- Girls Swim is 6 and 1 in conference meets! They are a young team that has shown tremendous growth since practices began in August. They placed 2nd at conference relays and have held our own at invites. We have two more dual meets to conclude the regular season, conference and sectionals begin in early November.
- The Dance team has been performing at home games and had a blast at the pep assembly with their routine. They are looking forward to competing in a few short weeks.
- Girls Volleyball is 16 and 12 and improving daily. They are currently sitting 2nd in the conference, with only a few matches left in the regular season. They are headed into the postseason at the end of the month.
- Football is in 2nd place in the SLC with a 6 and 1 with their overall record. The team has qualified for the WIAA playoffs for the 8th year in a row. The Demons defeated Beloit Memorial 27-0 in their homecoming! Their first playoff game will be October 25th!
- Cross Country (Boys/Girls) is off to the races this season. The girl's team dominated, winning the Racine County Invite at the BHS school forest last Saturday. The Boy's team had an impressive 2nd place finish with lots of personal records. On Thursday, Oct 17 we host Conference at the BEST course in the SLC (our outstanding school forest). Good luck, Demons Cross Country, on your continued success.
- Girls Golf finished the season with a 1-6 record in the conference and won the Bristol Oaks Invitational. Macie Plitzuweit finished first-team all-conference in the SLC and qualified for sectionals as an individual. At sectionals hosted by Burlington, Macie finished 5th out of 48 players and missed the transfer to state by one stroke. Sixteen girls participated in girls golf this season.
- Girls Tennis finished the season with an 11-10 record in a competitive SLC. They finished 5th overall in the conference. 40 girls participated in tennis for the fall 2024 season.
- Boys Soccer is currently sitting at 9-2-2. They have played with great effort and intensity all season long. With a solid defense and dynamic midfield, they are excited for their playoff push.
- Boys Volleyball is 16 and 11 in the conference and 3-1. The team has been playing better every weekend in tournaments, most recently taking 2nd place at the Tremper tournament and then winning the Muskego Quad. They are starting to wrap up our season and think about the playoffs. The boys are playing some of their best volleyball at the right time. They are looking forward to the playoff run.
The One Act Play competes in the Wisconsin Interscholastic Speech and Dramatic Arts Association (WISDAA) competition every fall. The 2024 One Act Play is The Lost Boy. The public performance will take place on Tuesday, November 19 at 7:00 pm.
- Headcount - The headcount is the number of students sitting in seats in a BASD school or an alternate placement that we pay for.
- DPI Count - This is the number that is reported to the state and is our resident count. To get the DPI count, we start with the headcount from #1 above, subtract the open enrollment ins, and add the open enrollment outs.
- Revenue Limit Membership - The number used in the revenue limit formula is referred to as “membership.” To determine the membership, we start with the count reported to DPI (the blue row), convert certain grade levels to a full-time equivalent (FTE) number, and add in 40% of the summer school FTE. In the formula, early childhood and speech impact students count as .5 FTE and 4K students only count as .6 FTE, even though they are here all day. The revenue limit formula is based on a three-year average of this membership, meaning that the revenue limit will either increase or decrease from year to year based on the trend of this membership average.
Below is a table showing you the trends for enrollment based on the September 3rd Friday Count noting the three different ways to look at enrollment (listed above). The next "count" takes place in January. Historically, our enrollment goes up from September to January.
Part of our strategic plan is to increase our headcount by 2029 by 7%. We were just starting to show a positive trend from 2022 to 2023 in regards to enrollment, however, the failure of the operational referendum we do believe has impacted our enrollment for this school year. On a positive note, our open enrollment IN is trending in a positive direction over the past 5 years!
Each school year, the Community Education Department offers ACT Prep Courses to prepare students for the National and State ACT tests. The next 6-week ACT Prep Course is scheduled to begin on Tuesday, October 22nd. On average, 20-25 BHS students take advantage of this fall course.
- Star Stuff Theatre is underway with the production practices of Finding Nemo Junior with over sixty 3-8 grade students interested in participating. The performances will take place on November 15 & 16 at 7:00 PM and on November 17 at 2:00 PM at Dyer Elementary School.
Our Health Services staff have been diligently working to ensure state immunization compliance is being met throughout the school district.
Additionally, every year the school district provides staff the opportunity to participate in CPR training. This school year we had 32 participants! Once staff are trained they are certified for two years!
The District is looking for great people like you!
Do you want to make a difference in the lives of our community’s children and families? The district offers rewarding opportunities to work in classrooms, lunch rooms, transportation, buildings & grounds, and more. Employees may also have the option to participate in the Wisconsin Retirement System, which is one of the top 5 rated pension plans in the US!
To apply, visit the Burlington Area School District website, click on “About Our District” and then “Employment Opportunities” for more information on our current openings.
