TASD HOWL: Fall 2023

FALL 2023

608.374.7004 www.tomah.education 608.372.5087 Tomah Area School District

HIGH QUALITY STUDENT LEARNING.

EVERY CHILD. EVERY DAY.

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MESSAGE FROM OUR DISTRICT ADMINISTRATOR

MARK YOUR CALENDARS:

Hello Tomah Area School District Families and Community Members! The 2023-2024 school year is off to a wonderful start, and this Fall 2023 publication of the HOWL highlights the amazing gifts and talents of our students and faculty! Tomah Area School District is honored to share this most important journey -educating our children - with you! Howl On! High Quality Student Learning, Every Child, Every Day is our district mission statement.

To meet the high ideals of this mission statement and dedication to continuous academic improvement, Tomah Area School District continues its collective commitment to the Professional Learning Community (PLC) process ensuring high levels of learning for all students and faculty. The district and the schools are the Professional Learning Community while Guiding Coalitions and Collaborative Teams within our schools function as the fundamental structure of the PLC. Guiding Coalitions of teacher leaders and administrators at our school buildings provide leadership and direction creating Shared Mission, Shared Vision, Collective Commitments, and Shared Goals. Collaborative Teams of teachers at grade levels or content areas work interdependently to achieve common goals associated with improving student and adult learning. This collaborative culture drives our school improvement process.

Improving the Social and Emotional (SEL) well-being of our students is an additional strategic priority in our district this school year. We’re dedicating time and resources to improve our SEL programs by rebuilding our systems of supports and interventions to address student behaviors through evidence based practices that build positive relationships and stronger classroom engagement. This important work aligns directly with the Professional Learning Community. We are very grateful to members of the Tomah Area Board of Education for their visionary leadership providing strong support to our teachers and administrators through embedded professional development focused on these transformational activities during this school year.

Thank you for being our partners through your support and presence in our community of learners! Together we make the Tomah Area School District a wonderful place for our children to learn and grow!

Dr. Mike Hanson District Administrator Tomah Area School District

Pupil Non Discrimination Self Evaluation Report

Wis. Admin. Code § PI 9.06 requires school boards to evaluate the status of nondiscrimination and equality of educational opportunity in the school district at least once every five years and report the results to the Department of Public Instruction.

To meet the five-year evaluation and reporting requirements, districts must evaluate the status of nondiscrimination and equality of educational opportunity in the following areas: • School board policies and administrative procedures. • Enrollment trends in classes and programs. • Methods, practices, curriculum and materials used in instruction, counseling, and pupil assessment and testing. • Trends and patterns of disciplinary actions, including suspensions, expulsions, and handling of pupil harassment. • Participation trends and patterns and school district support of athletic, extracurricular and recreational activities. • Trends and patterns in awarding scholarships and other forms of recognition and achievement provided or administered by the district. • School district efforts to achieve equality of educational opportunity and nondiscrimination. • School district technology, including electronic communications by school district staff.

As part of this process, the district is seeking input from parents/guardians and community members in the above areas. If you would like to provide input, please contact Mike Hanson, District Administrator, mikehanson@tomah. education

H i g h Q u a l i t y St u d e n t L e a r n i n g . E v e r y C h i l d . E v e r y D a y.

dates to remember for the 23-24 School Year!

November:

March:

11/2: Miller K-2 Elementary Concert 6:30pm @ THS 11/3: END OF FIRST QUARTER 11/3: HS Band Concert 7:00pm @ THS 11/7: Wyeville Elementary Concert 6:30pm @ THS 11/9: Lemonweir Elementary Concert 6:30pm @ THS 11/20: Board of Education Meeting 7:00pm @ RKLC 11/22-11/24: NO SCHOOL (Thanksgiving Break)

3/1: HS and MS Show Choir Concert 7:00pm @ THS 3/5 & 3/7: TMS/THS P.M. Conferences 3/8: Band-O-Rama 6:30pm @ THS 3/15: Spassabend Performance 7:00pm @ THS 3/18: Camp Douglas/Oakdale Elementary Concert 6:30pm @ THS 3/18: Board of Education Meeting 7:00pm @ RKLC 3/19: LaGrange Elementary Concert 6:30pm @ THS 3/22: END OF 3RD QUARTER 3/25-3/39: NO SCHOOL (Spring Break)

