Columbus School District

Website: https://www.columbus.k12.wi.us/
Location: 200 West School Street, Columbus, WI, USA
Phone: (920) 623-5950
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ColumbusWisconsin/

Last week, I had a staff member ask me, “What is your motivation behind your parent newsletter segment?” It is worth mentioning that it was asked in an inquisitive and non-judgmental tone. I thought it was a great question! The answer to that question is pretty simple, my current objective for the “Message from the Superintendent” segment is to give an inside look into the district. I hope to engage and inform through this format. Additionally, anytime that you get to know me better or I can provide a helpful resource, that is an added benefit.

The last two newsletters, I shared how we use our vision, mission, beliefs, and procedures to create clarity and alignment throughout our district. Those characteristics are essential and necessary to success; however, they are rather meaningless without steps to obtain outcomes.

As I reflected a bit more, positive outcomes for the students of our district relates directly to our productivity. I didn’t have to look any further than the machinery I see in the fields outside of the city to have a good symbolic representation for productivity. From my early elementary years until we sold my freshman year of high school, I spent my summers working on the family farm. My uncle and aunt who ran the farm were kind enough to allow me to be part of the team. With that as background, you can probably imagine the difference in productivity between the equipment and processes we utilized compared to what I see happening in the fields in 2022.

What leads to increased productivity? To me, productivity is the action between alignment and clarity. The first part to achieving increased productivity is defining success. When an organization can define their criteria for success, a strategy can be implemented to work towards those objectives. Furthermore, there is an opportunity to plan and intentionally build capacity in specific areas when there is a strategy.

Defining success is a journey and not a destination. This work should never be finished. In the Columbus School District, our new team is working at defining our criteria for success. At the Board of Education level, success is currently measured through what is called Operational Expectations goals and Results priorities. Furthermore, the district uses a variety of metrics that we view as key performance indicators. Over the next couple of months, we will continue to narrow in on the metrics that we deem to be the most important.

I believe there are connections that can be made between my adolescent years on the farm and our school district. Formulating a strategy, including developing action plans related to outcomes, matters greatly. This is the difference between “just doing work” versus “working on the work”. Equally as important, it is imperative to acknowledge that outcomes matter. Our focus on clarity, alignment, and productivity hopefully helps Columbus be an exceptional place to learn and work.

Mr. Jake Flood

Superintendent

Columbus School District

My name is Scott Wendt and I am the School Social Worker for the Columbus School District. I serve students and families from our "littles" to our seniors. This school year is the first ever in which the District itself has had a school social worker as part of its Pupil Services team.

The past couple months have kept me busy meeting staff, students, and families, learning all Columbus has to offer and the challenges ahead. I'm often asked how a school social worker differs from other social workers that work with counties, hospitals, and hospices. As a school social worker I:

• serve as the district's homeless liaison to connect families with services and remove barriers
• provide direct services to students and families
• manage students' 504 plans to help ensure access and success
• monitor student attendance and work with families to reduce chronic absenteeism
• provide resources for student and staff wellness and mental fitness
• assist with our Multi-Level Systems of Support for behavioral and social-emotional learning
• link students and families to mental health and substance use providers
• work collaboratively with the pupil services teams within each school
• assess maltreatment, neglect, and abuse to be sure students are safe

All social workers advocate for the people they serve. This is no different in my role within the school setting. I seek to understand, find solutions, provide support, link families to resources, and maintain confidentiality with those I work with. If you would like to reach out, please contact me at

608-616-5565 or via email at fwendt@columbus.k12.wi.us.

We seek parent/guardian input as part of the school calendar development process for future years. The survey results will help provide preferences as we validate and/or consider changing components to the current calendar. This is the same survey that was sent out from the district on Monday, November 28. Please fill out the survey once. If you want to provide input and have not filled out the survey, please click the link. The survey will remain open until December 5.

We have some incredible news to share! We are thrilled to announce that Columbus School District has partnered with Paper to provide ALL students in Grades 6-12 free, 1-on-1 tutoring and writing support. To learn more about this fantastic resource, pleases click on the links below.

