School District of New Berlin's Expecting Excellence - Spring 2023

TURNING THE PAGE: A READING FOCUS SHIFT

In a classroom tucked into a lower-level corner of Poplar Creek Elementary, teacher Ashley Hurab’s kindergarteners sound out and spell short, three- and four-letter words their teacher reads aloud to them. They focus on consonant clusters, and one student excitedly shares that if you take the “n” out of “bend”, you are left with the word “bed”. Mrs. Hurab flashes a big smile.

Across town at Elmwood Elementary, fourth-grade teacher Jennifer Call is in the middle of a reading lesson about geology. Her students define durability and sedimentary, among other vocab words. They discuss the root word “morph” in metamorphic and analyze the cause and effect related to certain rock types and formations.

The School District of New Berlin is in its implementation year of a new curriculum, but it is not just the curriculum that has changed for students, staff and families. After years of study, the district is focused on an entirely new evidence- and research-based reading methodology.

The SDNB has invested in the “Science of Reading”, a vast interdisciplinary body of scientifically based research about reading and issues related to reading and writing. It focuses on phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension. It is part of a massive overhaul of the district’s entire English Language Arts program, a move that has required years of planning.

For a long time we were happy with our level of success ... But we couldn’t get past, ‘Is good, good enough?’ And quite simply, the answer is ‘No’.

- Superintendent Joe Garza

Toast to Education, Pg. 4

History-Making Athletes, Pg. 6 Alumni Corner, Pg. 7

But why change now?

By numerous measures, the SDNB has historically been a highachieving district. It is one of just 13 K-12 school districts to “significantly exceed expectations” on the 2022 Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction-issued report cards, with an achievement score higher than 96.3 percent of districts statewide. SDNB students are largely successful on ACT tests and collegeplacement exams. And the district is considered a leader in academic and career planning and its focus on ensuring all students are ready for college, careers and life after high school.

But look a little closer.

• The SDNB is regularly one of the highest-scoring districts in the area in standardized testing in both math and science, but has not seen the same results in reading.

• Over the last five years, the percentage of students who scored at or above the benchmark on the ACT reading exam hovered between 49.3 percent and 53.6 percent.

• Standardized test results revealed reading proficiency scores had become stagnant - and even declined - over the last six years.

In fact, third grade proficiency scores for the spring of 2021 and spring of 2022 were 53 and 52 percent, respectively. The pandemic and state-ordered school shutdowns certainly influenced those scores, and the proficiency percentages were well above the state averages. But almost half of SDNB third grade students were not yet proficient in reading. And there were more concerns: students had grammar deficits and lacked perseverance with more difficult texts.

“For a long time we were happy with our level of success and how our district compared to others,” Superintendent Joe Garza said. “But we couldn’t get past, ‘Is good, good enough?’ And quite simply, the answer is ‘No.’”

A LEARNING PROCESS

Before instituting change, however, homework was required. In 2020-21, the first year of the multi-year transition process, district administrators researched everything they could about different reading strategies. They admired the science of reading success stories they learned about and the evidence-based research that the methodology worked where implemented.

They analyzed more district data, and just as importantly, they listened to teachers and had focus groups with parents and students.

“Our younger students told us we were teaching them the same things every year,” said Brady Reinke, Director of Elementary Teaching and Learning. “They thought we didn’t trust them to learn new things. That was eye-opening.”

The district’s previous resource relied on teaching short mini-lessons followed by students reading and writing independently for extended periods. That system was built on the assumption that reading skills

can be developed by exposure to reading, which is not always the case. Also missing was a focus on building vocabulary and background knowledge, both critical to reading success.

Year 2 of the process included a review of curriculum resources. The district built a team of teachers from all six schools; that team put together a checklist of everything it wanted out of a new curriculum and poured over resource after resource. It eventually selected Amplify CKLA, which the School Board approved last spring.

SIMPLE VIEW OF READING

The new resource is built on what is known as the “Simple View of Reading”, where reading comprehension is the product of a person’s word recognition multiplied by their language comprehension.

Foundational skills are taught systematically to ensure there are no gaps in understanding of important reading concepts. Language comprehension is built through engagement with and learning about a diverse yet systematic set of topics to build background knowledge and vocabulary.

The district also switched its common assessment to Fastbridge. Fastbridge is more focused on foundational reading skills, is more interactive in grades kindergarten through third, requires students to spend less time testing and offers suggested skill recommendations and interventions for students in need.

“We also increased the urgency of the situation with our staff by sharing more data, sending them research and articles we had read,” Reinke said. “We began to share the vision of where we wanted our district to be and how we were going to get there.”

After selecting a resource - and a summer of training - the district is now in year three of its process. The new curriculum is in place, and the district has built more K-12 collaboration time into the schedule to allow for calibration, clarification, celebrating success, peer support and more.