December: 12/1-12/3: MS Musical Production 7:00pm @ THS 12/8: MS Band Concert 5:00pm @ THS 12/14: MS Choir Concert 7:00pm @ THS 12/16: HS Choir/Band Winter Holiday Concert 7:00pm @THS 12/18: Board of Education Meeting 7:00pm @ RKLC 12/25-12/29: NO SCHOOL (Winter Break)

April:

4/1: NO SCHOOL (Spring Break) 4/9: LaGrange K-2 Elementary Concert 6:30pm @ THS 4/11: Warrens Elementary Concert 6:30pm @ THS 4/15: Board of Education Meeting 7:00pm @ RKLC

January:

May:

1/1: NO SCHOOL (Winter Break) 1/2-1/3: NO SCHOOL (Staff Professional Development) 1/13: HS Show Choir Spaghetti Dinner/Performance 7:00pm @ THS 1/15: NO SCHOOL (Grading/Collab) 1/15: Board of Education Meeting 7:00pm @ RKLC 1/19: END OF 2ND QUARTER

5/3: NO SCHOOL (Staff Professional Development) 5/3: HS Musical 7:00pm @ THS 5/4: HS Musical 7:00pm @ THS 5/5: HS Musical 2:00pm @ THS 5/6: Senior Scholarship Night 7:30pm @ THS 5/7: Miller 3-5 Elementary Concert 6:30pm @ THS 5/9: HS Choir Concert 8:00pm @ THS 5/10: School-Wide Carnival 8:00am-9:00pm @ LaGrange 5/10: HS/MS Jazz Band Concert 7:30pm @ THS 5/13: MS Band Concert 7:00pm @ THS 5/14: Lemonweir Elementary Concert 6:30pm @ THS 5/16: MS Choir Concert 7:30pm @ THS 5/18: HS Band Concert 7:00pm @ THS 5/20: Board of Education Meeting 7:00pm @ RKLC 5/22: Baccalaureate 7:00pm @ THS 5/25: Graduation 10:00am @ THS 5/27: NO SCHOOL (Memorial Day) 5/31: Last Day of School (Early Dismissal)

February:

2/5: 8th Grade (Incoming Freshman) Registration 6:30pm @THS 2/19: NO SCHOOL (Staff Professional Development) 2/19: Board of Education Meeting 7:00pm @ RKLC 2/23: Elementary Musical 7:00pm @ THS 2/24: Elementary Musical 7:00pm @ THS 2/25: Elementary Musical 2:00pm @ THS 2/27 & 2/29: Elementary School P.M. Conferences

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STUDENTS LIVING BETTER: MENTAL HEALTH ASSEMBLY The Youth Alive organization has been helping students live the best life since 1993. They have developed a very strong school assembly program that features speakers with messages of hope and have since reached over 25,000 students with that message. Their aim is to empower every student to live the best life possible. They focus on positive life change through better choices and the undeniable worth of every student. They use engaging music and empowering speakers to reach the students and get them thinking, get them talking, not just during the assembly, but long after they leave.

RED RIBBON WEEK

Tomah Middle School joined forces with the 88th Readiness Division out of Fort McCoy to celebrate Red Ribbon Week.

Middle School students were given the opportunity to enter an Essay Contest, focusing on increasing awareness of substance abuse and how drugs and alcohol have and/or continue to affect their families or their communities. Rebecca Janiszewski, from the 88th Readiness Division attended the school’s Red Ribbon Assembly and awarded coins to six essay winners. The winners were invited to Fort McCoy to meet the base commander and share their essays with staff and soldiers of the 88th RD. The ultimate mission behind Red Ribbon Week in Wisconsin is to reduce substance use and empower young people to make healthy choices that are drug-free, and to bring communities together to take a stand against drugs.

