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A student representative’s role includes voicing students’ viewpoints, concerns, and experiences to the Board of Education. The student representative not only allows board members to gain perspective into a student’s time at school by connecting authored policy to the impact on students, but also furthers student engagement in district issues by strengthening the link between school administration and the student body. This position is critical for board members to maintain a successful understanding of students’ needs and even more so during times of uncertainty. From tackling issues associated with district funding to finding solutions that allowed students to continue school during the Covid-19 pandemic, I, Rohan Gala, feel honored to have served as a student representative on the Howard-Suamico School District’s Board of Education for two years.

Being appointed in 2020 and serving my first term during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic was the first of many learning experiences. During this time, the Board of Education pivoted from the traditional school day to a hybrid model that allowed students to attend in-person classes while also limiting the potential spread of the Covid-19 virus. This experience taught me the importance of accurate statistical figures that quantify problems but also provide support for solutions. The use of credible sources provided the underlying foundation for discussions regarding the effects of Covid-19 while also considering the social and emotional health of students through parent testimonials. This intersection between statistical data and anecdotal information allowed us to balance an in-person learning environment while also reducing Covid-19 cases. By listening to board members discuss possible ways to contain the spread of Covid-19 while simultaneously enacting policy that served the best interest of students and teachers, I was able to observe the dedication and diligence the Howard-Suamico School District has when dealing with complex issues.

Another prominent issue the Howard-Suamico School District manages is funding school improvements. The HSSD Board of Education assembled a referendum task force which I was lucky to be a part of to address issues associated with aging school buildings. By collectively tackling concerns, members of this task force were able to create a successful proposal that funded capital improvements within the district while limiting the financial burden on community members. This referendum process not only reinforced my belief that community members and community involvement is an essential pillar in creating a quality education system but also showed me the importance of understanding the impact of my actions.

Overall, my position as the student representative has given me a tremendous opportunity to expand my qualities as a leader and learn more about the educational system that has given me so much. Seeing the positive changes occurring within the district due to the actions of board members and district administration empowers me to look at my future and realize the potential impact I can have on my community.

Lastly, I want to express my deepest gratitude for this incredible opportunity to serve as the student representative to the Howard-Suamico Board of Education. My two year term has helped shape my future plans and has taught me invaluable lessons. I would like to thank all board members for their guidance as I transitioned into the role of student representative and for always having answers to any of my questions. I would also like to thank Mr. Brian Nicol, the HSSD Director of Communications, for his tips on how to communicate effectively in an interview setting. Finally, I would like to thank Mr. Damian LaCroix, Superintendent, for offering me incredible opportunities to expand my communication skills and always helping operationalize my community impact ideas.

For more information about the Howard-Suamico School District, please visit our website at www.hssdschools.org or for additional information regarding this article, contact school board student representative Rohan Gala, galaroha@hssdschools.org.

The Board of Education would like to sincerely thank the HSSD community members and staff for completing the survey that was sent out by the District. We are grateful for the responses and feedback regarding our District operations. This is a wonderful opportunity for our District to evaluate current operations and take the feedback from the survey to understand where we have strengths and where we have challenges. The full survey report is available for public viewing on the Board of Education page of the HSSD
website.

The survey was conducted by School Perceptions, a Wisconsin-based independent research firm. The eight-page survey was mailed to all HSSD residents, families and open enrollment families and was emailed to HSSD staff. There were 1,060 responses. There was an increase in response rate from non-parent and non-staff residents than in previous surveys. Among all the subgroups the responses were almost all in the “agree” category, there was only one subgroup
item that indicated disagreement.

There was a section of survey that pertained to the Board of Education specifically. The non-parent and non-staff subgroup would like more communication, specifically with understanding the budget resources and how they are being used in an easy way to understand. The Board is committed to taking the feedback and discussing various ways we are able to better communicate with all our staff and community members including residents that do not have children currently in our District.

Our District mission states: “We will work with families and community to ensure that our students have the knowledge and skills to succeed in a changing world.” This survey allows us to adjust and adapt to feedback so we can continue to improve our District operations in alignment with our mission.

For more information about The Howard-Suamico School District, please visit our website at www.hssdschools.org.

In January, the Board of Education conducted a linkage with local colleges and universities. As part of the discussion, regional and local labor markets were discussed as a way to inform programming for HSSD students and receive feedback from our partners. The district had recently partnered with Hanover Research to conduct a labor market research study, which was shared during the linkage. The study indicated that Human Services, Health Sciences, and Information Technology are the fields with the highest projected growth rate among the 16 career clusters, or industries, that Hanover identified in Brown County. Additionally, occupations in these top three industries typically offer at, or above average, living wage. The study also showed that beyond these three fields, about half of all of the various high growth occupations in Brown County require some form of education after high school.

