Reedsburg celebrated School Board Week
Reedsburg School District Board members are, front row from left: LuAnn Brey and Heather Westphal; back row from left, Leo Almeida , Ross Retzlaff, Bruce Houtler, Gary Woolever and Gabe Bauer. (Submitted photo)
Last week, the Reedsburg School District marked Wisconsin School Board Week to recognize the important roles of these elected officials.
The week gives the community and district the opportunity to learn more about how school boards work and why members should be acknowledged for their commitment.
Reedsburg Superintendent Roger Rindo had high praise for the local board.
“It takes strong schools to build a strong community, and these men and women devote countless hours to making sure our schools are helping every child learn at a higher level,” he said in a statement. “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.”
Rindo said school boards strive for student achievement in a variety of ways. These include:
--Creating a vision for what the community wants the school district to be and for making student achievement 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 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; and
--Focusing attention on the need for continuous improvement by questioning, refining and revising issues related to student achievement.
“School board members give the Reedsburg citizens a voice in education decision making. Even though we make a special effort to show our appreciation in October, their contribution is a year-round commitment,” Rindo added.
Reedsburg’s School Board members, along with their time of service, include Gary Woolever (board president), 16 years; Bruce Houtler (board vice president), five years; Gabe Bauer (board treasurer), two years; LuAnn Brey (board clerk), 14 years; Leo Almeida, one year; Ross Retlzaff, one year; and Heather Westphal, one year.
