Información y noticias de BASD

BASD Families,

I hope this message finds you well and that everyone enjoyed their time with family and friends over the winter holiday break. As we approach the spring of 2025, I want to share some important information regarding the upcoming operational referendum that will be on the ballot on April 1, 2025.

In the coming weeks, you will begin to see information regarding this operational referendum. The school district will provide clear and factual details about the need for this referendum and the impact it will have on our schools, students, and the community. Communication will come to you through several channels including a series of emails providing information from myself (Superintendent), mailings to your home address, BASD Facebook posts, and emails from classroom teachers (to name a few).

The operational referendum is essential to ensuring that we can continue to provide the quality education that our students deserve, and we believe it is important that all families are informed and have the opportunity to ask questions and learn more.

We encourage you to review the materials that will be shared and participate in upcoming opportunities to learn about the operational referendum. Our goal is to provide transparent and thorough information so everyone can make an informed decision when it comes time to vote.

Thank you for your continued support and partnership as we all know, strong public schools are the epicenter to strong communities.

Sincerely,

Dr. Jill Oelslager, Superintendent

A reminder that the deadline for the 2025 Black History Month Art and Essay Contest is on February 26th. The contest is a great way to deepen our knowledge and celebrate important parts of American history. This year's contest will be for students in 3K-8 and Project WIN. It will focus on Juneteenth, Opal Lee, and the theme of "Lift Every Voice." Students will be asked to reflect on Opal Lee, Juneteenth, and why this holiday should be important to ALL Americans. How is your school and our country stronger when we lift EVERY voice... black, brown and white? Please click here for more information.

• Saturday Youth Basketball league is in full swing. With over 200 participants and 36 parent volunteers.

• The month of January offers basketball and softball camps as well as an ACT Prep course.

• With the school year ending in May this year, early stages of planning for summer camps & clinics is already underway.

The inter-district public school open enrollment program allows parents to apply for their children to attend public school in a school district other than the one in which they reside.

The regular application period occurs during a 3-month application period each year from February to April for the following school year. A pupil may open enroll for prekindergarten, early childhood education and 4-year-old kindergarten only if the pupil’s resident school district offers the same type of program and only if the pupil is eligible for the program in the nonresident district.

An application may be approved or denied by either the nonresident or resident district. Two of the main reasons a nonresident district may deny an application are: 1) space is not available in the schools, programs, classes or grades in the district (including for special education or related services); and 2) the pupil is currently expelled.

Parents are responsible to provide transportation to and from school in the nonresident school district, except that transportation required in a child’s IEP must be provided by the nonresident school district. Low-income parents may apply to the DPI for reimbursement of a portion of their transportation costs.

A uniform state-set amount is transferred from the resident school district to the nonresident school district in the final state aid payment each year. If a pupil is enrolled less than a full school year, the payment is prorated at a daily rate.

It is important to note that the resident school district counts the pupil in membership for state aid and revenue limit purposes. In 2024-2025, BASD receives $11,405 (before exemptions) per pupil under the revenue limit formula and pays out an estimated $8,962 per regular education student, for a net revenue impact of $2,443 per student. However, the special education open enrollment rate is estimated to be $13,814 per pupil, for a net expense of $2,409 per student. See below for a chart comparing the total net impact.

When looking at the data table above it is important to know that OEO (open enrollment out) does yield $803,020 positive for the school district that BASD gets to keep even though the student open enrolled out of the school district. The $803,020 can be used to help cover costs for the students attending BASD. Additionally, BASD gains dollars for OEI (open enrolled in) students. These are students coming from other school districts into BASD. BASD is estimated to have $1,267,252 from open enrolled in students to assist with costs. Both of these dollar amounts are noted in the GREEN rows above.

Overall we would like to decrease our open enrolled out students and increase our open enrolled in students. It is just important to remember that we do get to keep $803,020 dollars for the students enrolling out even though we do not provide services to these students due to how funding works for open enrollment.

• The health department has been busy teaching proper hand washing and conducting vision screenings for 5K, 1st, 3rd, 5th and 7th.
• In addition, all BASD schools are now officially Heart Safe School Certified! Banners will be displayed in each building.

K-4 Educators (Teachers, EL teachers, Sped) participated in Keys to Literacy professional development around the Science of Reading. The focus of this session was literacy basics, oral language, and phonemic awareness. Educators came together at Waller to discuss their learnings and how this looks in their classroom. Reading Specialists took the lead role in facilitating discussions.

