Equity, Growth, and ExcellenceFor All

Shorewood School District 2019-2020 Strategic Plan

Shorewood School District 1701 E. Capitol Dr.Shorewood, WI 53211414-963-6900 www.shorewoodschools.org

Pictured on front cover: Left photo- Atwater K4 student Chen Wei & SHS freshman Selame Caldart participate in a PERKS activity together last spring. Right photo- SHS graduate William Hegelmeyer smiles while waiting to walk into the SHS auditorium for the graduation ceremony on June 9th (photo by Jonathan Kirn). Pictured on back cover: SHS graduates stand during graduation ceremony (photo by Jonathan Kirn).

Dear Shorewood Community, The 2019-2020 Strategic Plan celebrates the fourth year of our work towards our vision for 2025. Our vision grew out of the Shorewood Schools Summitt that occurred in February of 2016 and engaged over 100 community members, parents, teachers and students. This diverse group was tasked with developing a picture of what the school district should look like in the future. The result was our vision for 2025: “The Shorewood School District will foster a positive educational experience that is responsive to the diverse needs and aspirations of all students.”

During the spring and summer of 2019, a District Leadership Team, consisting of teachers and administrators, met with the role of developing, implementing and monitoring our annual strategic plan. This document outlines the District Leadership Team’s development of the 2019-2020 Strategic Plan. Within the plan, you will find celebrations of the 2018-2019 school year and goals each building will work towards during the 2019-2020 school year. The District Leadership Team will be working with their staffs to implement and monitor each of the goals throughout the year. A special thank you goes to those staff who participated in the District Leadership Team and contributed to setting our direction for the 2019-2020 school year.

Thank you to all of our students, District staff, Board members, parents and community members for your continued commitment to make our schools the best they can be. I look forward to working with you during this school year.

Sincerely,

Dr. Bryan Davis, Superintendent

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Shorewood Ranked Among Top Five School Districts in WisconsinThe Shorewood School District was ranked among the top five Best School Districts in Wisconsin and received an overall grade of A+ in the recently released 2020 Niche Rankings.

All four Shorewood Schools also received a grade of A or A+. Most notably, Shorewood High School was selected as #3 among the Best Public High Schools in Wisconsin, receiving an A+ overall Niche grade, and was ranked #1 for Best Public High School Teachers in Wisconsin.The District was also ranked #4 in the state for Best Places to Teach and #4 among Districts with the Best Teachers in Wisconsin.

“The ranking reinforces the top notch education our staff delivers throughout our district on a daily basis,” says Shorewood Schools Superintendent Bryan Davis. “I am proud of the achievement and thank all of our employees for their hard work and dedication to our students and families.”

District Welcomes Four New Staff to Administrative TeamSam Coleman - Director for Equity: Coleman took on this newly created position on July 1. His previous position was Director of Student and Family Services for Seton Catholic Schools. He has a Masters Degree from UW-Madison in Education Leadership and Policy Analysis and is currently enrolled in a Doctoral program in Education Leadership and Policy Analysis from UW-Madison. He brings lots of experience in educational leadership, policy development, and community engagement for social justice, which will play an important part in his work with Shorewood School District. Essential duties of the new position include collaboratively developing and leading the implementation of a district-wide strategic framework, grounded in equity, to ensure all Shorewood students feel a sense of belonging and have the tools and opportunities to flourish.

Ebony Grice - Atwater Elementary Principal: Grice started in her new role on July 1. Her previous position was the Shorewood Intermediate School Dean of Students. She has strong experience in instructional leadership and executing a vision in a school district, as well as in leading a team and cultivating a positive learning environment that builds trust and sets high expectations for students, parents, and staff. She has a proven ability to plan, assess, and evaluate data to make informed decisions leading to student achievement.

Julie Harris - Director of Special Education and Pupil Services: Harris began her role July 1. Her previous position was Associate Director of Special Education for four years in the Green Bay Area Public School District. Prior to that time, she served as Director of Special Education & Pupil Services as well as School Psychologist in the Bonduel School District. She brings 24 years of special education service to Shorewood. Her primary responsibilities in her new role include ensuring that students with disabilities receive access to educational services in the least restrictive environment with their non-disabled peers and are the recipients of high quality educational experiences. In the area of pupil services, she will focus on Wellness for All.

