PdC Public Schools Narrative

The Chamber of Commerce is updating their website. The following is a rough draft of a potential narrative that will be under the PdC Public Schools link. The main target audience is people from out of the area who may be looking at PdC as a potential home. The secondary audience is our local citizens.

Please review and let me know what I missed or is not factual. I plan to get this to the Chamber toward the end of this week.

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Prairie du Chien (PdC) Area Public Schools are recognized statewide, and increasingly nationwide, as being leaders in educational innovation, technology, and student academic achievement gains. The professional instructional staff, and support para-professionals, serve the children of the community as caring role models and create a vigorous and challenging year-round learning environment within a culture of very high expectations.

The PdC Public schools offer a comprehensive educational program that is both rigorous and relevant. The overall educational goals are to develop and enhance our young people's creativity and entrepreneurship within a college or career ready preparatory program. The school district is constantly exploring ways to improve or offer better service to the community such as a full day four year old kindergarten is offered to parents who desire that mode, while continuing to also offer the half day format.

Across the PdC Public School curriculum, the core academic skills are covered in a basal format that has high expectations for all children, interventions are present to help children that need more help, and challenging coursework is in place for those students who have already mastered grade level information. In addition PdC Public Schools present students with encore opportunities for wellness, recreation, performing and visual arts, additional literacy, and other academic enrichments. Specific after school programming is available at all levels of the school. On top of that, PdC Public has a full summer school schedule that features 45 days of rigorous academic programming in a more relaxed and enriching setting – this even includes a breakfast, lunch, and swimming instruction!

PdC Public has instruction that is literally world class. For example, PdC Public has international education from Kindergarten to graduation. PdC Public offers dual Global Language series in both Spanish Language and Cultures and Chinese Language and Cultures featuring three Guest Teachers from China. At the PdC Public High School there are currently 14 different Advanced Placement (AP) classes offered across various disciplines. For the 2013-2014 school year, 4 additional AP offerings are planned to be added to the already vast array of college level offerings.

The PdC Public Schools are recognized as nationwide leaders in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). To start, STEM is embedded in elementary lessons. In the middle grades, of 5 to 8, PdC Public Schools offers GameIT Computer Programming and Project Lead the Way (PLTW) Gateway to Technology programs in addition to challenging Math and Science curriculums. As a capstone, about two thirds of the Bluff View grade 8 students take the accelerated high school level Integrated Math 1. PdC Public High School students have access to an unmatched program of STEM offerings including PLTW programs in both Engineering and Biomedical. An example of the high level that PdC Public students achieve is that a full array of mathematics is offered including AP Statistics and both AP Calculus AB and AP Calculus BC.

To highlight the PdC Public Schools commitment to excellence; the PdC Public High School is a silver rated school by U.S. News, all three Bluff View Intermediate Public School sub groups are awarded as Schools of Recognition by the State of Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, and the district was awarded with the What Parent's Want Award.

On top of the entire umbrella of academic offerings, PdC Public Schools offer a full array of co-curricular sports and activities across the grades; from sports/recreation activities for the little kids all the way up to competitive WIAA sports in the high school. PdC Public Schools are small enough to allow full participation, such as a no-cut policy on all activities, but large enough to offer a wide variety of choices including sports of Girls’ Cross-country, Football, Girls’ Golf, Boys’ Soccer, Cheer Squads, Volleyball, Boys’ Cross-country, Dance, Girls’ Basketball, Boys’ Basketball, Wrestling, Boys’ Track and Field, Baseball, Boys’ Golf, Softball, Girls’ Track and Field, and Girls’ Soccer. Two recently added popular activities are Archery, and Summer Swim team.

In the performing arts, PdC Public has full music programs across all grades with extra programming available throughout. Both the Bands and the Choirs are high quality. The PdC music students regularly perform with guest artists and concerts feature these guests; two of the latest being the Monroe Crossing who are "The Midwest's Premier Bluegrass and Gospel Quintet" and Xianghua Han from Beijing China. PdC Public choir groups have performed at the Carnegie Hall. The Drama Department produces high quality musicals and plays that are great learning platforms for the students and superb entertainment for the whole community.

Lastly, PdC Public Schools have tremendous community support. Beyond the supportive structure of state and local funding, the giving to the school by individuals and businesses is very generous and greatly appreciated. Visit www.pdc.k12.wi.us for more information on the Prairie du Chien Area Public Schools.

