Superintendent’s Message
The school year is well under way and we have many things to celebrate in Waukesha.
• Highly talented teachers, administrators and staff who are committed to serving kids at a high level each and every day.
• Incredible kids and families who we are so fortunate to serve.
• A supportive community which values the role that education plays in making Waukesha a great place to live, work and learn.
This newsletter was created to inform both current and future School District of Waukesha families, as well as the entire community, of the educational opportunities the School District of Waukesha has to offer learners at every level. As you will see, SDW has something for everyone!
With the support of our Board of Education, we have and continue to bolster our curricular resources for teachers. This provides consistency across the District while elevating the rigor for our students. It also allows teachers more time to focus on intervention and enrichment as opposed to creating their own content. As a District, we are already seeing growth in our students and that is poised to continue.
You will also read about the Waukesha Academy of Health Professions that works closely with local health care organizations and the Waukesha Engineering Preparatory Academy and Waukesha MADE that work with local area manufacturing, automotive, design, and engineering companies. Strong school and business partnerships strengthen how we can serve students and make a difference in our community.
The School District of Waukesha is also proud to be strong stewards of your tax dollars. In 2018 with your support, we passed a $60 million referendum to enhance safety and security at all sites as well as update our three middle schools and South High School. We will have this debt completely paid off in 2026 after which we will become the largest debt-free school district in Wisconsin. To date, our aggressive prepayment of that debt has saved over $1.7 million in interest as well.
Our Board also just approved the 2024-25 budget and tax levy in late October. The levy dropped by 2.47% which serves both the District and you as constituents well. Our mill rate also dropped to $5.32 which continues to be the lowest in Waukesha County. We take being strong fiscal stewards of your resources seriously and are grateful for your support of our schools and District.
I hope you enjoy learning about the many educational opportunities and partnerships we have here in Waukesha. Please consider sharing this information with family & friends who
Dr.
James Sebert
Superintendent of Schools
Did You Know?
Hawthorne Elementary School was the first school to install a communication board. The board includes frequently used vocabulary specific to the playground in the form of pictures, symbols, and words in both English and Spanish. This board allows scholars who have difficulty with communication (e.g., non-speaking, minimally speaking, and those who are difficult to understand) access to interact with staff and peers while outside for recess.
Hillcrest, Lowell, Prairie, and Summit View are all in the process of installation.
For the second consecutive year, the Board of Education and Superintendent have recognized local businesses and organizations that contribute positively to our students, staff, and District. The following partners were honored at the October Board of Education meeting, and we greatly appreciate their partnership.
The School District of Waukesha is proud to announce Addison Dannhoff and Maddy Pruett from Waukesha North High School and Samantha Dunahee from Waukesha West High School haave been recognized as Commended Students by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation. Approximately 34,000 Commended Students nationwide have been recognized this year for their exceptional academic promise.
The Class of 2025 has five seniors among the distinguished National Merit Semifinalists group. Amalia Waltz from Waukesha South High School; Sophia Antholine and Samantha Stundtner from the Waukesha Academy of Health Professions; Saiakshay Vaidyam from the Waukesha Engineering Preparatory Academy, and Bennett Warp from Waukesha West High School.
Approximately 16,000 students were recognized as National Merit Scholarship semifinalists. The nationwide pool of semifinalists, representing less than one percent of all U.S. high school seniors, includes the highest scoring entrants in each state. The number of semifinalists in a state is proportional to the state’s percentage of the national total of graduating seniors.
Semifinalists must submit a detailed scholarship application and provide information regarding academic records, school and community activities, leadership abilities, employment, honors, and awards.
2025 National Semi Finalists
Samantha Stundtner
Bennett Warp
Maddy Pruett
Addison Dannhoff
Our district has a centralized enrollment process, and all new students are enrolled at our enrollment office location. Enrollment is a “one time only” process and should not be confused with annual registration that takes place every August for students who completed the previous school year at a School District of Waukesha school.