English Welcome Message to Families

Spanish Welcome Message to Families

The Columbus School District and Noah Laboratories (Third Party Covid-19 testing vendor) partnership concluded on November 11, 2022. The district currently has a supply of rapid tests available for families to pick up for students. Please see the information below from our Nursing Department:

- Rapid/at-home tests are available for pick-up from any of these three locations: CES, CMS and CHS

- If you would like to request a rapid test, please call the front office at your child's school to speak with the health assistance directly. They will gather more information from you and provide details on arranging a contactless pick-up for a rapid/at-home test:

- CES: Mrs. Gentz @ 920-623-5950 ext. 1161

- CMS: Mrs. Beyer @ 920-623-5950 ext. 3290

- CHS: Ms. Habenicht @ 920-623-5950 ext. 2201

- Please email Brittany Bayer, the District Nurse, @ bbayer@columbus.k12.wi.us with any questions.

EMERGENCY CLOSINGS

The District Administrator may close the schools, delay the opening of school, or dismiss school early when such alteration in the regular session is required for the protection of the health and safety of students and staff members. The District Administrator shall have the authority to determine which school-related activities may be conducted if the school is closed for a period of time. Staff and students may be alerted by Infinite Campus notifications along with the following media stations: WBEV-1430AM, WMTV-Channel 15, WKOW-Channel 27 AND WISC-Channel 3.

We are hiring! Please click the links below to redirect you to the job postings.

Certified Staff:

• Spanish Teacher - Limited Term
• Middle School Teacher - Limited Term
• Kindergarten Teacher - Long Term Substitute Teacher
• Substitute Teacher - District Wide - Long Term
• Substitute Special Education Cross Categorical Teacher - Long Term
• Substitute Teacher - Short Term

Support Staff:

• Educational Support Personnel - Special Education - CMS
• Educational Support Personnel - Special Education - CHS
• Educational Support Personnel - Special Education - Limited Term
• Substitute Educational Support Personnel - Special Education - Short Term
• Food Service Director

The Columbus School District and Columbus Community Learning Services utilize an electronic flyer communication tool called “Peachjar”. Peachjar is a centralized, digital location where non-sponsored and district-sponsored groups can post events and information. Peachjar has been used for several years. The process allows materials to be accessed at the reader's convenience and saves a substantial amount of paper and time.

Some examples of groups that you might see posting on Peachjar include: PTO Groups, Columbus Public Library, athletic boosters, Boy Scouts, city organizations, etc. All flyers go through a district approval process before getting posted.

If you or non-school parents would like to view Peachjar content from the Columbus School District or Community Learning Services, it can be accessed by clicking on this link. For more information on Peachjar, feel free to reach out to your child’s school.

Please click here to visit the 2022-2023 School Calendar.

Feel free to keep up with Board agendas and actions. Please click here to redirect you to Board Docs.

Columbus School District empowers students to be community, career, and college ready.

Vision of the District:

Columbus School District will create a global learning experience in rural Wisconsin.

We Believe All Students and Staff:

• are valued.
  
• are engaged in learning.
  
• are responsive to unique learning needs.
  
• have a place to belong.
  
• appreciate diversity.
  
• interacting with community will benefit all.

Are you parent who has children that participate in athletics or other after school activities? Do you like children? Lamers Bus Lines in Columbus is looking for a few good people to help transport for school, sports, and other activities.

Comprehensive school bus CDL training program high hourly wages. Experience pays more.

• Part time, flexible hours
• Mid-Day opportunities available
• Child ride-along program for school bus route drivers
• 401(k) and profit sharing programs
• Nights, weekends, holidays off for route drivers
• Afternoon, evening and weekend charter work available
• Drivers can qualify for health insurance after meeting requirements.

Lamers Bus Lines is a family-focused company that takes pride in being a part of your community. Together we work to provide our passengers safe and worry-free transportation every time they step on board one of our buses. Lamers Bus Lines is an EOE/AA employer.