Congratulations to essay winners Neisha Winn, Lotty Orozco, Kendra Meyer, Bronson Roose, Alysha Frey, Nola Wickersheim, and Kaylee Sadowski.

They came to Tomah on October 16th for a day of district wide assemblies. Throughout the day, each school came to the High School auditorium to hear from speaker Terrence Talley. Terrence’s mission is “Students today face an uphill battle against bullying, peer pressure, family hurts and life altering choices. If we can help bring students together, give another option, heal some hurts and help realize positive life choices, we would have better students and a positive school atmosphere.”

Terrence’s overall theme for his talk was Students Living Better.

This mental health assembly was tailored each time, to the audience in attendance, whether it was elementary school students, middle school students, or high school students. He got on their level, addressing their mental health needs with age appropriate stories and examples, from respecting yourself and your teachers and being kind to others for the younger students, to his own personal stories of bullying, to shinning a light into the darkness that some of our older students may be walking in. His message was one of hope, resilience and empathy.

He was both hilarious and relevant. He spoke about seeing what others around you might be going through, and how you can choose to help people live a better life, and how one encounter with another person can change their entire future. Most importantly, that every student in that auditorium mattered.

During his address to the high schoolers, he spoke about being a husband and father, and how he gives the best “dad hugs”.

How he offers these hugs to anyone who needs one or might not get hugs from anyone else. As the high school assembly came to a close, many students found their way to the front. To tell their story, to be heard, to connect, to feel they mattered.

Just like the message he spoke. They stood in line, patiently waiting their turn. Some simply thanked him for coming. Some shared about things they were facing in their lives. And most walked away with a “dad hug”.

The point of the assembly was to let students know they mattered, to give every student hope and to empower them to give hope to others, and the message was received.

pg 10

Wisconsin DPI Digital Learning Team Members Visit TASD

Digital Learning Education Consultant Amanda Albrecht, and Computer Science and Digital Learning Innovation Consultant Amy Bires from the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) Digital Learning and Technology Team recently visited Tomah Area School District where members of our instructional faculty, a student representative, and administrative team offered presentations reflecting STEM curriculum lessons our students take part in throughout the district in grades 4K – 12. Examples of lessons taught in our district included coding, robotics, internet safety, as well as demonstrating the use of district virtual and augmented reality hardware. DPI representatives offered strong praise for the innovative practices our 4K-12 technology curriculum offers to students and provided valuable connections to state level resources that may be utilized to expand the district’s already robust technology program and infrastructure.

“We’re proud to have amazing faculty and administrator leadership in the Ed Tech space to meet the needs of a modern and frequently transforming digital curriculum. Through their efforts our students will continue to gain valuable knowledge along their journey to career and college readiness.” Mike Hanson, TASD District Administrator

pg 3

YES WE CAN!

Utilizing PLC practices, general and special educators can develop collaborative partnerships to close the achievement gap and maximize learning for all.

Over the past two years the Tomah Area School District has been dedicated to understanding the PLC process, what Professional Learning Communities entail and how to implement the PLC processes effectively. Our district mission is: High quality student learning. Every child. Every day. With this mission it is the belief that with the right support ALL students can learn at high levels.

In October the district took a team of 24 teachers including general education teachers, special education teachers, and administrators from all levels to a 2-day workshop called “Yes We Can”. This workshop provided our team hands-on training to learn how PLC best practices support success for ALL students through the development of collaborative partnerships and identifying high-leverage structures and strategies that will level the playing field and accelerate learning.

As the state adopts more rigorous academic standards, there is a greater sense of urgency to ensure that all students learn at the highest levels, including English learners, children with special needs, children from poverty, and children facing trauma. The district recognizes the importance of developing systems to efficiently monitor student progress towards learning goals and supporting the success of every student.

The workshop covered topics such as collaborative structures, a guaranteed and viable curriculum, balanced and coherent systems of assessment, and individualized education program (IEP) goals tailored to student areas of deficit. As well as developing a plan for site-based next steps, so we can effectively implement our trainings in our buildings. The PLC process helps everyone focus on the right work.