Child’s Original (certified) Birth Certificate - ASocialSecurityCardcan’tbesubmitted inplaceofaBirthCertificate.Wedonotrecommendemailingaphotoofasocialsecuritycardornumbers.
Parent Picture ID
Immunization Records or a Signed Waiver
Previous School Information (Name, Address, Telephone Number)
Guardianship/Custody Documentation (as needed)
the parent/guardian enrolling the student.
GROUP 1
Mortgage or property deed.
Apartment or home lease.
Filed homestead exemption.
GROUP 2
Utility deposit receipt for new service.
Utility bill within the past 30 days.
GROUP 3 STEP 3
Complete the online enrollment form or stop by the Enrollment Office between 8:00 AM - 4:00 PM, Monday thru Friday.
BLAIR
Automobile registration or insurance.
Driver’s license.
Voter registration card.
401K, Pay Stub, or Bank Statement. Department of Health & Human Services document for Benefits.
IRS Documments from the most recent tax year.
Certified copy of a filed petition for guardianship if pending, and final decree when granted.
If you are considering having your child attend a school within the District that is not your neighborhood school, you must complete an In-District Transfer/School Choice Request. Interested in more than one school? Please complete a separate application for each school you request.
EXAMPLE: Rose Glen to Prarie - If your child is not currently enrolled in the School District of Waukesha, please complete the New Student Enrollment and an In-District Transfer.
If you are interested in attending any of the schools below or the the Dual Language Program you do not need to complete an in-district transfer form (it is included in the program application.)
• Montessori School of Waukesha (Gr. K - 8)
• Waukesha STEM Academy: Elementary
• Waukesha STEM Academy: Middle School
• Waukesha Engineering Preparatory Academy
• Waukesha Academy of Health Professions
ELEMENTARY IN DISTRICT TRANSFER APPLICATION
APPLICATION CLOSES JANUARY 13, 2025
Wisconsin’s inter-district public school open enrollment program allows parents to apply for their children to attend school districts other than where they live. The open enrollment application period for the 2025-2026 school year opens at midnight on Monday, February 3, 2025, and closes at 4:00 p.m. on April 30, 2025.
Who needs to complete the Open Enrollment Process?
1. Students who have changed residency to a non-Waukesha address between September 1, 2024, and February 3, 2025.
2. Students currently attending a Waukesha school via Tuition Waiver for the 2024-2025 school year.
3. Students planning to move to an address outside the School District of Waukesha between February 3 and September 1, 2025, and wish to stay in the School District of Waukesha.
Please note that families that move unexpectedly after April 30 can complete a Tuition Waiver form for the following year.
DPI OPEN ENROLLMENT APPLICATION
Families who live outside of the Waukesha School District who are applying for Open Enrollment to attend the Dual Language Program, Waukesha Academy of Health Professions, Waukesha Engineering Preparatory Academy, or the Waukesha STEM Academy will need to complete a program application as well.
The School District of Waukesha 4K "Future 4 Waukesha" program is both community and school based. Community partners such as area preschools, private schools, childcare programs, etc., provide District 4K classrooms. Our mission is to establish strong social and academic foundations, inspire learning, and promote family and community involvement to prepare all children for future school success.
We will prepare all children for future school success by ensuring the following:
• We provide high-quality, developmentally appropriate, standards-based instruction.
• We foster social competence by supporting self-regulation and developing a positive self concept within interpersonal relationships.
• We create differentiated child-focused learning experiences to maximize all learners' engagement.
• We celebrate diversity by honoring the uniqueness of each child and family within our community.
A child is eligible for entrance into four (4) year old kindergarten if s/he attains the age of four (4) on or before September 1 of the year s/he applies for entrance and meets the residency requirements.
The School District of Waukesha offers Dual Language programming, where students become bilingual, literate in both languages, and multiculturally competent.
