Wisconsin Heights looks back five years and sees continued success

The Wisconsin Heights School District held their 5-year progress report on their Future Search. Heights’ original search for strategic directions, conducted five years ago almost exactly, left both board members and administrators with a set of clear goals. Last week’s 5-year follow up session was a report on the progress, as well as the early stages of some next steps, including an upcoming community survey. Each administrator at the meeting reported on the progress of the elementary school, middle school/high schools, curriculum, and student services. District Administrator first gave a summary of where the District stood. He noted that feedback all around was positive, but comments from current students include praise for course offerings, and a “caring staff.” Sinz spoke about the new teacher mentor program as well, something the District is very proud of. He also talked about their competitive salaries, noting last year they benchmarked their salaries against 12 neighboring school districts. The district goal was to get salaries within 5 percent of the market rate. Sinz said, jokingly, the “big dog” in terms of accomplishments over the past five years was the single campus. He noted all the steps that went into that: a successful facilities referendum, a challenging construction schedule, and the supply chain issues faced by everyone the past few years. In terms of curriculum, Director Dale Green said during COVID, it was Heights’ “turn to shine.” Swift action by the board led to online instruction during the initial stages and worst outbreaks, and the district excelled at that. Testing shows Heights’ students did not falter on their test scores during the pandemic. A small portion of the community showed up for the Future Search progress report, and were treated to snacks by staff. The Future Search itself five years ago was well attended by the community.