Dental open enrollment period

Delta Dental will allow the following open enrollment:

"Our Director of Underwriting is allowing an open enrollment for the month for September with an October 1st effective date ... contract allows part-time employees and employees who work a minimum of 20 hours per week."

Delta Dental is a voluntary program for PdC Public School employees who qualify and desire to have dental insurance. This is totally paid by the employee.

Click here to review these documents.

Patti has written the new rates on the first document. If interested in signing up, please see Patti.

Positive signs on Wisconsin economy

Through SAA; From WisPolitics.com …

The Department of Revenue reported today the state took in $126.6 million more in general purpose revenue in the 2011-12 fiscal year than what the agency had projected in May.

It was the second time in four months the state got good news on the revenue front, and half of the additional collections will go toward the budget stabilization fund under state law. The Legislative Fiscal Bureau said the rest of the money will go toward the state’s bottom line at the end of the current biennium in 2013.

The DOR report, which covers the fiscal year that ended June 30, does not account for any changes in state expenses compared to what was budgeted. But LFB said if the state meets projected costs, it will now end the two-year budget with a surplus of $274.1 million.

See the DOR release.

Report on Property taxes

SAA release By John Forester | September 10, 2012

Statewide property tax levies increased by just 0.2 percent in 2012, the smallest increase since 1997, according to a report by the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance.

The analysis said state taxpayers paid $9.36 billion in net property taxes this year.

Municipal property tax levies increased 1.6 percent to $2.46 billion, topped in the state’s largest municipalities by double-digit increases in Middleton and Manitowoc.

Levies on the county level rose 1.1 percent to $1.97 billion, topped by Crawford County’s 6.3 percent increase.

Statewide school property taxes dropped 1 percent, the first decline since 2006, while technical college levies increased 1.8 percent to $771.3 million.

See the press release.

Danza book: I'd Like to Apologize to Every Teacher I Ever Had

The following is wholly quoted from an article by Michael Keany on School Leadership 2.0

Click here to visit the site

Tony Danza: What I learned teaching your kids
The popular actor devoted a year to teaching in high school. His new book has timely advice.

Advice for kids

• Get off to a good start. Build yourself a cushion with good grades at the beginning. It will make the year so much easier. Like a baseball player who starts the season in a slump, a student who begins slowly finds it very hard to catch up.

• Budget your time. It’s possible to be a good student and also have a great time in school.

• See your high school education as your job. Your job is to pay attention in class, study and learn.

• Get involved in extra-curricular activities at your school: clubs, sports, plays, music. This will add to your experience and make you want to be in school.

• Hang out with kids who are doing well and who take school seriously.

• Take an active part in your own education.

There are at least two harder jobs than acting — one is teaching and the other is writing a book about teaching. I’ve now done both, having gone toe-to-toe with a class of Philadelphia 10th-graders for an entire year and then written about it. And, let me tell you, when it comes to teaching, perfection is elusive.

The question I still wrestle with is, “In the midst of a tough economy and continuous budget cutting, how do we send a message to students that being in school and making the most of their time there is important?”

Everyone knows we have a problem. By every education metric, we’re no longer No. 1 in the world. Dropout rates in many districts approach 50%, and some estimates put the number of dropouts at more than 1 million a year. How do we sustain a great country with those numbers? Education has become a national security issue. If we don’t get our schools right, we won’t have the labor force or the soldiers we’ll need in the future.

A parent doesn’t always think that way, though. A parent asks, justifiably, how do I help my kid?

There’s one important thing I learned in the trenches at Northeast High in Philadelphia: Teachers have no problem being held accountable by parents. In fact, they crave parent involvement.

If parents do nothing else, they should persuade their sons and daughters to take part in their own education. Kids should hear the message loud and clear: “You have one life, and this small part of it will make all the difference.”

And parents, you should walk the talk by showing up for the play, the debate, the science fair. There were evenings when, as an English teacher hosting an open house for parents, I stood mostly alone.

Parents have to be involved because we live in a culture that bombards us every day with messages that are antithetical to education. For example, and not to pick on one TV show, but I would tell my students that good behavior and hard work pays off — then these kids would go home and watch Jersey Shore and come back and tell me I had it wrong. Often, the role model a kid looks to isn’t the father who goes to work every day, but the reality star or rapper who sells Chryslers or the banker who makes a fortune in a system that seems rigged.