The Dual Language Bilingual Program is an Immersion Program. Immersion in the program’s community minority language (Spanish) with a gradual increase in the amount of instruction in English is key to developing bilingualism, biliteracy and academic achievement for all of our learners.
Our Dual Language Program is designed to foster early bilingualism, literacy, and numeracy in both English and Spanish in our youngest learners. This creates a strong foundation for their academic journey.
Starting in 4-year-old kindergarten, students engage with their teachers and classmates in an environment where Spanish is the modeled instructional language and the mode of communication between the teacher and students and between the students. All foundational lessons are conducted in Spanish to build early learning skills in Spanish literacy and numeracy, social-emotional wellbeing, and community culture.
Students at these levels are working hard to amplify their vocabulary, read and write in the content areas, and develop the foundation for cultural competency that supports their abilities within communities where only English, only Spanish, and combinations of bilingualism are used.
4K LOTTERY PROCESS
4K SITES bit.ly/sdw4ksites
Attendour“Before4K”InformationEveningatBlair AdministrationBuildingonJanuary7,2025, 5:30 - 6:30 PM
HOW TO ENROLL
Enrollment for the 2025-2026 Dual Language Program opens 12/1/24. You are invited to attend an informational session for incoming 4K & 5K students on December 4, 2024, or January 8, 2025, or visit our website to learn more.
DUAL LANGUAGE WEBSITE
Visit: bit.ly/4fHGjIt
DUAL LANGUAGE PROGRAM APPLICATION
APPLICATION CLOSES DECEMBER 16, 2024
Visit: bit.ly/3Zd5H2z
PATHWAYS AVAILABLE
eAchieve offers the following:
• Elementary: Grades 4K - 5
• Middle School: Grades 6 - 8
• High School: Grades 9 - 12
Alternative Enrollment Options:
• Competency Program
• GEDO #2
Part-Time enrollment opportunities are also available for students who wish to take up to two courses per semester.
Whether you are interested in a mid-year transfer or enrolling for the upcoming school year, we can help! Contact our Enrollment Coordinator today at: apply@eachieve.com
IMPORTANT ENROLLMENT DATES:
Waukesha STEM Academy is a STEM Charter School located in the School District of Waukesha started in 2010 and serves students in grades K-8. Moving into our fifteenth year, the mission remains to engage, inspire, and empower learners in thinking, collaborating, innovating, and creating the future.
Students receive differentiated instruction in the core academic areas through science, technology, engineering, and mathematics project-based curriculum. STEM concepts and
Families interested in learning more about the Waukesha STEM Academy are encouraged to attend a tour or contact the main office.
After steps 1 & 2, families will either be offered a seat or be placed on a waitlist.
Tour Dates:
• December 10, 2024, 9:30 - 10:30 am
• December 11, 2024, 8:30 - 9:30 am
• January 7, 2025 1:30 - 2:30 pm
• January 8, 2025, 5:00 - 6:00 pm
Tour Location:
STEM Elementary Campus 1103 S East Ave., Waukesha, WI 53186
sdw.waukesha.k12.wi.us/o/stemms mjohn@waukesha.k12.wi.us
• December 10, 2024, 8:00 - 9:00 am
• December 11, 2024, 10:00 - 11:00 am
• January 7, 2025, 12:30 - 1:30 pm
• January 8, 2025, 3:30 - 4:30 pm
Tour Location:
STEM: Middle School Campus 130 Walton Ave., Waukesha, WI 53186
sdw.waukesha.k12.wi.us/o/stemms colson@waukesha.k12.wi.us
The Waukesha Academy of Health Professions (WAHP) and the Waukesha Engineering Preparatory Academy (WEPA) are both magnet schools that offer exclusive educational opportunities for students in Waukesha and the surrounding counties who wish to pursue an education that will prepare them specifically for post-secondary options in a health-related or engineering field, whether at a four-year college or two-year technical school. It has a reputation for excellence and academic achievement, placing the student’s interests and needs as the top priority.