October is Depression and Mental Health Screening Awareness and Bullying Prevention Month
As the largest provider in our community of mental health supports to children October takes on a special meaning in BASD. We have completed 6 weeks of schooling and this has provided our teachers, staff members, and pupil services team members with an opportunity to observe and respond to concerns within our Positive Behavior Support framework. We teach what we expect of our students and reinforce the prosocial behaviors we observe within the school environment. At BHS we are celebrating how our differences bring us together through Unity Day. A day where our students learn about how their differences make them unique, but when we examine our values we see how we can come together around simple ideas of kindness, acceptance, and inclusion.
We collect student perception data on mental health through various methods of surveys and observations. We use this information to support and guide our programming needs for our students.
Bullying Prevention month is a national movement for communities to review procedures and protocols around bullying and harassment. In BASD, we review our procedures with staff and students annually. Teachers and building administrators at the elementary level, speak with students about the difference between telling and tattling. We emphasize how to solve social problems and the importance of bystanders in situations where peers are unkind to others. October is a month dedicated to awareness, but BASD staff bring these ideas to life in the classrooms and hallways of our schools. We welcome all of our families and community members to reinforce these ideas and values in their homes. Together we are responsible for maximizing the potential our young people wake up with each day. Thank you for your support!
Our high school adopted Houghton Mifflin Harcourt’s (HMH) math curriculum for Algebra 1, Geometry, and Algebra II at the start of the 2023-2024 school year. Students have been engaged in the new resource and seeing success as the year progresses!
Our high school English courses for English 9 and 10 are underway utilizing an updated resource for all of our students across both grade levels.
Our 5K through 8 grade literacy teachers have been engaging in an updated resource for English Language Arts. Our team has been pleased with the new resource, students are very engaged across the system, and the rigor / level of expectation has increased!
Changes to resources is a lot of work for our teams and we are so thankful to our staff for embracing the adjustments for the betterment of student growth and achievement!
- As a reminder, BASD has a no cell phone rule across the district with the exception of lunch time for our high school students. Which means students are not allowed to have their cell phones out or visible during any classes throughout BASD. We appreciate our students, families, and communities support in discussing the importance of being fully present and engaged in the work we do on a daily basis.
Burlington High School
- Celebrated Homecoming Week with some great memories made and celebrations had! Congrats to our football team on a 27-0 win over Beloit Memorial for homecoming!
Karcher Middle School
Karcher engaged with some awesome activities to kick off the new year!
This included a staggered start for our students, Karcher Mentor Days, and a Friday Night Live event.
Cooper Montessori
Students at Cooper Montessori started their outdoor education at the BASD School Forest. Each grade band will go once every six weeks to learn in their natural environment!
Dyer Elementary School
Dyer Elementary School had a PTO family engagement evening including bubble machines, chalk art, Blanket Fundraiser Kick Off, food trucks and popsicles with Principal Derek Straight. A wonderful evening of connecting with family and friends. Thank You to all of our Dyer families for a great night!!!
Waller Elementary School
- Waller 2nd graders in Mrs. Nevin and Mrs. Abbott’s classes had a CKLA knowledge lesson about Paul Bunyan last week. They then had flapjacks and apple juice dressed as Paul Bunyan and ladies from the time period. They were also visited by Ms. Phillips dressed as “Paul Bunyan” and BHS’s therapy dog, Tryg as “Babe the Blue Ox.”
Winkler Elementary School
- On Friday, October 4th Winkler students participated in a “Game Day” to celebrate meeting the Winkler Way Expectations for September. Students were able to choose games like Frisbee Golf, Bags (or Cornhole), Kickball, Board Games/Puzzles, Giant Jenga and Giant Connect 4. It was a great way to end a great week!
- On Friday, October 11th the Town of Burlington came to Winkler to discuss Fire Prevention and show us how they put out a fire. It was great to have the TOB FD at Winkler to teach our students about fire prevention and show us the equipment they use during a fire emergency. Winkler would like to thank the Town of Burlington FD for all they do and for spending the afternoon with our students.
WisCo (Wisconsin Connect Charter School)
WisCo students have been engaging in many hands-on experiences during STEM time during their enrichment days on Wednesdays!
Burlington Alternative School (4K-12)
- As a school district we have added a school code that will be reflected at the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) level as an additional school for the district. There are three programs within the school district that fall under the Burlington Alternative School: PAC House (Project Active Citizen), Project WIN (What I Need), and FRC (Fox River Consortium)
- The PAC House is a special education program for students who are between ages 18-21. Public schools are required to educated students through the age of 21 who qualify. The PAC House is an amazing program for our students that is housed at a residential home (owned by the school district) within the Burlington Community so that students are able to focus on independent living skills along with gaining job training opportunities.