Here in the Howard-Suamico School District (HSSD), we currently offer various career and technical education (CTE) courses to support students preparing for careers or higher education following graduation. As a next step, HSSD would like to explore the regional and local labor markets to determine labor market needs, reassess courses and programs, and potentially revise or expand current offerings.

From the research study, HSSD Administrators and Bay Port staff will study and explore the possibility of designing pathways within Human Services, Health Science, and Information Technology industries. Bay Port High School will be expanding Youth Apprenticeships for eligible students next school year. Apprentices will spend time taking courses specific to their respective industry and spending time in a place of employment, learning and working. Apprentices will be paid a wage during the time they are at work. Applicants must be a sophomore or a junior who are on track toward a high school diploma and who are interested in a career in the related experience. HSSD strives to provide authentic learning experiences for students; preparing them to be college, career, and life ready.

For more information about The Howard-Suamico School District, please visit our website at www.hssdschools.org. 

“What the best and wisest parent wants for his own child, that must the community want for all its children” - John Dewey

The decision to run for a seat on the Board of Education reflects a commitment to public service and dedication to democracy.  Public schools carry out one of society’s most important tasks which is to educate all students to reach their full potential in becoming productive, responsible, civic-minded adults who prosper and serve.  Each school board member must balance the interests, needs, and values of children, parents, staff, residents, and the business community within our district.  Performed with authenticity, curiosity, and informed thinking, service on a school board is a vital public service.

Work of a Board Member begins with recognizing that the board reflects the values of the entire community, not any one subset.  Our work continues by acknowledging that our efforts must be as a group, not as individuals.  No one member has authority, only as a group can we provide direction.  There are many laws in place that address how and when boards may conduct their business.  Understanding and following these laws, as well as holding each other accountable in this area is another crucial area of focus.

In addition to understanding how a board functions, it is imperative that Board Members understand the purpose of the organization that they govern.  The board, as a whole, creates policy that stipulates expected results and specifies unacceptable practices.  Creation of policy in this manner clearly defines who is responsible for decision making and implementation.  The role of the Board is not to act in the organization, but on the organization. 

Composition of this article draws from experience as a board member and the writings of Caroline Oliver, John Carver, and Eric Craymer.  For more information about The Howard-Suamico School District, please visit our website at www.hssdschools.org .

From January 19 – 21, 2022, school board members and school administrators from around the state will gather in Milwaukee for the annual Wisconsin State Education Convention, hosted by the Wisconsin Association of School Boards, Wisconsin Association of School District Administrators, and Wisconsin Association of School Business Officials. The Education Convention offers school leaders opportunities to learn from peers and national experts on a variety of topics key to running an effective school district including school finance, school laws, equity and access, and social and emotional learning.

Continued education is a key element of the leadership philosophy shared by the Howard-Suamico School Board and HSSD Administration. The four HSSD school board members and three members of the administrative team attending are grateful for the chance to learn in person this year.

In addition to attending and learning, school leaders can apply to lead a session teaching their peers. In the past, HSSD board members and administrators have had the privilege of sharing the story of our district in this way. This year, our superintendent Damain LaCroix will share how our community has strived for unity over the past year, leading to the successful passage of two referendums and high staff satisfaction rates during a period of great political and social unrest.

The annual State Education Convention is just one way the Howard-Suamico School Board lives out its mission: to enact policies and allocate resources to develop all students’ full academic potential and to promote their social and emotional growth. For more information on the board’s mission and governance practices, visit the Board of Education page on the HSSD website (www.hssdschools.org).

 “Partnership is giving, taking, learning, teaching, offering the greatest possible benefit while doing the least possible harm.”  Octavia E. Butler, “Parable of the Talents”

When schools, businesses, and community organizations work together to support learning and promote student achievement, everyone benefits.  The Howard-Suamico School District works to forge meaningful partnerships resulting in improved program quality and more efficient use of our resources to achieve our District goals.  Highlighted below are just a few of our partnerships.

Our school nutrition program partners with David Schneider, an AmeriCorps Farm to School member.  He assists in coordinating the purchasing of healthy and fresh foods for school nutrition with local Wisconsin famers.  He also provides nutrition education for classes and assists with a summer school program called Inspiration Acres, an experimental plot of land in front of Bay Port High School.

The HSSD has initiated a Computer Science Advisory Committee to provide guidance for our computer science initiative and to assist students with computer skills for their daily lives and future careers.  Members of this committee share the needs of our current labor market, post-secondary programs, and computer science careers.  To assist the District in developing the most efficient and effective pathway for our students, we have partnered with community members possessing computer science experience in business and post-secondary education institutions, alumni, current students, teachers, and administrators.