Reaching Beyond New Berlin

As the School District of New Berlin implements a new reading curriculum centered on the science of reading in its schools, it is hoping to help effect change statewide.

A team of administrators and teachers recently presented the district’s story on why it made a change at the Wisconsin State Education Convention. The SDNB also teamed with Wisconsin Reads for two showings of the powerful documentary The Truth About Reading*, once at the state convention and again at the West Performing Arts Center. Before another showing of the film in Madison last month, SDNB Superintendent Joe Garza presented to a group that included K-12 educators and school leaders, technical college and university faculty, state and government officials, business leaders, parents and more.

A similar crowd of more than 400 hundred people attended the showing at the West PAC. After the movie, a panel of special guests that included two of the featured subjects in the documentary along with the district’s directors of teaching and learning, Brady Reinke and Kelli Kwiatkowski, answered questions from the audience.

“Reading proficiency isn’t just about percentages of students and increasing numbers to make a school or a district ‘look’ better,” Superintendent Garza said. “This work is incredibly important to everyone whether they realize it or not.”

In 2021-22, only 37 percent of all Wisconsin students in grades 3-8 scored proficient or advanced on the Wisconsin Forward Exam for English Language Arts, according to the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. The department also reported that only 35 percent of students in grade 11 scored proficient or advanced on the ACT exam for English Language Arts.

And according to the non-profit organization Wisconsin Literacy, currently, one in seven Wisconsin adults struggle with low literacy. An estimated 1.5 million Wisconsinites need help building literacy skills because they have difficulty understanding short simple sentences necessary for following printed instructions, filling out forms and performing simple tasks.

“Reading deficiencies and illiteracy negatively affect taxpayers, the local workforce and economic development,” Garza added. “We believe the steps we are taking in our district today will bring positive change to some of the issues facing our community, region and state, and we want to be leaders in this effort.”

MARCH 11, 2023

New Berlin Eisenhower

TASTING FUNDRAISER

7-10 pm PRESENTED

EDUCATION FOUNDATION STRENGTHENS, HUGE FUNDRAISING EVENT APPROACHING

Over the last two years, the Education Foundation of New Berlin engaged the community in some noticeable activities. It launched a capital campaign to fundraise for the Orchard Lane Commons upgrades and sponsored a community concert series at the West Performing Arts Center, and is currently organizing its biggest fundraising event to date: this spring’s Toast to Education.

But the EFNB has enjoyed loads of success behind the scenes as well, with students and staff as the chief benefactors.

Since the start of last school year, the EFNB has helped establish four endowed scholarship funds and will award more than $10,000 to students this spring, compared to $3,000 just one year ago.

The EFNB has also established club investment funds to help with long-term planning for various SDNB groups. As of the deadline for this publication, groups have invested $45,000 in the foundation.

All told, between the scholarship and club funds, the EFNB has a $90,000 endowment; a year ago, it started the fund with $10,000.

“We are extremely excited about how quickly the endowment has taken off and how through the fund we’ve helped secure future funding for a number of scholarships,” said EFNB director Julie Cordero. “The desire to create scholarship funds and the community’s support of the EFNB has been incredible.”

The foundation’s endowment efforts are just a part of the EFNB’s success story. In November, it launched its first capital improvement project in conjunction with Orchard Lane Elementary, where the foundation has secured 60 percent of its $250,000 goal to improve the school’s commons, or library. The school’s Parent Faculty Council pledged $25,000 to secure the top naming rights sponsorship available in the space. The revived venue includes a new makerspace, reading nooks, and more, and upgraded furniture is expected to be installed soon.

The foundation’s partnership with school clubs - both elementary and secondary - in support of their fundraising efforts will be front and center this month. The EFNB’s Toast to Education, to be held from 7-10 p.m. at New Berlin Eisenhower, is a shared-revenue event that will benefit school clubs, athletics and activities, as well as the foundation. Half of each event sponsorship secured for the event goes directly to the EFNB; the remaining half goes to the club, team or activity of the sponsor’s choosing. A portion of each ticket sold goes to support a

ticket-buyer-selected club, as does money raised through the silent auction, event activities and other cash games.

The EFNB is expecting 600 attendees, and tickets are still available at toast23.givesmart.com.

How does the EFNB use the funds it raises outside of the endowment fund? One key initiative is its impact grants, funds awarded to teachers, staff and administrators looking to start new programs or fund existing projects that make a high impact and go above and beyond what is covered through public funding.

This is the third year the foundation has awarded impact grants. This year, it is providing more than $16,000 to fund six projects that will benefit every school in the district, including a photography unit at the elementary schools, additional construction tools at Eisenhower and West and more.

