Randy W. Nelson

To the Citizens of our Communities:

Recent headlines from Madison indicate our legislature is focused on the topic of school accountability. As District Administrators of educational institutions in western Wisconsin, we understand the importance of accountability for our public schools. We accept the responsibility to closely examine our policies, procedures, and practices to ensure that we are being as efficient and as productive as possible. We find the recently developed School Report Cards to be an effective way to measure our progress and report our results. We are thankful for the effort and resources expended to create the current system. We remain unconvinced of the need for a replacement after only three years. We remain committed to finding ways to help every student achieve and be successful so that hope exists within every child for a better future and cycles of poverty and violence are eliminated.

In addition to school accountability, there are lots of ideas coming out of Madison these days. Ideas that are not research-based, which are not supported by professional educators, and which have not been proven to “move the needle” on student achievement. But, there are practices and evidence-based policies which have been shown to change and improve schools across our nation. We encourage you to engage others in our community around discussions on:

1. Early Childhood Education. In Wisconsin, the funding base for childcare programs (Wisconsin Shares/YoungStar program) is inadequate and unstable. These programs can have a significant impact on children and increase their likelihood of high school graduation, holding a job, and decreasing the need to receive public assistance or be incarcerated.
2. Children’s Mental Health. In Wisconsin, we have systematic shortcomings in how mental health services are provided. Many children do not receive the services they need which has serious consequences for the child, their families, and our schools and community. Mental health issues can be a significant barrier to a child being successful in school.
3. Supporting Excellence in Teaching and Leading. Research shows that teacher quality and principal leadership are the two most important factors leading to student success. Continued funding for Educator Effectiveness implementation, ongoing training and support for educators, and the promotion of policies designed to encourage the “best and brightest” to enter the teaching profession will improve school/district outcomes.
4. Innovation. Incentives should be provided to encourage districts to pilot new practices that evidence suggests will improve student learning. While our society has dramatically changed in the last 100 years, our schools have been slower to respond due to a sense of “tradition” and a lack of funding for innovation.
5. School Finance. The state share of school funding has decreased over the last ten years and large funding cuts were made in 2011. How do we ensure equitable funding for education across the state of Wisconsin when there are unique challenges in each district? Some districts have a larger share of English Language Learners, others are dealing with significant rates of poverty, and additional districts struggle with declining enrollment, substantial transportation costs, or a lack of technology. We need a school finance system that is fair and equitable for all children and is sustainable so that access to high quality instructional programming is maintained regardless of one’s zip code.

As a community, we want our children to succeed and be best prepared as future leaders to move our state and nation toward increased prosperity. All of us-whether we are parents, educators, business members, legislators or senior citizens- have a vested interest in our children. Let’s start talking about the real issues which will benefit our children, add value for our taxpayers, and improve the quality of life in our state. Your involvement and support is crucial. Public education is public work – we need your help! Please feel free to contact us if you would like to host a conversation. Thank you!

Area School District Administrators,

Alma – Steven Sedlmayr
Alma Center-Humbird-Merrillan – Paul Fischer
Arcadia – Louie Ferguson
Bangor – David Laehn
Black River Falls – Shelly Severson
Blair-Taylor – Jeff Eide
Cochrane-Fountain City – Thomas Hiebert
De Soto – Jim Kuchta
Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau – Roger Foegen
Hillsboro – Curt Bisarek
Holmen – Dale Carlson
Independence – Paul Vine
La Crosse – Randy Nelson
La Farge – Shawn Donovan
Melrose-Mindoro – Delroy DeBerg
Onalaska – Francis Finco
Royall – Mark Gruen
Sparta – JohnHendricks
Tomah – Cindy Zahrte
Viroqua – Robert Knadle
West Salem – Troy Gunderson
Westby – Charles Norton
Whitehall – Michael Beighley
Wonewoc-Union Center – Steve Lozeau

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We also believe that educating our youth should include character development. In 1996 the School District of La Crosse adopted a set of core values. Since that time our schools have made a concentrated effort to focus on them. These include honesty, respect, responsibility, self-discipline, compassion, perseverance and giving. You will see these values on signs in our schools. You will hear them included in the morning announcements. But, most importantly, you will see them in the actions and behaviors of our students and staff. In the newest issue of CommunityTalk you will read examples of our students making a difference both in our schools and the community and demonstrating the core values. We invite you to, join us in modeling these critical attributes.

As I spend time in our schools I am continually proud of our students. I see students helping one another in the halls, reading together in classrooms and collaborating on projects. I can assure you the leaders of tomorrow will be of great character.

If you have not been in a school lately, I invite you to stop in. We would be honored to share with you the outstanding work our teachers and students are doing every day. You can see firsthand how our students are affirming the district’s core values and making a difference in the community.

In Support of Our Kids,

Randy Nelson, Superintendent of Schools””

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Ask any of our teachers why they went into the education profession and their response will include one or more of those three themes. We exist to guide the young people that walk through our doors, to help them dream, believe, and achieve.

This year we are highlighting the word achieve. We don’t have to look far to see the achievements and impact that graduates from the School District of La Crosse are having in our community and throughout the world. Our graduates are contractors, lawyers, business owners, teachers, and doctors. They have taken the skills they learned in our schools and they have combined them with their personal interests to shape their individual success. It is inspiring to hear the stories of risk, perseverance and success; including Central graduate Julie Sleik Mozumdar (’91) who owns Supercube LLC in Minneapolis, MN, or Rhonda (Kauffman) Rude (Logan ’82) who is a social worker for La Crosse County, or Heath Graves (Logan ’88) who serves as a school resource officer in our schools, and Central graduate Johnny Brevick (’03) who not only has a successful career as a creative marketing manager at Logistics Health Inc., but also co-founded the Hope Lives Foundation to support young people impacted by cancer.

Central graduate Danielle Trussoni (’92) recently returned to the area to share an excerpt from her New York Times best-selling book with the students at Central. She not only shared what the writing and publishing process is like for students, but also the importance of following your dreams and using your talents.

We are proud of our graduates’ and students’ achievements, some of which you will read about in this publication. We know that there are countless more stories of success and achievement that we could share with you. We also know that our students’ successes are the result of the strong support our community has for our schools. I thank you for that support, and I look forward to sharing our students’ achievements with you for years to come.

In Support of Our Kids,

Randy Nelson
Superintendent of Schools

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These are your public schools at work — immersed in the community and doing great things in support of our community’s children and their families. As your superintendent of schools, I thank you for your support, and I hope you will join me this week, American Education Week, in thanking our great educators for their un-waving commitment and dedication to our children and our community.

Randy Nelson
Superintendent of Schools””

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