2024 Retirees

As we enter the last week of the 2023-24 school year, we celebrate four retirees from Belleville Elementary School- three teachers and a secretary. Between the four of them, they have dedicated over 80 years of service to the School District of Belleville.

It has more impact to mark their longevity with changes in society. It emphasizes their commitment, dedication, and loyalty to the district.

• Marsha Rear started teaching in Belleville in 1989. That is pre-Internet!

• Kristi Miller started teaching in Belleville in 1997. That is pre-cell phone!

• Wendy Berg started teaching in Belleville in 2008. That is pre-Act 10!

• Mary Fell started at the elementary school on March 9, 2020…March 9, 2020. That is four days before the world shut down during the pandemic!

Congratulations of Marsha, Kristi, Wendy, and Mary, and thank you to those to helped honor them on Wednesday at Bailey's Run!

2024 Wildcat Wall of Fame Inductees

I have stated it many times before, but serving on the Wildcat Wall of Fame Committee is one of the most rewarding parts of my job. It is a truly humbling experience to induct new members into this exclusive group and reflect on the time and talents they dedicated to the school district and community of Belleville.

Both JoAnn Freitag and Rodger Moe began teaching in Belleville in the 1960s. Their careers spanned four decades into the 1990s. Mike O’Connor’s time as a student in Belleville overlapped Mrs. Freitag and Mr. Moe, as a 1979 Belleville High School graduate. If there is a lesson for our students about this this year's inductees, it is to take Mike O’Connor’s life into consideration. He was a graduating BHS senior forty five years ago. Last Friday, he was on stage for giving back to his school and community in so many ways since days as a student. Now that is the Wildcat Way!

Current and past Wildcat Wall of Fame inductees
present for the 2024 induction ceremony

Saying goodbye to Bill and Mike

Last night at the regular April School Board meeting, we said "thank you" and "goodbye" to Board President Mike Treder and Board Treasurer Bill Monroe. Mike also serves on the Communications Committee. Bill serves on the Facility Planning Committee and as an alternate on the Compensation/Negotiations Committee. Both serve on the Wellness Committee.

Bill has served on the board for three years- since May of 2021. Having known Bill as a parent before his time on the board, I appreciate Bill's intellect, candor, and sense of humor. He has continued to donate has time as a board member to tune the district's pianos. Bill and I plan to announce a few Wildcat baseball games together this spring.

Mike Treder has served on the school board since September of 2016 when he was appointed with the resignation of Brad Peterson. When it looked like Mike was leaving the board one year ago, I noted he and his wife Erin's massive donations to the school district at that time. Although Mike and I spoke a lot before he became Board President last May, board business in the last year has been heavy and the two of us have spent a lot of time on the phone and in impromptu early morning meetings. I consider Mike an EDUCATOR, and I cannot think of many as thoughtful and dedicated as Mike in my 28 years in public education. I am both thankful and grateful to Mike for his calm, reliable leadership in the last year. Through his efforts, the board is functioning at its highest level in my four years as District Administrator.

Meg Anthony and Alan Charles, who won seats on the Belleville Board of Education running unopposed on the April 2nd ballot, will replace Bill and Mike for the first time at the May school board meeting. The board will reorganize in May- voting on new officers and selecting committee assignments.

State Superintendent Visit

To celebrate national Career and Technical Education (CTE) month, State Superintendent Dr. Jill Underly visited Belleville High School (BHS) on Tuesday, February 20th. This was part of the State Superintendent's tour of Wisconsin visiting "outstanding career and technical education programs throughout the state."

Mr. Berthelon, Mr. Pickett, and their Wildcat Manufacturing students began the morning showing Dr. Underly and other Department of Public Instruction (DPI) representatives how a school-based, student-run business operates. It was then off to Mrs. Gartley's kitchen for her Culinary II students to share their latest slider recipes and creations. Finally, Dr. Underly and her staff visited Kelsch Machine Corporation and parent/owner Jason Frey. Kelsch employs three BHS Youth Apprentices. The State Superintendent had the opportunity to see Isaac Erb, Logan McCullough, and Riley Weber in action on the job site. Thanks to Mr. Frey for hosting this experience!

As always, our students, staff, parents, and community represented Belleville SO well and showed our visitors the Wildcat Way. It was definitely a great day to be a Wildcat!   

Holiday Cheer

For those Cheeseheads that grew up in the 70s and 80s, there was not much to cheer for when it came to the Green Bay Packers.

My mom would make me go to noon mass on Sundays, and by the time I got home from church and turned on the game, the Packers were usually already losing.

That was until the truly magical year of 1989. In my lifetime up until that point, the Packers had been no more (and usually less) than average- never winning more than 8 games in a season.

However, the 1989 team, known as the "Cardiac Pack" for their close games and wild play, won 10 games that year, tied the Vikings atop the division, and only missed out on the playoffs due to a tie-breaker.

Don, "The Majik Man," Majkowski, led the Packers at quarterback that year, and because of that, has always held a special place in my Packer fandom heart.

Why is this important for a District Administrator's blog? Well, if you watch the video below, you will see that the Belleville Board of Education went above and beyond for a holiday gift and had "The Majik Man" record a personalized cameo for me.

The statement that they had him read shows why Belleville is a special place and why I dedicate myself to the district, its students, and its staff. It feels good to be appreciated, but for the board to research and present me with this thoughtful gift means more than I can put into words.

Happy Holidays!

State Soccer Championship

In my 15 years in school administration, I have had the opportunity to attend two other state championship games with my schools before this year- one for girls basketball (at DeForest) and one for girls soccer (at Belleville).

The Sugar River Raider boys soccer playoff run, which ended with a state championship on Saturday, was so fun to watch! It was a pleasure to work and celebrate with Dr. Thayer, Dr. Eichelkraut, and Athletic Director Mitch Cernek from New Glarus. Although we are rivals in some sports, soccer has once again brought the two communities together.

You could see that on the field, with the starters and contributors evenly split between the two schools. It was also evident how much the teammates enjoyed spending time with one another. Coach Gentilli asked for (and was granted) the opportunity to stay in Milwaukee from Wednesday to Saturday if the team kept winning...and they did! That camaraderie certainly seemed to help this team.

Congratulations to Coach Gentilli and his Sugar River Raiders! It is the first Sugar River state championship since the boys Division 2 Track & Field title in 2012.

Courtesy of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

New Teacher Orientation

The School District of Belleville hosted its first of two days of New Teacher Orientation this morning. The administrative team welcomed in 11 new professional staff to the district. In a competitive Dane County market with fewer applicants in each hiring pool, the district is fortunate to bring in such quality educators. They range from brand new teachers to those with more than 20 years of experience on the job.

They will be joined next week with 6 more supportive staff and administrative hires when all staff return for professional development sessions on Monday, August 28th.

One of our new staff members remarked, "I can sense that the School District of Belleville possesses a deep level of commitment to their students and community. I'm excited to be part of a team that shares my enthusiasm for public education!" That is the Wildcat Way!