The funds we raise at the Toast to Education event and throughout the year go right back into our schools to benefit our students and staff in some way,” Cordero said.

MORE LOCAL BUSINESSES LEND SUPPORT THROUGH NAMING RIGHTS

PACTS

Less than two years since the launch of its facility naming rights sponsorship program, the School District of New Berlin continues to add strong community partners to its “team”. In the fall, Horicon Bank agreed to a 5-year, $8,000 agreement for naming rights of the Horicon Bank Vikings Ticket Booth at the West outdoor athletics complex. And starting this spring, the Eisenhower soccer field, home of both the 2022 girls and boys WIAA Division 3 state championship teams, will be named C&M Fencing Soccer Field after the New Berlin-based company agreed to a 5-year, $25,000 pact with the district.

“Horicon Bank is committed to improving the communities we serve,” New Berlin branch manager Christine Hintze said. “We’re glad to partner with the district, and to give back to a community that has welcomed us with open arms.”

“We have always been committed to supporting Eisenhower, and the timing was right to take the next step,” C&M Fencing owner Chris Micale said. “We’re proud to have our company name on the field that is home to not one, but two, state championship teams.”

Horicon Bank and C&M Fencing join a lineup that already included Drexel Building Supply (West’s fieldhouse), Aspen Orthopedic Specialists and Orthopaedic Hospital of Wisconsin (West’s baseball and soccer complex); Optimum Crush (West’s softball field), and Waukesha State Bank (Eisenhower’s indoor concession stand).

$300,000

The district has now secured approximately $300,000 in financial commitments through its naming rights program.

Funds from naming rights agreements benefit the district’s general fund and are currently earmarked for future athletic and activity facility and program upgrades.

“We didn’t quite know what to expect when we began these efforts and looked at naming rights as a source of revenue,” SDNB Superintendent Joe Garza said. “Drexel really got things rolling for us last fall, and we’re incredibly grateful for all of the partners that have committed their support to our district since.

“We continue to find opportunities to grow this program and we’re excited about the possibilities that these mutually beneficial partnerships can create for our students, schools and our community.”

LEARN MORE: Visit www.nbexcellence.org/community/naming-right-sponsorships.cfm or contact David Cotey at david.cotey@nbexcellence.org.

STUDENT & STAFF Shout Outs

District Spelling Bee Champion

Elmwood fifth-grader

Ethan Robert won the district spelling bee. He, along with finalists Auston

Dolan (fourth grade, Elmwood), Sean Garrity (sixth, Ronald Reagan), Ari Hernandez (fifth, Reagan), Mercedes Jaquez (seventh, Eisenhower) and Mia Jishin (fifth, Orchard Lane) moved on to the regional bee Feb. 20, after this publication’s deadline.

Perfect ACT Scores

Junior Angel Chao became the first New Berlin West student to record a perfect ACT since at least 2004. She joined Eisenhower’s Eliska Liang, Manzoor Mohis, Andrew Rivedahl and Srinika Pattaswammy as SDNB’s current students with perfect scores. Approximately one-third of one percent of all test-takers achieve a perfect 36 on the test.

Teacher of the Year

Elmwood’s Melanie

Gearhart was named the 2022 Wisconsin Elementary Physical Educator of the Year this fall. Ms. Gearhart received her award from the Wisconsin Health and Physical Education Association thanks in part to her innovative approaches to classroom instruction.

West Awards

West social studies teacher Beth Vento was selected as a Claes Nobel Educator of Distinction by The National Honor Society of High School Scholars; West Spanish teacher Nicole Thompson was awarded the Spanish Honor Society’s Mario Fierros Award of Excellence for Chapter Sponsor of the Year; and Jordan Napoli, now a West associate principal, was named the 2022 District 7 Athletic Director of the Year by the Wisconsin Athletic Directors Association.

HIGHLIGHT

With the spring sports season still on the horizon, 2022-23 has already been historic for both Eisenhower and West studentathletes.

REEL REEL

In the fall, Eisenhower sophomore Jack Bretzmann scored one goal in the state semifinals against Wisconsin Dells and one in the Division 3 finale against Notre Dame as the Lions earned a pair of 1-0 state tournament victories and claimed the first boys soccer title in school history.

A few weeks earlier, Faith Wehrman became the first runner in New Berlin schools history to win a WIAA cross country state championship. The Eisenhower sophomore finished the Division 2 run in 18 minutes, 14.8 seconds, 10 seconds better than the runner-up, capping an historic season.

Eisenhower’s Ava Meyer and Maia Samuelson notched an historic victory at the WIAA Division 2 State Tennis Tournament. Making their third straight state tournament appearance, the pair of seniors improved to 33-2 on the season with a 6-4, 6-1 triumph in the title match. Previously, no other SDNB tennis player – boys or girls – had ever won the state tournament.

