Monday, October 5, 2020 - 8:01 am
The Wisconsin Association of School Boards has designated Oct. 4-10 as Wisconsin School Board Appreciation Week as a time to build awareness and understanding of the vital function an elected board of education plays in our communities.
The Middleton-Cross Plains Area School District is joining school districts across the state to celebrate Wisconsin School Board Appreciation Week to honor local board members for their commitment to the eight municipalities that make up the District and its children.
“It takes strong schools to build a strong community, and our school board members devote countless hours to making sure our schools are helping every child learn at a higher level,” Superintendent Dana Monogue said. “They lead with care and compassion.”
The nine members of the MCPASD Board of Education are elected to three-year terms. School boards around the state oversee multi-million dollar budgets that fund education programs for more than 867,000 students in more than 420 public school districts.
MCPASD has more than 7,400 students from early childhood and 4K to 12th grade in its schools. There are approximately 1,200 employees in the District.
Monogue said the key work of school boards is to raise student achievement by:
- Creating a vision for what the community wants the school district to be and for making student achievement and engagement the top priority.
- Establishing standards for what students will be expected to learn and be able to do.
- Ensuring progress is measured to be sure the District's goals are being achieved and students are learning at expected levels.
- Being accountable for their decisions and actions by continually tracking and reporting results.
- Creating a safe, orderly climate where students can learn and teachers can teach.
- Forming partnerships with others in the community to solve common problems.
- Focusing attention on the need for continuous improvement by questioning, refining and revising initiatives related to student achievement and a safe, positive learning and working environment.
“School board members give the Middleton-Cross Plains Area citizens a voice in education decision-making,'' Monogue said. "They make the tough decisions every month and spend many hours studying education issues and regulations in order to provide the kind of accountability our citizens expect. Even though we make a special effort to show our appreciation in October, their contribution is a year-round commitment.”
The members, along with the year they started, serving the District include:
- President: Annette Ashley (2011)
- Vice President: Bob Green (2003)
- Clerk: Todd Smith (2016)
- Treasurer: Bob Hesselbein (2018)
- Others: Anne Bauer (2012), Sean Hyland (2015), Minza Karim (2019) Paul Kinne (2014), Katy Morgan (2019).