kind, chair of the Wisconsin dismantle barriers to achieving health.” N Connect with the WASB! Twitter @wasbwi Facebook facebook.com/WISchoolBoards 2 | WISCONSIN SCHOOL NEWS VIEWPOINT JOHN H. A SHLEY Using Evaluations to Build Strong Relationships s we approach the end of 2020, WASB consultants, most of whom are driven decision making. I’m proud to announce the cul- former superintendents, it is intended This year, we added new questions mination of two major projects to help boards strengthen the pivotal about a board’s role in meeting the WASB staff and consultants have relationship with their superintendent needs of all students to foster conver- Abeen working on this year. But before and improve the overall leadership of sations about how resources are allo- we get to that, I would be remiss in the district based on mutual respect cated and decisions are made to not acknowledging the potential for and understanding. substantial changes coming our way in The Framework includes evalua- ensure positive outcomes for all stu- 2021 with the transition to the new tion requirements, key considerations, dents. For those who have been using federal administration, Congress and prompts, questions, self-assessment the survey tool annually, we kept the state Legislature in January and a new tools, goals, a job description audit existing questions so you can continue state superintendent in April. tool, sample artifacts and more. It is comparing each year’s results. I encourage you to read the aligned to state and national leader- In addition, we’re excited to Capitol Watch column on page 28 ship standards and the district’s job announce that School Perceptions for an insightful look at how state description. added an administrator dashboard to and federal changes may impact your In recognition that boards often allow districts to more easily admin- local district. Watch for more infor- evaluate their superintendents on a mation from the WASB in the coming series of goals over a multi-year ister the survey tool. Districts now months as our federal and state cycle, the Framework is being have a single web page to send the elected officials begin new terms. offered as a three-year subscription. survey to its members, monitor Now for the announcements — For one low fee, the district receives responses, send reminders and access during this challenging time, it’s even access to the Framework for three real-time results. You can also now more important for boards to take a years as well as two hours of WASB preview the survey in its entirety by step back and assess their effective- consultation time to begin the imple- using the link on the WASB website.