Key Communicators Group

One of the school board's goals from last May was to "develop and sustain family relationships and community as active partners and key collaborators in achieving success for all students." To that end, the administrative team has launched a Key Communicators group of volunteer parents from all three levels (elementary, middle, and high school) that will meet once per term (four times during the school year) to gather feedback, guide decision-making, and share information for early input.

A survey sent to parents in August collected 61 parents interested in participating in this group. On the evening of Wednesday, September 29th, the Key Communicators met for the first time. Over 30 parents were in attendance, representing students from Pre-K to 12th grade. Our goal for the 2021-22 school year is to set 4-5 priorities for the next 3 years and then begin a larger process over again in 2024.

You can view last night's presentation, complete with notes from parent input, at this link. The Key Communicators will meet again on Wednesday, December 8th at 5pm to further define priorities and write specific 3-year objectives in those areas. We hope to see you back in December to participate!

Wisconsin School District Rankings

A recent news story spotlighted Niche's rankings of Wisconsin school districts. The School District of Belleville placed in the top 10% in Wisconsin (ranked 30th out of 371 public school districts in the state that it reviewed). Belleville placed fourth out of the sixteen public school districts in the competitive Dane County market. It also topped the Capitol Conference, with its ten member public school districts!

Niche released its ratings on Monday. This was the eighth time that Niche has completed this process. You can view Niche's calculations and grading process at this link. Unfortunately, the district's lowest grade came in Diversity with its only "C."

Belleville's overall grade of "A" is a composite score of:

• Academics
• Administration
• Clubs & Activities
• College Prep
• Diversity
• Food
• Health & Safety
• Resources & Facilities
• Sports
• Teachers

That is the Wildcat Way!

Football Alumni Game

Last week, Bart Morrick organized the fourth Belleville High School football alumni reunion in recent years. It coincided with the August 27th Belleville-New Glarus football game. I was honored to be part of the halftime celebration that, in part, paid tribute to the four consecutive conference championship teams between 1962 and 1965. The halftime ceremony included special recognition of Jan Bartelt (Ken & Polly) and Rick Stadelman for their contributions to those teams.

It was a great night for Belleville, as the Wildcats defeated the Glarner Knights for the second consecutive year- this time by a score of 35-6!

Look for Wildcat Wall of Fame nominations later this year (December)!