Keys to Literacy professional development and training will continue throughout the rest of the 2024-25 school year and is one component of the requirements of Act 20. The requirement from the state is that all teachers working with students in grades 5K through 3rd grade gain Science of Reading training from a specific list of training options provided by DPI (Keys for Literacy is a training district can pick to fulfill the requirement). As a system, we believed Keys to Literacy was a great training as it provides staff with more "just in time" and realistic supports to utilize within the classroom setting while meeting the Science of Reading state requirement.

Additionally, as a system we are passionate about ensuring all of our elementary teachers are trained in Science of Reading, therefore, all teachers through 4th grade will be trained with Keys to Literacy by the end of the 2025-2026 school year.

Burlington High School

• BHS students went on a culinary field trip to Geneva National where they were able to gain hands-on experiences creating some delicious dishes! This was a great opportunity for students to learn about careers in culinary, hospitality, and beyond.




• On December 6, 2024, the DRIVEN Student Leadership Team continued their cherished holiday tradition by spreading cheer at the Arbor View Assisted Living and Memory Care Center. Students decked the halls, made crafts, played bingo, led a sing-along, and connected with residents, making their day extra special.

• Additionally, over 100 DRIVEN students braved the cold to support Love, Inc. in their annual bell ringing raising an incredible $2,218—making it the biggest fundraising day of the year for Love, Inc.! Both the directors of Arbor View and Love, Inc. expressed their extreme gratitude to student leaders giving back to their community. Kudos as well to our DRIVEN advisors: Matt Nie, Ben Hendricks, and Allison Hammerstad.




• Students participating in our very own radio station (89.1 WBSD) visited professional radio stations in Milwaukee to explore career opportunities in broadcasting. They toured Milwaukee Public Radio (87.9 FM) and Radio Milwaukee (88.1 FM) gaining valuable insight into the radio industry from experienced professionals. The visit included learning about various career paths in radio and how modern broadcasting practices are evolving.




• Students interested in becoming future educators shadowed elementary teachers throughout the district gaining experiences on how to help young learners grow academically. They supported students and teachers during their visits by reading to students, running small groups, supervising recess, and seeing some behind the scenes work of our staff. They are excited for their next shadow experience at Karcher Middle School here in January!




• Early in December, our Key Club members bake pies for Love INC and are currently working on organizing a Spring Service Day for all BHS students.




• On December 19th, the BHS honors English 10 students were recognized for their outstanding contributions to the Voice of Democracy Audio-Essay Contest, sponsored by the VFW. This year’s theme was "Is America Today Our Forefathers' Vision?" and students were tasked with reflecting on this powerful question.
• The following students were the award winners:
• Honorable Mention ($100 each): Milee Pezall, Jocelyn Sanchez, Anna Weis
• 3rd Place (Bronze Medal, $200): Sophia Warren
• 2nd Place (Silver Medal, $250): Brynnly Gaal
• 1st Place (Gold Medal, $300): Braxton Boyd
• Veterans Mike Olson and Jim Mucci, both members of the VFW Post, presented the awards to the students and praised their exceptional efforts. Mike Olson remarked, "Every year Burlington provides top-notch submissions, and this year was no different." Congratulations to all the students for their hard work and dedication!

• Our Gateway Welding Academy has had an incredible start to the school year! Our students at BHS have been hard at work, mastering flat, horizontal, and vertical welds, building strong foundations in welding, and earning their NC3 Certifications! Next semester, our Welding Academy students will continue to earn dual credit with Gateway while working with a Gateway instructor right here at BHS.

Burlington Alternative School (FRC, Project WIN, PAC House)

• Fox River Consortium (FRC) - Project Based Learning at FRC
• Students must complete Project Based Learning (PBL). Some examples of final products that students have created are:
• Civics Test study guides (Civics PBL)
• A hand created out of clay (complete with fingerprints!) (Forensics PBL)
• A brain created out of fabric (Brain vs Body PBL)
• New clothing styles and designs (Fashion Design PBL)
• Anatomy of facial features from a future piercer (Anatomy PBL)

• Project WIN (What I Need)
• Celebrated their 2nd high school graduate of the school year!

• PAC House (Project Active Citizen)

• On December 12th, the PAC Program students proudly hosted their annual Holiday Luncheon, bringing together more than 60 district and community members from Burlington and Waterford. The food is skillfully prepared by the students for all in attendance. The event was made even more special as the program celebrated the graduation of one of its students.

Cooper Montessori School

• The Library Dedication to the Sullivan Family: A sign has been installed at the Cooper Montessori School library, acknowledging the Sullivan family's generous donation that helped remodel classrooms and the library.