We are proud of our strong community business partnerships and the opportunities they offer students in WAHP and WEPA. An overview of our community partners includes Aries, Aurora Health Care, Carroll University, Davies General Dentistry, Husco, Hydro-Thermal, Linden Grove, MetalTek, Metal Era, Mortenson, Phillips & Gemignani, Pieper Power, Precision, ProHealth Care, Quad Graphics, Ruekert Mielke, Walgreens, Waukesha County Dental Clinic, and WCTC.
The Academies are open to students in the School District of Waukesha and families who reside outside of the Waukesha School District via Open Enrollment. For more information on Open Enrollment, see page 6.
The Waukesha Academy of Health Professions offers exclusive educational opportunities for students in Waukesha and the surrounding counties who wish to pursue an education that will prepare them specifically for post-secondary options in health related fields. The academy provides a rich curriculum, focusing on academic skills in health occupations and science and math courses required for health and medical professions.
is a community of high-achieving and motivated students and teachers focused on intellectual inquiry and engagement, Waukesha Engineering Preparatory Academy is committed to offering an exceptional school experience. The academy provides a rigorous curriculum, focusing on academic skills in engineering occupations with a focus on STEM courses at a pathway into the engineering field.
Advancement via Individual Determination (AVID) is a researched based K-12 college readiness system. AVID equips students with intellectual skills and behaviors for academic success in rigorous coursework. AVID empowers students with strategies necessary to navigate the educational landscape through an explicit focus on high expectations. AVID improves organizational and study skills, develops critical thinking and collaboration, and exposes students to
AVID EXCEL
AVID Excel is designed for middle schools and can change the trajectory of long term English language learners lives by accelerating language acquisition, developing academic literacy, and placing them on a path to high school AVID and college preparatory coursework. AVID Excel is offered for grades 7 and 8 with the goal of those completing Excel enrolling into the AVID Elective in 9th grade.
TRANSCRIPTED CREDIT
Students have the opportunity to take a variety of classes in our schools that mirror the curriculum of a post-secondary institution. Students taking these courses at the high school level will receive both high school and WCTC course credit. The District has transcripted credit arrangements in the Technology and Engineering Department, Family and Consumer Science Department, and Business/Marketing Department, Information Technology Department and classes in the Waukesha Academy of Health Professionals.
WORK BASED LEARNING
Various program areas in the school district offer full-time students an opportunity to work in the business world in paid positions, as well as attending a related class which provides specialized learning around a career pathway. Students earn credits for both class and the work experience as well as are paid for on-the-job training. Students must be 16 years old and have junior or senior status in order to enroll in work based learning programs.
AVID ELECTIVE
APPLICATION CLOSES DECEMBER 16, 2024 APPLICATION CLOSES JANUARY 13, 2025
AVID EXCEL APPLICATION Visit: bit.ly/3Cv1BtJ
In the AVID Elective course, students are explicitly taught key skills and habits of mind that focus around: writing to learn, inquiry, collaboration, organization, and reading to learn (WICOR). These skills, along with socratic tutorials, help prepare students for success in rigorous high school courses as well as post-secondary education. AVID is offered for grades 7-12 and an elective credit is awarded upon successful completion at the high school level.
EARLY COLLEGE CREDIT
ECCP will allow high school students the opportunity to take college courses at Wisconsin Public and Private University and Colleges-up to 18 total credits. Requirements for enrollment in these courses are individual to the post secondary institution and require an application with the school district. For more information, please visit: bit.ly/40TW36c
START COLLEGE NOW
SCN allows high school students in grades 11-12 the opportunity to take college courses at Wisconsin Technical Colleges-up to 18 total credits. Requirements for enrollment in these courses are individual to the post secondary institution and require an application with the school
DUAL ENROLLMENT ACADEMY
In a Dual Enrollment Academy, you’ll spend most of your school day, both fall and spring semesters, at WCTC studying a specific career pathway including: Automation Systems (Robotics), Building Construction Trades, Criminal Justice Studies, Early Childhood Education Preschool, Electrical Apprenticeship, Firefighter/EMT, IT Systems Specialist, Pre-Nursing, Tool and Die/CNC and Welding/Metal Fabrication
To learn more about Dual Enrollment Academy, visit bit.ly/47RxAQu or contact your school counselor.
