By Lee Pulaski, City Editor
Delegation visits SCHS to talk with students, staff
Representatives from the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction paid a visit Oct. 24 to Shawano Community High School to talk with students and staff about the flexible scheduling the school has for classes and programs.
Sara Knueve, assistant deputy state superintendent, said after the visit she plans to tell Jill Underly, state superintendent of public instruction, about Shawano’s effort to provide services that help students succeed while creating the flexibility to their schedules to allow for multiple learning and career experiences.
“We’re going to go back and tell Dr. Underly what a powerful example of student-centered learning and innovative education (SCHS is),” Knueve said.
Tacara Lovings, DPI’s health and physical education consultant, said SCHS brings together community partnerships to make things possible, particularly the work with Northeast Wisconsin Technical College, University of Wisconsin-Green Bay and local businesses.
“The community is coming together to meet the needs of their students,” Lovings said.
The visit was a part of Underly’s effort to complement her strategic plan, where one of the focuses is on innovative education. One of the programs that DPI oversees is Gear Up, a grant-funded program that helps increase the number of low-income students who can go on to colleges and universities.
“We’re looking at how we can help kids with academic and career planning,” Knueve said. “Shawano is a great example, so that’s why we picked that (for a visit).”
SCHS student Kyera Williams plans to be a first-generation college student and said her experience with UW-Green Bay’s Rising Phoenix program — where students can take college-level coursework at the high school, the university or online — has been a positive one.
“It’s a whole new experience across the board,” Williams said. “I can say that I have definitely developed new skills through the program and been working on some old ones like time management and scheduling, which (I’m) still working on.”
Student Ethan Alkula is part of the school’s Upward Bound program, a federally funded program that helps high school students from low-income backgrounds to prepare for college. He noted he initially got involved because his father told him to do it, but now he believes he’s better for being part of the program, noting that the summer component is a highlight.
“I would say it’s probably one of the best high school decisions I’ve made,” Alkula said to the DPI representatives. “Upward Bound is a way to help support me through actually going to college, and it gives me two people I know I can count on if I have any questions, whether it’s for college or in general.”
Student Drew Chelberg is the youngest sibling out of five, and like the others in his family, he’s part of the Rising Phoenix program. He believes the program has helped him better figure out how to transition from high school to post-secondary education.
“I think I’ve gotten some good skills like communication and just kind of confidence in a college setting,” Chelberg said.
SCHS principal Matthew Raduechel, in his third year at the high school following work in a middle school setting, noted the school offers flexible scheduling that allows students to take career-based programs needed to give them a boost when they finally graduate high school.
“Students are wanting and desiring the flexibility within their schedule to have youth apprenticeships or have school-to-work programs, being able to be off-site and doing their programming,” Raduechel said. “We’re fitting a traditional alternating block system into this, but right now we’re making it work. It causes a lot more work on our end to make it fit within the context or where classes go and how they get there and how they’re participating, but it’s definitely something that we’re constantly exploring either on an individual basis or as a school.”
Superintendent Kurt Krizan said that, if he had his way, he’d find a method that would allow all students to go through the college experience while still in high school.
“However we can create more experiences, the better,” Krizan said.
lpulaski@newmedia-wi.com
Source: DPI notices high school’s work on career, college readiness