• Cooper Montessori finished their spelling bee competition in which Vera Howe took first place. Vera will move forward to represent Cooper Montessori and BASD in the regional spelling bee competition held at Whitewater High School!

Dyer Elementary School

• Second Grade students in Mrs. Murray’s class participated in a Math Academics Service Project which led to the students sorting, counting, and graphing M&Ms as part of their math class! Additionally in first grade with Mrs. Farmer and 4K with Mrs. Forseth the Dyer Student Council painted ornaments.

Karcher Middle School

• Karcher’s Compassionate Crew led by Ms. Hancock had a successful holiday bell ringing for The Salvation Army prior to the holiday break - awesome to see another example of service to the community within BASD.

• Additionally, our 6th grade students participated in a tree pageant before the holiday break - fun was had by all, including Buddy the Elf - Mr. Staude.

Waller Elementary School

• We had a special Elf on the Shelf greeting students before the holiday break! None other than Ms. Phillips was the “Elf on the Shelf” at Waller. I honestly expect nothing less than this from Annie :)

Winkler Elementary School

• January's School Board Meeting was the month for Winkler staff to have dinner and talk with the school board and then present their school improvement plan at the board meeting. Click HERE to see their school improvement plan!

All Elementary Schools

• 7 pairs of children's winter boots with an estimated value of $120 - Elementary Essentials Closet - Tabitha O'Brien
• Food, snacks, and toddler clothing with an estimated value of $243.23 - Elementary Essentials Closet - Brandi Miles
• Snacks with an estimated value of $43.33 - Elementary Essentials Closet - Cassie
• Gently used clothing items and shoes - Elementary Essential Closet - Women for Tomorrow

BHS

• Hygiene/feminine products, jelly, peanut butter, snacks, drawstring backpacks - The Lang Family
• Snacks, food items, hygiene products, water bottles, headphones, and hair brushes - Jennifer and Scott Tanking
• Clothing, shoes, socks, hygiene products, snacks, and other food items for the Demon Closet - Women for Tomorrow
• $200 - Basketball (Girls) - Racine Lakeshore Officials
• $300 - Drama - Peter & Kathryn Turke
• $60 - FFA - Mark Wilson
• $50 - FFA - Blume Trucking
• $100 - Football - William Milatz
• $400 - Koral Klub - Lynch
• $500 - WBSD - ASDA Enterprises, Inc.
• $500 - WBSD - Bahr & Kadlec, Ltd.
• $500 - WBSD - Thrivent Financial
• $2,507.50 to cover the cost for Shrek - Music Matters Inc.

Cooper

• Cricut® cutting machine - Molly Souza & Tricia Blum
• Cricut® cutting machine - Anonymous donor

Dyer

• 18 large bags of popcorn - Berkot's Super Foods

Karcher

• $500 - Karcher Kupboard - Lyons Sno-Bums Snowmobile Club
• $200 - Student Council - Kwik Trip Inc.

Waller

• Christmas headbands with an estimated value of $100 - Walmart Supercenter in Burlington
• Winter coats, snow pants, hats, and mittens with an estimated value of $500 - Shannon Souther, Shorewest Realtors

Thank you to the Winkler staff who attended on Monday night to have dinner with the board and support the Winkler School Improvement Plan to the school board. Kudos to the Winkler team for your outstanding academic achievement in regards to outperforming 81% of all 5K-5 grade schools across the state! Additionally, the board always appreciates learning about the building goals and work that is taking place across all buildings as we progress through the school year. Thank you to the Winkler Team and Joel Graham (building principal) for sharing all the amazing things happening at Winkler!

Amy Levonian, BHS Principal, along with Ben Hendricks, Career and Technical Education Coordinator (CTE), provided an update on the progress towards Strategic Plan Student Goal #4: 90% of seniors will align with at least one career path that resonates with their interests.

During the presentation two students, a business partner, and a parent shared their personal stories and experiences when it comes to youth apprenticeships and student internships in partnership with BASD! Thank to to all for sharing their stories with the board - below is a short description of what they shared!

Kudos to Aiden Dow (current student at BHS) for sharing his personal student experiences with the school board in relation to being a youth apprenticeship student in the field of HVAC at Square One! It is so cool to hear students talk about their experiences and to see them light up when they are exposed to a career path of interest! Additionally, thank you to Steve Hansen from Square One HVAC for sharing his experience and enjoyment of having Youth Apprenticeship students within their business! Such an awesome connection and partnership with the community!

Kudos as well to Jon Cowan (former student at BHS) who took on a student internship role at Ardagh Group this past summer. Jon shared how much he loved the experience and how it opened his eyes to the world of engineering! Additionally, it was great for the school board to hear from a parent perspective, Denise Cowan, and to see the support, passion, and appreciation to BASD and our dedicated staff for helping Jon find his passion upon graduation!