The district is committed to providing rigorous and engaging instruction with curriculum resources that challenge students to reach their full potential.
Over the last four-years securing a guaranteed and viable curriculum resource has been a priority rather than teacher self curating instructional materials. School Board-approved resources align with the latest education research and ensure that all students have the opportunity to succeed. In recent years, a significant amount of funding has been allocated to support these efforts. These updates will foster critical thinking, problem-solving, and creativity while preparing students for college, careers, and citizenship in the 21st century.
Educators and students (when appropriate) across the district participate in our curriculum review process, often including teachers piloting resources.
ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Literacy Math
Kindergarten - 5th grade are in the first year of implementation of their new curricular resource for literacy, Benchmark Advance/Adalante. Students experience 9 units in each grade level. Every unit of instruction addresses these science-aligned competencies: Foundational Reading Skill Competencies (phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency) and Knowledge-Based Competencies (vocabulary, language, comprehension, and background knowledge).
A clearly defined K-5 progression of skills facilitates student mastery of phonics skills and their transfer into reading and writing. Students participate in daily comprehension lessons that include explicit instruction in a strategy to support the analysis of grade level text. Vertical alignment of the topics and texts across grade
Kindergarten - 5th grade are in their second year of implementation of their adopted resource, iReady Mathematics. Teachers use a learning routine each day called the Try-DiscussConnect routine in which students engage in doing the math and having conversations around their thinking. This routine also allows students to learn from each other, evaluate one another’s strategies, and compare different mathematical representations that they might try to apply to their own work. Mathematics instruction is centered around the Wisconsin Standards for Math in the following strands: counting, place value, operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication, division), computational fluency,
MIDDLE SCHOOL
Literacy Math
Middle School Literacy courses use Savvas My Perspectives as their curriculum, which was implemented during the 2023-24 school year. During each unit of study, students engage in guided, collaborative, and independent learning as they read and analyze texts from a variety of genres. Middle school students are practicing how to read closely and annotate their connections. This is a practice in literacy that transfers to all other content areas. Students read, write, communicate, and examine language daily.
HIGH SCHOOL
Middle school Mathematics is also in the second year of implementation of the Desmos Math resource. Desmos supports teachers to facilitate learning through inquiry, and building concepts through problem solving in collaboration with peers as they focus on the geometry, statistics, connecting previous number knowledge to include negative numbers, and using ratio and proportionality concepts to solve problems; which, together with algebra foundations, will allow students to write and interpret linear equations from a table, a graph, and a situation.
Literacy Math
High School English courses use McGraw Hill’s StudySync as their curriculum, which was implemented during the 2022-23 school year. During each unit of study, students engage in guided, collaborative, and independent learning as they read and analyze texts from a variety of genres. Students’ close readings and independent readings connect to Essential Questions specific to each unit and grade level. Students read, write, communicate, and examine language daily.
It has been four years since Mathematics programming switched from a traditional Algebra 1 > Geometry > Algebra 2 model to an Integrated Math model using Agile Mind as the main resource. High School Mathematics concepts are taught through problem solving in collaboration with peers. The teacher facilitates discussion and guides students to connect their new understanding to prior learning through mathematical modeling with a focus on linear and non-linear relationships, quadratics, functions, advanced geometry, and statistics and probability. This sequence provides all students the foundations to be successful after High School, while opening up the choice of studying Calculus in their fourth year.
The Board first approved Key Performance Indicators in October of 2021. Since then, there have been ongoing discussions on the difference between KPI’s and metrics.