Bellin Health and Prevea Health were recently recognized by the Wisconsin Association of School Boards and HSSD for their partnerships with the District.  Bellin Health provides athletic training staff to keep our athletes safe and healthy.  Bellin doctors also provide input to our operations related to COVID-19 mitigation and safety.  Prevea Health provides an onsite treatment facility for employees and staff and helped coordinate a student-led COVID-19 vaccination clinic at Bay Port HS in the spring of 2021.

The Howard-Suamico Education Foundation is sponsoring Leadership HSSD, co-chaired by Bill Hawker, HSEF President, and Superintendent Damian LaCroix.  This program partners with community members who want to be more active in schools, have an awareness of district operations and governance, and understand leadership principles.  The District provides leadership materials, as well as the sharing of personal experiences from current staff and community members.

Captain’s Academy is an alternative education program offered to students that are struggling to succeed in the traditional setting at Bay Port High School.  In partnership with SMT Machine & Tool Company, owned by Russ Styczynski, students attend school at this off-site facility four days a week for an individualized academic plan and volunteer one day a week at NEW Homeless Shelter.

Village administrators from Howard and Suamico meet during the school year with the HSSD board to share information.  The HSSD provides updates on the post-referendum progress and legislative updates affecting education while the villages provide information on building projects and housing developments which could impact future student enrollments.  

Partnerships provide an opportunity for all parties to cooperate and solve challenges.  Perhaps Helen Keller said it best, “alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.”  For more information visit www.hssdschools.org.

The past 20 months have certainly presented some very unique challenges across all facets of our society due to the global health crisis that resulted in the national government stepping in and creating an influx of one time relief funds for public education through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, also known as the CARES Act.

The CARES Act provided approximately $31 billion to help school districts from all across the country respond to changes in student needs due to COVID-19. As part of the CARES Act, the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Grant Program was established. The ESSER Grant Program consists of three stimulus bills that provided over $2.3 billion to local educational agencies (LEAs) in Wisconsin.

The table below, from the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction website, provides a summary of the funding for ESSER under each of the stimulus bills. The final row shows the amount allocated here in the Howard-Suamico School District.

These funds have been used to address the unfinished learning that occurred as a result of the mandatory school closures and the various mitigation efforts that were employed as a result of COVID-19. While the influx of these federal dollars played an important role in funding pandemic related expenditures, the Wisconsin State Legislature will need to backfill the funding gap when these grants expire. Prior to the next biennium budget, the School Board will be advocating for additional state dollars to be allocated to public education so that funding levels remain consistent.

These advocacy efforts are an important part of the School Board’s work. We will continue to maintain purposeful connections, meaningful relationships, and continued communication with our elected officials in order to share the potential impact of any budget or policy decisions.

For additional information about the Howard-Suamico School District or how you can support these efforts, please visit www.hssdschools.org.

Since 2005 the Howard-Suamico School Board has leveraged the Policy Governance® Model of board leadership. This model can look and feel quite different from a typical school board, but every HSSD board since 2005 has re-affirmed the usefulness of the model, and worked to refine and improve it over time.

Put simply, Policy Governance® tasks a board with focusing on organizational ENDS (the outcomes the board expects the organization to achieve), rather than MEANS (how we achieve those outcomes). Rather than defining how to achieve the ENDS, the board sets limitations on the acceptable MEANS. This allows the organization’s chief executive (or superintendent in our case) the latitude to achieve the ENDS in any way they see fit – within the boundaries set by the board. This concept is often called “freedom within fences.”

In a school district setting, Policy Governance® allows a board to focus on the most important organizational purposes (ENDS), while delegating the daily operations of the district to the skilled professionals best suited to the job. The board then monitors performance as a measure of how effectively the ENDS have been met, and the degree to which the superintendent has remained within the defined limitations. The board also monitors its own practices and its interactions with the superintendent, and is involved in continuous improvement and refinement of the model to fit the ever-changing needs of a 21^st Century school district.

To the outside observer, this governance model may feel like a system in which the superintendent operates independently and with unilateral authority. In reality, the board serves as not only the ultimate governing authority in the district, but an essential link between the residents of the district (called Owners) and the superintendent. The board represents the public’s interests to the superintendent, and holds the superintendent accountable to meet the high standards expected by the district.

“A carefully crafted, conceptually rigorous purpose of governance….forms the heart of board effectiveness.” ~ John Carver, creator of the Policy Governance model

For more information about the Howard-Suamico School District Policy Governance Manual please visit our website at www.hssdschools.org.