Click HERE to see the CTE presentation.

Lastly, an awesome highlight is that from 2021-2022 until now we have shifted from 5-10 youth apprenticeship students to 35! Such a great movement in a positive direction for students!!! Kudos to the high school team, Amy Levonian (principal), and Ben Hendricks (CTE Coordinator) for all of your work and dedication to helping students align to career pathways at BHS!

The Policy Committee met on December 11th to review the following policies that the School Board read for the first time at the January 13th meeting. The Policy Committee recommended that the Board accepted the following policies and their revisions noted in BoardDocs. If you click on the policies the recommended changes are noted in green (to be accepted) and/or red (to be removed).

Policy #6611 - District Supported Sponsored Student Activity Accounts (New)

Policy #8120 - Volunteers (Revised)

Policy #8310 - Public Records (Revised)

Policy #8330 - Student Records (Revised)

Policy #8407 - School Resource Officer Program (Revised)

Policy #8431 - Preparedness for Toxic Hazards (Revised)

Policy #8700 - Lactating Employees (Revised)

Policy #9130 - Public Requests, Suggestions, or Complaints (Revised)

Policy #9140 - Citizen Advisory Committees (Revised)

As required by state law, the School Board will review and approve available open enrollment spaces for both general education and special education. Board Policy #5113 - Open Enrollment Program (Inter-District).

Overall, the school district is accepting open enrollments into the school district for regular education PreK-12. However, the district is closed in special education open enrollment going into the 2025-2026 school year.

The open enrollment window opens February 3 through April 30th for students to enroll into BASD! Click HERE for additional information about open enrollment.

Every year the school board needs to put all candidates names into a container to determine the order candidates names will appear on the ballot for the election. This year, Rosanne Hahn, School Board Designee, drew the order the candidates will appear on the 2025 Election ballot.

The candidates order will be listed on the ballot as follows:

• Kate Johnson
• Paul Kobernick (I)
• Aubrey Thompson (I)

As a reminder, the three candidates are running for two available seats on the school board, with the election taking place on April 1, 2025. Once elected, each board member will serve a three-year term. Please note that all BASD school board members serve on a voluntary basis, without any compensation or stipend. Thank you to all who are interested in remaining on the board and/or who are interested in serving as a school board member for BASD and the Burlington community.

Committee updates since last board meetings. I put a little information below to assist with reminding everyone as to what our focus was to help you with your update!

• Teaching & Learning Committee - Aubrey Thompson, Chair
• Met on December 11th to discuss the new ELA resource being used in the 9th and 10th grade.
• Policy Committee - Paul Kobernick, Chair
• Met on December 11th and reviewed the regularly assigned 7 policies (noted above for the first reading) along with technical updates and revisions suggested from NEOLA. Revisions and technical updates do not have to come to the board for approval (just an FYI).
• Finance Committee - Peter Turke, Chair
• Met on January 6th and discussed post-retirement benefits. Peter Turke also shared information about private school vouchers as this was the topic during the prior finance committee meeting.
• Personnel Committee - Noah Strohm, Chair
• Met on January 8th to approve the appointment as well as the resignations, retirements and terminations since the last School Board meeting.

• Policy Committee Meeting - Wednesday, January 15th @ 5:30 pm
• Buildings & Grounds Committee Meeting - Thursday, January 16th @ 6:00 pm
• Community Connections Series - Wed, January 22nd @ 7:00 am and @ 7:00 pm
• School Board Workshop - Monday, January 27th @ 5:30 pm
• Teaching & Learning Committee Meeting - Thu, January 30th @ 8:00 am
• Personnel Committee Meeting - Wed, February 5th @ 1:00 pm - CLOSED SESSION (Virtual)
• School Board Workshop - Thursday, February 6th @ 5:30 pm
• School Board Meeting - Monday, February 10th @ 6:30 pm

We want to thank the Winkler staff for taking the time to meet and have dinner with the School Board at the January School Board Meeting! The board truly appreciates the feedback and ability to engage in dialogue with staff!

BASD Proud,

Dr. Jill Oelslager, Superintendent

Taylor Wishau, Board President

Marlo Brown, Vice President

Paul Kobernick, Clerk

Peter Turke, Treasurer

Rosanne Hahn, Board Member

Noah Strohm, Board Member

Aubrey Thompson, Board Member

• December 16, 2024
• November 11, 2024
• October 2024
• September 2024
• August 2024
• July 2024
• June 2024