We have to convince kids that, despite the formidable obstacles they often face, it’s imperative that they do well in school. As a society, we have to make it cool to be smart. And kids have to understand that it’s their responsibility to do well — no matter who their teacher is or the quality of their school.

The bottom line: Kids need to want it. We can’t want them to get an education more than they want it for themselves.

All I can do individually is tell my children — and any kid who’ll listen — that the world they face will require their best. They’ll needskills to survive and thrive in this new world. I can make it my business to know what my children are watching on TV and on the Internet and be relentless in hammering home the importance of this bit of their lives.

We all have a role to play in this, but when I was in teacher orientation, I constantly heard that teachers must “engage” the students. After a year of teaching, it strikes me that what we really need are students to engage in their own education.

Potential change in charging practices

Potential internal practice/policy change - this is open for a week long period of comment. Please pass along any comments on this to the business office. Specifically desired, are ways to improve this practice within the improvement parameters as set by the school board.

Potential change in practice:

As part of the annual audit cycle, the School Board reviews the financial information and district practices. One concern that is listed is segregation of duties and efficiency in payment practices. Noted is that a number of staff, or activity advisors, do not turn in documentation in a timely fashion so this slows the requisition and payment process down to a point that vendors are sometimes not paid within their expectations, and secondly that an excess amount of office staff time is utilized tracking down the missing documents. What complicates this even further, and demands more attention, are IRS and State rules that need to be abided by concerning tax free status and other obfuscating factors surrounding compliance.

Therefore, the Prairie du Chien Board of Education has determined that it is necessary that charging privileges be removed for individual employees who do not follow procedures within reasonable timeframes. Reasonable is to be defined as less than one week from purchase, unless there are extreme mitigating circumstances. Additionally, any purchases made prior to submission and full PO approval process not completed are subject to non-payment and/or responsible individual may be charged.

This involves any use of school credit cards for any local, vehicle fuel, or internet purchases. It further involves PO purchases or other vendor transactions using school accounts or school tax-free status.

Employees, or activity advisors, that are removed from the above mentioned uses, will have to make alternate arrangements for purchases including the probability of using their own credit cards or other means. Please note that those that do not use school accounts cannot be reimbursed for any taxes charged or use the school tax free status for purchases. For example, under this scenario, a teacher purchases materials for a school activity and submits the slip of $105 for reimbursement; only the $100 would be reimbursed as the $5 sales tax would not.

Bluff View; Wisconsin Schools of Recognition

Wisconsin  Department of Public Instruction awards 

Schools of Recognition 

to Prairie du Chien Public Schools:

Bluff View Elementary (grades 2,3,4) 

Bluff View Middle School (grades 5,6) 

Bluff View Junior High (grades 7,8) 

Congratulations, and thank you, to all 

Prairie du Chien Public School 

Students, Parents, Community Members, and Staff for your 

Pride, Dedication, and Commitment 

to high standards and academic excellence.

The following is excerpted from State Superintendent Tony Evers announcement of 132 Wisconsin School of Recognition awards for the 2012-13 academic year, an honor that recognizes success in educating students from low-income families.

“Congratulations on a strong start to the 2012-13 school year,” Evers said. “These schools are being recognized for their work to break the link between poverty and low academic achievement through rigorous programming and attention to student needs. Their efforts align with our Agenda 2017 goals: to improve graduation rates, reduce dropout rates, and close college and career readiness gaps.”

The schools receiving awards have some of the highest poverty rates in the state based on free and reduced price school lunch data. Student achievement in reading and mathematics was above average for schools from similarly sized districts, schools, grade configurations, and poverty levels. All award-winning schools receive federal Title I funding to provide services to high numbers or high percentages of economically disadvantaged children.

This year’s 132 Wisconsin School of Recognition Award recipients include 99 elementary schools, 25 middle or junior high schools, and eight high schools. “The staff and administration of these schools are committed to forging partnerships among teachers, parents, administrators, other school staff members, and the community to create an educational environment that supports children’s learning,” Evers said. “They understand the importance of working together to ensure that every child graduates ready for college and careers.”

Click here to see full release on Schools of Recognition