Marta Kwiatkowski - Director of Business Services and Human Resources: Kwiatkowski began her duties July 1. She comes to Shorewood from the Rhinelander School District where she served as Director of Business Services for 13 years and was named the 2019 Business Director of the Year for the State of Wisconsin. She has a strong business and auditing background with over 20 years in the field, and has previous experience with the planning and facilitation of referenda. In her new position, she is responsible for providing leadership, direction, and coordination of the following functions: school business, human resources, facilities, transportation, food service, and employee benefits.

District Highlights

Shorewood High School2018-19 Celebrations

Academic MasterySHS achieved a 100% graduation rate for the class of 2019, the second time in the last 5 years. SHS juniors (class of 2020) also achieved the highest ACT scores ever for SHS since all juniors started taking the ACT in 2015.

Character and CitizenshipSchool Perceptions survey data showed that SHS students report feeling respected by their peers at a greater percentage than other high schools similar to SHS.

WellnessSchool counselors implemented the GAIN survey for all 9th grade students. GAIN is a “pre-screening” on wellness and mental health. The survey helps identify freshman students who may need wellness intervention early on in their high school careers.

Authentic LearningTwo new authentic learning oriented classes were implemented: Environmental Literature and Social Justice through Image and Word. Both classes are scheduled as “block” class during the day and are co-taught by two teachers who participated in the Design Thinking Fellowships program, a partnership with SEED and UWM.

2019-20 Goals

Academic MasterySHS will increase teacher collaboration time to examine and explore high quality assessment, instruction, and academic rigor for all students.

Character and CitizenshipSHS will increase student-to-student connectedness and 21st century skills in classrooms by providing more structured opportunities for students to work together during the school day, which will help them prepare for success in college and careers.

WellnessSHS will promote active engagement and student wellness through the responsible use of personal and instructional technology. SHS has also added a full time school psychologist to work with the SHS Student Support team to advance student wellness.

From left: SHS graduates Victoria Wycklendt, Zoe McDowell, & Julia Papineau from the Class of 2019 pose outside the SHS Auditorium following their graduation ceremony on Sunday, June 9th (photo by Jonathan Kirn).

2018-19 Celebrations

Academic Mastery

The Kindergarten team presented a master class session entitled “High Quality Work in the Early Childhood Classroom” at the Expeditionary Learning (EL) Education National Conference in the fall of 2018. Together, the team spoke about protocols in their early childhood classrooms, learning targets, core practices, guiding questions, and what high quality work looks like. The facilitators then hosted a gallery walk, where team members split into themed breakout sessions for more specialized conversations.

Character & Citizenship

Students and staff have developed a strong sense of community by building relationships with one another with the implementation of Crew. The structure of crew allows for relationship building, academic progress monitoring, and character development. From All-School Crew meetings held monthly, to class Crew meetings every morning, and Cross-Age Crews where students from a variety of classes and grade levels meet monthly, Atwater students have developed relationships with a wide variety of peers and adults.

Wellness

The new dean of students, Ryan Kroeger, teamed up with the school counselor, Sasha Albrecht, to provide improvements to Atwater’s Social Emotional Learning time in all of the classrooms along with facilitating support groups to meet students’ needs. They, along with a teacher representative, engaged in Trauma Sensitive Schools training this year to support the District’s work in this area. 2019-20 GoalsAcademic Mastery

Atwater staff will use the Professional Development Cycles to learn effective English Language Arts instruction and differentiation strategies. Classroom data will be collected on the implementation and effectiveness of the strategies and will be used to inform instruction.

Character & Citizenship

Atwater staff will provide effective structure and support for the implementation of Student-Led Conferences. The implementation of Student-Led Conferences will lead to an increase in student motivation, student ownership of high quality work, and self-reflection on character and citizenship.

Wellness

Atwater staff will build academic & emotional confidence in students through personalized feedback, rooted in relational trust.