- The students and staff put together their annual rummage sale and raised over $1,700. The rummage sale would not have been possible without the generosity of staff and community donations. Additionally, the PAC House donated items to the Salvation Army and to our local animal shelters.
- PAC House students are employed throughout the communities of Burlington and Waterford and are learning the necessary skills to become thriving adults and awesome employees.
- The students also have a dog bone business that raises money for their Community Based Educational Experiences. The dog bones are sold at 30 businesses between Burlington, Rochester, and Waterford.
- Project WIN is also a special education program that is located within the lower level of the District Office and serves students in grades 4K-12 that need a self-contained environment. Students work on behavioral skills and academic standards with the goal of students being able to transition back into our schools with their peers.
- Project WIN just had a student graduate and did an amazing job celebrating the student's accomplishments!
- FRC is an alternative learning environment for students in grades 9-12 where the focus is on Project Based Learning (PBL). With PBLs, students have full autonomy over their learning. Some of the examples of the PBLs students have been working on are:
- Science for Mechanics - Students used Mrs. McMurray’s car to learn and teach one another about engine parts
- Science for Chefs - Students learn the science behind cooking as well as safety in the kitchen. Then they are able to bake bread from scratch with their new knowledge.
- Young Professionals - This PBL is designed to prepare high school students for their future careers by integrating essential skills such as job searching, interviewing, and understanding employment requirements.
- My Money, My Future, My Goals - Students begin exploring their current spending habits while looking at models for their future. Long and short term goals are investigated and an in depth plan for successful future spending habits is created by each student.
- Members from other school districts have taken an interest in FRC as well. Lake Geneva Schools and Fort Atkinson Schools have reached out to see what is happening at FRC!
Last week was School Board Appreciate Week!!! Our school board members volunteer their time for the betterment of BASD and the Burlington Community. They do not receive any funds for their time and are one of few school boards that are not paid for their time. Each board member meets with me 1:1 every month, engage in 6 board committees that we have as a group outside of the regular school board meetings, and participate in the board workshops that we schedule. They have taken on a ton of work and have never complained, not once. I truly enjoy and appreciate all 7 of our board members and cannot thank them enough for their commitment to BASD and the Burlington Community. If you see a board member, please thank them for their service too BASD. They are doing great work on behalf of our district!
Every year the district is able to submit business partner nominations to the Wisconsin Association for School Boards (WASB) who have shown significant support to the school district over the course of the past school year. BASD recognized 5 businesses and three of them were recognized at the October Board Meeting. The other two businesses are being recognized at the November Board Meeting.
Below were recognized at the October School Board Meeting:
Applied Material Solutions (AMS)
The district thanks Applied Material Solutions for their partnership in providing middle school students with the opportunity to engage in a financial literacy experience through a program called Project Reality. Middle school students have the opportunity to engage with local businesses through mock interviews, job simulations, renting versus owning a home or vehicle, college admissions, job application processes, interview preparation, 401(k), health insurance and an array of other important lessons and experiences in relation to the real world and financial literacy! We are so thankful and grateful for Applied Material Solutions as they stepped up to the challenge and brought this concept to reality for our middle school students at the start of the 2024-25 school year!
Thank you AMS for your desire to engage and give of your time to support and help provide real-world experiences for our middle school students when it comes to financial literacy!!!
Ardagh Group
Ardagh Group not only has provided $260,000 to support curriculum, training, and equipment for STEM but also for their desire to partner with BASD through mock interviews with high school students along with the ability for one student to be given a summer internship opportunity at the Ardagh facility in Burlington! It is partnerships like this that create amazing synergy between businesses and our schools for the betterment of students and our community!
Thank you for your partnership with BASD! We are beyond thankful for your contribution to our STEM programming and love the ability for students to engage in internships with you!
Lynch / LDV
As a school district we are engaging in the work of adding a Welding Academy at Burlington High School. Lynch has agreed to pay for the shear machine needed for our welding students to utilize for their training. The Welding Academy will be held onsite at Burlington High School where 14 students at a time have the opportunity to become welding certified by the time they graduate from high school. We are excited about this opportunity (also in partnership with Gateway Technical College) and the ability to provide this amazing experience and opportunity for our students and are beyond thankful for Lynch’s contribution to making the Welding Academy a reality for BASD!
We are also thankful for their sponsorship and contribution of $100,000 towards BASD through the naming rights agreement at BHS for the Lynch Athletic Complex. Thank you for your partnership Lynch / LDV!!! We appreciate you!
The Waller team presented at the school board and covered so many amazing highlights in regards to the work taking place at Waller Elementary School. The team set three goals that align to the districts overall Strategic Plan for the 2024-2025 school year, which are listed below:
- Improve from 57% to 59% for students in grades 3 and 4 scoring proficient or advanced on the English Language Arts (ELA) Forward Exam.