But that’s not all. New Berlin West fell one win shy of playing in the state football championship game but not before rattling off three thrilling playoff victories to advance further in the postseason than any other Vikings team since 1988.

This winter, University of Wisconsin-Green Bay basketball recruit and West senior Meghan Schultz set two school records; she now sits atop West’s career scoring and rebounding leaderboard.

And last month, the Eisenhower dance team claimed its fourth consecutive dual state championship, winning the Division 2 Jazz and Division 4 pom competitions at the Wisconsin Association of Cheer/Pom Coaches state meet in La Crosse.

“Everyone is talking about it and thinking about it and realizing its importance,” said Dr. Kellie Sanders, the SDNB’s chief academic officer. “We are all learning and growing together. It’s a big change for our teachers, but they have our support and we all believe we’re doing the right thing.” There are short-term wins worth celebrating. The knowledge-based reading curriculum has elementary students learning - and reading! - about new and exciting things. For example, kindergarteners have had units on plants, farms and Native Americans, and are using “giant vocabulary words they are so excited about,” said Mrs. Hurab, the Poplar Creek kindergarten teacher.

“The learning and engagement is much higher,” said Elmwood’s Mrs. Call. “And I’m better able to understand if they are struggling with the knowledge or the reading skill. Overall, it’s going really well.” And she should know. Her class alone saw a 75 percent growth in reading from the fall to the winter. That’s understandably a small sample size and just one example, but it highlights what is possible moving forward. (Note: administration was to share winter testing updates with the School Board after this publication’s deadline).

“It’s not always easy to admit when something isn’t working the way you want it to, and change can be difficult,” said Garza. “But we’ve jumped headfirst into these new reading strategies because our students, families and community expect and deserve better.”

So,

how has it been going?

Jason Miller, Class of 1990

ALUMNICORNER

Jason Miller graduated in 1990 from New Berlin West, where he played football, basketball and baseball, and participated in the high jump for the Vikings. He will celebrate his 20th anniversary as a member of the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles organization later this month. He has been the team’s Senior Vice President of Operations for the last eight years. He and his wife Liz have three daughters - Gypsy, 21, Raegan, 7, and Jaren, 4 - and the couple is expecting to become grandparents for the first time this spring.

Q:

Describe a typical day as Senior Vice President of Operations?

I answer a lot of questions while running a multi-billion dollar NFL football stadium. I oversee facility security operations, event operations, facility operations, grounds operations, suite catering, and food and beverage.

Q: Q: Q:

Was it always a goal of yours to work for a professional sports franchise?

Not at all. It sort of fell into my lap and I took advantage of the opportunity with long hours and hard workmanship.

How did it all “come together” for you?

It’s been a lot of long hours and hard work over the years. I’ve tried to answer every question with a ‘yes’ and then figure out how to make the ‘yes’ happen.

Last month, the Eagles went to the Super Bowl for the third time since you’ve worked for the franchise. What is a Super Bowl season like for front-office personnel?

It is a super high adrenaline rush all the way through. We were incredibly fortunate to be there again.

Q: Q:

What were some of your fondest high school memories?

Our football team went to the state championship game (in 1988), playing basketball and socializing with friends.

What was the single-most important lesson you learned at West?

Build relationships and hold onto them. Life only happens once.

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SCHOOL BOARD NEWS

There are two candidates running - and two available positions - in the upcoming spring School Board election in April: incumbent Amy Crosby and newcomer Allison Spindler. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, Ms. Crosby and Ms. Spindler are expected to be sworn in April 24.

Krislyn Holaday-Wondrachek, who is in the second of two, three-year terms on the Board, chose not to run for re-election. The administration and School Board plan to recognize and thank Ms. HoladayWondrachek for her years of service at a meeting this spring.

is filling up fast for the SDNB’s Early Learning Program for the 2023-24 school year.

The community-based early learning program is led by qualified staff who provide age-appropriate programming in reading, writing, math and science, as well as focus on social and emotional development in an effort to prepare students for kindergarten and beyond.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS

• For tuition-based students; students identified through district screening as needing kindergarten readiness skills; and students eligible for special education services.

• Half-day sessions in mornings (3-year-olds) and afternoons (3-year-olds and 4-year-olds, separately).

• Maximum 10:1 student/teacher ratio.

• Held at Ronald Reagan Elementary, 4225 S. Calhoun Road. Any child who is 3 years old on or before Sept. 1, 2023, can enroll in the 3-yearold program for the 2023-24 school year. Any child who is 4 years old on or before Sept. 1, 2023, can enroll in the 4-year-old program. Priority is given to district residents, but non-residents may apply.

More information, including before- and after-session care options, can be found at www.nbexcellence.org/prospective/early-learning-program.cfm.