This is the second report in the CVPost’s series of interviews with school superintendents in six Chippewa Valley public school districts. The interviews will provide overviews of these six districts to help community members understand and compare their values, strengths and achievements as well as the challenges that each one faces.
We hope this series will help make our readers more aware of school district goals and operations, and will increase their understanding of how these six districts contribute to the quality of life in their communities and in the Chippewa Valley as a whole. To see the first report in this series, on the Altoona School District, click here. For the Introduction to the entire series, see http://cvpost.org/13165-2/.
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BASIC INFORMATON: Menomonie Area School District
Enrollment: total about 3,300—about 960 in the high school, 680 in the middle school and 1,490 in five elementary schools.
District Mission: “The School District of the Menomonie Area, by embracing the unique needs and using the strengths of our diverse community, is dedicated to preparing ALL students to become lifelong learners, caring individuals, and responsible citizens.”
Superintendent: Joseph Zydowsky, since 2014. Prior Position: five years as superintendent of the Cadott School District.
District phone number: 715-232-1642
District website: www.msd.k12.wi.us
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By Michael Hilger, for the Chippewa Valley Post
The Menomonie area school district’s collaboration with its community is reflected in both its mission statement and in the number of local partnerships it has established, according to Joseph Zydowsky, its superintendent since 2014.
In an interview with the Chippewa Valley Post, Zydowsky said the mission statement, developed in 2001, was reaffirmed in a 2012 strategic planning process involving 500 area residents which was dubbed “the Great Conversation.” He added that although the statement is quite comprehensive, “the job is never complete.”
Zydowsky said he is “very encouraged by the amount of collaboration and the number of partnerships that we have with the township, city, UW-Stout, and other public and private local entities.”
These partnerships help the district provide its students with “a wonderful experience which encompasses lifelong learning,” he said. For his district, lifelong learning means educating the whole student, he added.
In addition to educating the mind and emotions, Zydowsky said this should include exposure to the fine arts in general, which are sometimes not given enough attention. He noted the kinds of fine arts available in Menomonie and added that appreciating them is a key element of life-long learning.
Zydowsky noted that closing the gap between high and low achieving students is a challenge that Menomonie, like all districts, has to deal with. He emphasized the reference to “ALL students” in the district’s mission statement, and outlined several ways the district is dealing with this challenge:
- A new K-5 math program that brings more consistency to teaching and student evaluation.
- An academic plan that provides struggling students with additional help from teachers , teaching assistants and academic advisers.
- An alternative high school for students who have little desire to learn in a traditional school setting, which provides expanded opportunities for them to become engaged in the learning process.
- A focus on core subjects with expanded programming, such as internships with local businesses
- A well-developed program for dealing with truancy which involves the courts rather than the police.
Zydowsky noted that communicating with the community and with other school districts “is an area we excel in.” He explained that the district maintains email contact with all parents and also uses a website and social media (especially Twitter). There is also a superintendent’s column in the Dunn County News, a superintendent’s blog on the district website and various interactions with community organizations.
Zydowsky said that the district collaborates more with districts to its west and north – such as River Falls and Rice Lake – than with those to the east. He explained that this is because these districtsare all in CESA 11, an organization that provides services such as temporary staff, marketing, and professional development learning opportunities for teachers.
Throughout the interview, Zydowsky referred to specific ways in which the community and school board helped the district remain well organized and financially stable. He noted in particular the nine-member school board with diverse representation from the business, farming and UW-Stout communities. He said this proactive board has made difficult decisions which the community has accepted, such as changes to health and retirement benefits, to create a stable budget.
Other examples that Zydowsky cited include the recent $36 million referendum which the community passed handily, and various local businesses that are working on a local grant to expand the district’s athletic complexes and to cover the cost of field trips.
Zydowsky said that the district sees evaluation of teaching staff as a significant part of its operations. School principals use a method designed to help teachers improve their instruction, which involves several visits to their classes. After two or three meetings with the teachers, the evaluation goes into the record, he said.
All teachers must reach a certain level of quality and, if that doesn’t happen, they are given an improvement plan. Principals and directors are evaluated by Zydowsky and he, in turn, is evaluated by the school board. Zydowsky said the board is currently working with the Wisconsin Association of School Boards to develop a new format for this process.
Zydowsky commented that, although he appreciated all the districts he had worked in, Menomonie has the best amount of collaboration with the community. He and his wife are “very pleased” with the education their three children are getting in Menomonie, he said.
Michael Hilger is an English professor emeritus at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and a member of the Altoona school board.