- Students in grades 3 and 4 are required to take the state assessment (Forward Exam). Grades 4K-2 do not take the Forward Exam. Internally, as a school district we use iReady (grades 2-4), AIMSweb, and Fastbridge as screener and diagnostic assessments to assist with ensuring we continually strive to ensure all students reach their fullest potential.
- Additionally, at the start of the 2024-2025 school year we adopted a new English Language Arts Curriculum (CKLA) and our staff are seeing some strong promises from the resource as we progress into the school year.
- Improve from 65.8% to 67.8% for students in grades 3-4 scoring proficient or advanced on the Math Forward Exam.
- Our elementary team utilizing Bridges as our math resource to support students understanding of mathematical practices with a focus on teaching multiple strategies and striving to embed the importance of problem solving across all grade levels.
- Increase students’ overall score by .1 on the Studer student survey.
- During the 2023-2024 school year was the first year we utilized the Studer Student Survey to develop trend data in relation to students sense of belonging within our schools. Our staff utilizes this data to continually work to improve our efforts in relation to our school cultures and environment for our students. Our students just took the survey and we will see how students responded over the course of a year in relation to how they feel at school!
Policies for the First Reading
The Policy Committee met on September 24th to review the following policies that the School Board will read for the first time at the October 14th meeting. The Policy Committee recommends that the entire Board accept the following policies and their revisions noted in BoardDocs. These policies will be approved within the consent agenda during the November Board meeting.
Policy 0100 - Definitions (Revised)
A definition of "Local Public Officer or Official" is added, as well as moving the description of the "District Records Custodian" under its own heading and adding a cross-reference from the existing of "Legal Custodian of Records." Titles are added to some of the by-laws referenced in the definitions.
Policy 0122 - Board of Powers (Revised)
This policy is revised to better reflect the scope of District supervision of students and align the language with statutory terminology.
Policy 0144.3 - Conflict of Interest (Revised)
This policy is modify to include recent statutory changes which allow Board members to serve as volunteer bus drivers under certain conditions. This revision is recommended for consistency with current law.
Policy 0171.3 - Clerk (Revised)
The revisions to this bylaw are consistent with current statutory provisions and now include a cross-reference to any designees for the officer that may have been chosen in Bylaw 0152 - Officers.
Policy 2250 - Innovative Pilot Programs (Revised)
This policy has been updated to utilize common terminology in the department of new programs along with the innovative design language in the law. The statutory citations has also been updated.
Policy 2413 - Health Education (Revised)
These revisions better align this policy with more recent statutory changes reflected in Policy 2414 - Human Growth and Development, which includes notification requirements.
Policy 2415 - Tutoring for Credit (Rescinded)
This is recommended to be rescinded because this language is not required in policy.
Policy 2460.03 - Independent Education Evaluation or IEE (Revised)
This policy is revised to convert the drafting note in the template to regular policy language.
The school board unanimously approved the Start College Now / Early College Credits as presented.
Reid Oldenburg, BHS Associate Principal, presented the student requests for Start College Now and Early College Credit as required by the state for board approval. Start College Now and Early College Credit provide students with the ability to take courses for college credit while in high school that are required to be paid for with district dollars. Below is a table showing the breakdown of the requested courses.
The school board unanimously approved the private school parent transportation contracts.
For students attending the three private schools within Burlington we transport under our BASD contract with Thomas Bus. Additionally, there is one private school operating within the required 5-mile boundary (Mt Zion in Lake Geneva) where it is fiscally advantageous for BASD to contract with the parents/guardians to provide required transportation in lieu of BASD contracting with Thomas Bus.
There are 23 students in 12 families the district would utilize parent contracts for that attend Mt. Zion. The rate per student is based on the prior year actual contract cost per student which is $736.32. For 2024-2025 the total cost for BASD is $13,721.37 for the Mt. Zion parent transportation contracts. This is significantly less than one bus route costing $76,213 through Thomas Bus.
The school board unanimously approved the change in employee benefit consultants to Marsh McLennan Agency (MMA) moving forward.
Ruth Schenning, Executive Director of Business Services, presented the Employee Benefit Consultant proposals for Board approval. We contract out with a vendor to assist the district with employee insurance benefit (health, dental, vision) negotiations, renewals, and plan design. We have worked with Brown & Brown (B&B) for a little over two years. Prior to that we were with M3 for many years.
Based on conversations with other districts and businesses in the area, as well as our conversations with employee benefit vendors we brought two proposals to the school board to change the consultant that we work with. Our recommendation was to move forward with Marsh McLennan Agency (MMA) because we look forward to their progressive and innovative approach to employee benefits. The board approved this change in our employee benefit consultant moving forward.