Atwater Elementary School

Atwater third graders display their water conservation posters while singing “Covered in Plastic” during the May 2019 All-School Crew assembly, which focused on the Design Principle of Service and Compassion (photo by John Stanco).

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Lake Bluff Elementary School2018-19 Celebrations

Academic Mastery

Lake Bluff staff and students intentionally integrated subject areas into authentic learning experiences. These took the form of expeditions and case studies at every grade level. Staff and students also fostered student goal setting with both academic and character skills. All ages practiced setting goals, monitoring their progress, and reflecting on their results. Character & Citizenship

The “crew committee” integrated student voice to meet the needs identified by staff and students across Lake Bluff. The guiding question this year was: “How can WE make Lake Bluff a better place?” This was highlighted through multiple layers of crew: classroom crew, cross-age crew, Lake Bluff crew, and flex crew. Lake Bluff built in a designated time each Wednesday for the school-wide crew activities. This model was extremely effective, and students reported that they enjoyed this focus. This work was also reflected in the classrooms through behavior goal setting. Wellness

Lake Bluff’s new Dean of Students position helped support an increase in building-wide use of restorative practices. This new role also took on social and emotional learning (SEL) instruction, which allowed Lake Bluff to increase counseling services for students. Also, Lake Bluff’s dean, counselor, and teacher representative engaged in Trauma Sensitive Schools training this year to support the District’s work in this area.

2019-20 Goals

Academic Mastery

For the 2019-2020 school year, Lake Bluff staff will collaborate to establish new routines for tracking student data. This data will be used to intentionally differentiate instruction and reflect on results. Character & Citizenship

For the 2019-2020 school year, Lake Bluff staff and students will incorporate Code of Character components into their high quality work rubrics. Lake Bluff will also support students in reflecting on their own Code of Character behaviors, as it applies to their service learning opportunities. Wellness

Lake Bluff staff will engage in learning around Trauma Responsive Teaching Practices. They will be incorporating some of this learning into their classroom crews to support student wellness.

2018-19 CelebrationsAcademic Mastery

SIS 7th grade students began work on a two-year Capstone Project that will allow each student to study a problem-based passion they find engaging and meaningful. Students picked a topic of interest to research, thought about how best to address the problem, and created action steps that would benefit their community. Students will report out on their Capstone experiences, challenges, and growth during their 8th grade Passage Presentations.

Character & Citizenship SIS is committed to increasing student engagement by providing students opportunities to use their voice to contribute to a positive school environment. The SIS Student Advisory Board is comprised of a group of 8th grade students who were able to provide feedback and develop activities to positively impact school culture. Students designed activities like shadowing a teacher for a day and then reported out on what they learned to their classmates and staff.

WellnessGuided Study is a 35-minute block of time that provides students at SIS with opportunities to extend their learning and participate in student clubs that are of interest to them. During the 2018-19 school year, SIS offered over 20 clubs and enrichment activities in which students could participate. Participating in clubs allows students to meet new peers and build connections with adults and classmates throughout the building. Many clubs also offer students the opportunity to participate in service-related activities that benefit the community.

2019-20 Goals

Academic MasteryStaff will use Wednesday Early Release planning time to work in departments to focus on curriculum planning and instructional strategies to engage students. During this time, departments will use Professional Development Learning Cycles to research best practices, implement strategies in the classroom, analyze data to inform practices and share their strategies with colleagues.

Character and CitizenshipRestorative practices provide a framework that emphasizes the value of relationships to build a healthy learning environment. SIS will utilize restorative tools and strategies to build relationships between students and staff and create a sense of community throughout the building.

WellnessSIS will use academic, behavioral, and attendance data to identify students in need of extra support. Staff will meet to discuss these needs and strategies to support students by pairing students with an adult advocate who will help students set goals and make progress toward addressing areas of need.

Shorewood Intermediate School

SIS student participants in the Girl Up Club showcase their “Fund a Flamingo” campaign, which raised money to provide education to 30 Ugandan refugee girls.

Lake Bluff fifth graders in Mrs. Hau and Ms. Aubuchon’s class present their “Where Does Curiosity Take Us?” expedition at the annual Authentic Learning Showcase in May 2019.