By Dave Fidlin
Correspondent
The five public school districts that serve students in elementary, middle and high school throughout the greater Waterford area have been in the midst of a busy, productive year, officials said recently.
These school districts are Waterford Union High School; Washington-Caldwell; North Cape; Drought (Norway Joint 7); and Waterford Graded.
Administrators and elected officials overseeing the districts met March 28 with municipal leaders at a bi-annual joint meeting held at the high school.
Waterford Union High School, which serves students throughout the area, has embarked on a number of initiatives this school year, according to Superintendent Keith Brandstetter.
Highlights to date for the 2011-12 school year include a well-attended Veteran’s Day program and a content-learning initiative designed to have all teachers deliver the same material in curricular area.
Next year, Brandstetter said Waterford Union is planning a community day that will give residents an opportunity to get a feel for what it’s like to go to class in today’s learning environment.
“We have great kids who work hard and take school seriously,” Brandstetter said.
Drought School is the smallest within Waterford Union High School’s footprint. Enrollment this year within the K-8 district has hovered around 76 students.
“We continue to offer small class sizes and have a strong level of parental involvement,” School Board President Don Walter said. “Our parents seem pretty happy. We don’t hear too much.”
Walter echoed a sentiment shared through the meeting: Drought officials remain committed to pooling resources with the other K-8 districts and the high school, particularly when it comes to saving money.
In the North Cape School District, administrators and board members have been focusing on technology. A new website for the school was launched recently, and officials are planning to implement upgrades within the school in the near future.
“We’re setting up the infrastructure to look at what we can handle,” School Board member Tom Halter said.
Mark Pienkos, superintendent and principal at the Washington-Caldwell School District, said enrollment within at Washington, the district’s sole facility, has held steady at 210 students.
This year, Pienkos said the School Board and administrators have embarked on a number of initiatives, including goals centered around increasing student achievement, improving facilities and keeping a watchful eye on the budgeting process.
School staff also are gearing up for a new initiative set to launch in the fall. Students in grades 6 to 8 will be issued iPads in an effort to enhance student learning.
“It’s not going to be a toy; it’s going to be an important learning tool,” Pienkos said. “This is something that will help our students in a 21st Century learning environment.”
Fellow K-8 feeder district Waterford Graded began a similar initiative this school year with the roll-out of Netbooks for seventh-graders through a “one-to-one” laptop program at Fox River Middle School.
During the roundtable discussion, Superintendent Chris Joch pointed out Fox River’s recent recognition as an exemplary school by the Association of Wisconsin School Administrators based on standardized test scores.
“It has re-energized all of our staff,” Joch said. “It was a nice pat on the back.”
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