Teaching & Learning has reviewed and revised what they believed to be the major focal area to drive continuous improvement. The Board approved the three Key Performance Indicators below for the Teaching & Learning Department.
Increase the percentage of 3rd grade students at the Meeting or Advanced performance level on the State Assessment in English Language Arts.
Increase the percentage of 8th grade students at the Meeting or Advanced performance level on the State Assessment in Math.
Increase the percentage of 11th grade students who meet the College and Career Readiness benchmark on the State ACT assessment in Reading and Math.
Ten years ago, the School District of Waukesha made a courageous decision to embark on a transformative journey that involved equipping all students and staff members with technology (we call this 1:1 technology). This groundbreaking initiative, Waukesha One, aimed to redefine and revolutionize the educational environment, empowering students and teachers to customize their learning experience, to become active and engaged learners, to enhance their critical thinking skills, and to demonstrate learning through multimodal, creative pathways.
As SDW celebrates this momentous milestone, it is a fitting time for us all to reflect on the past 10 years and the significant impact that 1:1 technology integration has had on our teaching and learning, but most importantly on our students’ learning experiences.
The iPad: A Strategic Choice for 1:1 Learning Opportunities
When considering which 1:1 device would be the power behind Waukesha One, we had several optionsto consider including but not limited to: laptops, chromebooks, and iPads. SDW’s decision to deploy iPads to our K-12 student population was a strategic one, rooted in the commitment to providing our students with the most effective, versatile, and efficient tool for learning. In specific, the iPad’s customizability, portability, ease of use, versatility, and built in accessibility features make it an ideal device for students of all ages to navigate educational resources.
intuitive and user-friendly interface make it a usable tool for students of all skills, abilities, and technological proficiency levels, as well as promoting learner independence and empowerment. Beyond the optimal physical functionality, the iPad’s extensive app ecosystem offers robust access to educational resources that cater to diverse learner needs. The iPad provides rich opportunities for learners to engage with digital and interactive textbooks and eBooks, multimedia creation tools, video and editing tools, drawing tools, coding resources, educational simulations and games, virtual reality resources, and so much more. The availability of these resources in the hands of our students provide rich opportunities for exploration, discovery and engagement, supporting their learning throughout the school day and beyond.
Digital Textbooks and Interactives
In the high school English language arts classroom, students encounter StudySync, a digital resource that introduces students to literature and nonfiction texts coupled with annotation tools and even discussion boards. StudySync provides scaffolding for textual analysis, helping students identify literary devices and structures as they critically examine the text. More than just reading the text, tools like StudySync help students to dissect text and interpret complex ideas.
Moving to the highest levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy, some digital curricular resources can even support evaluating and creating. Using the Desmos math digital text/resource, students manipulate graphs, equations and data sets in real-time all while the teacher is able to guide students and intervene at the just right time to deepen learning. They see the impact of adjusting variables in an equation as the changes on the graph shift. Students can even use these tools to design their own graphs and mathematical models to foster a deeper understanding of math while they solve real-world problems.
- Waukesha One provides students with one of the most adaptable tools available to support deeper learning. Many of these tools are already built into the device, allowing students with a wide range of abilities to adjust the tool to support their unique needs. Adjustable text size and color contrasts, speech-to-text and spoken content, interactive switch and adaptive touch controls — these are all tools that many Waukesha students learn to use while in school, to make their world beyond school more accessible
In addition, a wide range of carefully selected apps help Waukesha students to develop the digital productivity skills necessary to compete in a digitally transformed workplace.
- Students in Waukesha develop essential productivity skills by using Google Apps for Education on their iPads. Whether working in Docs, Slides, Sheets, or Forms, they become adept at navigating a digital productivity ecosystem. Through daily use, they master key skills like managing sharing permissions, collaborating digitally, organizing files, and communicating in online environments. These skills are
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