The district’s goal is to build a school culture that believes all students can succeed. Trainings such as the “Yes We Can” workshop foster the mission statement and help train the staff to better achieve these goals.

THS SCIENCE LABS RENOVATED The science labs at the High School were all original rooms from 1964, and due for some updating. The conversation regarding a renovation project began all the way back in December of 2020. Plans were created, and Board Facilities approved the renovation in November of 2022, which consisted of the renovation of three rooms in the science wing of the High School. The School Board gave final approval in December of 2022 and ESSER III funds were used for the project. Construction began on June 7th and was completed prior to the start of the school year.

LAGRANGE ELEMENTARY GARDEN PROJECT

Twelve years ago, Karen Olson started a garden at LaGrange Elementary. Each year, the third graders plant the garden in the spring and her summer school class cares for the garden much of the summer. Any food harvested during the summer is then used in the summer food program. When summer ends, the produce goes to the food pantry. (This summer 30 pounds of produce was donated!)

AP Chemistry students in Mr. Kauer’s class conduct their gravimetric analysis lab in the newly renovated science labs at the High School!

pg 4

Heather Friziellie, workshop presenter and author of the book Yes We Can, is currently superintendent of schools for Fox Lake Grade School District 114, and previously served as both an elementary and middle school principal.

Then, when school starts back up for the year, the produce is harvested by her class and served not only at LaGrange, but used throughout the district by our Food Service Director, Jesse Bender.

TASD’s Maintenance Department recently built two raised garden beds and Ms. Olson is already making plans to add more, so crops can be rotated. “It has been so rewarding helping students discover the joys of gardening!” -Ms. Olson

pg 9

WORKING TOGETHER FOR SCHOOL SAFETY

Keeping our schools safe is everyone’s responsibility from staff to students to parents to community members to emergency personnel. Together, we can do a better job. Tomah Area School District has always had a partnership with local law enforcement to keep our schools safe and in 2013 that partnership helped create the Tomah Area School District Safety Committee. This group was made up of people from the community, local law enforcement and emergency services, city officials, and school district employees.

The committee has continued to regularly meet to look at best practices in school safety. While TASD has had safety protocols in place for years, there are always ways to improve, so in 2018, when the Wisconsin Department of Justice formed the Office of School Safety, with the primary task of making sure schools in Wisconsin are focused on keeping kids safe, Tomah Area School District started utilizing those resources, too. The Office of School Safety ensures school districts are complying with the requirements of Wisconsin Act 143 to include having maps of every school building, submitting a safety plan for each school that involve a local law enforcement agency conducting an on-site school safety assessment, conducting school violence drills each year and making sure all staff are trained in the district’s safety protocols. Requiring schools to submit this information regularly is a key factor in keeping safety plans current and relevant. In addition to ensuring the components of Wisconsin Act 143 are followed, the Office of School Safety provides an assortment of trainings. This past summer almost 70 people met with personnel from the Office of School Safety and trained on the Standard Response Protocol and the Standard Reunification Method. These procedures are practical, action based, responses to any given situation within a school community. Practicing what to do in any situation makes the likelihood of carrying through during an actual crisis more likely.

Another safety resource created by the Wisconsin Department of Justice Office of School Safety, that Tomah Area School District utilizes is the SPEAK UP, SPEAK OUT Resource Center, which is a comprehensive, one-stop place to turn with important concerns, offering a Threat Reporting System, Threat Assessment Consultation, Critical Incident Response and General School Safety Guidance.

Student, parents, school staff, or any community member can submit a school safety concern or threat via a website (speakup.widoj. gov), toll-free number (1-800-697-8776) or by text (text SUSO to 738477). Resource center staff work around-the-clock to respond to tips and deploy a response locally by communicating directly with school administrators, law enforcement, and counselors. This tip-line is used to identify not just threats to schools, but also other daily safety concerns students encounter, such as drug use, selfharm, suicidal thoughts, and more. This is just one more way we are all working together to keep our schools and community safe.

TASD SETS SCHOOL LEVY At the October 23rd Tomah Area School District Board of Education Meeting, the school levy was set at $14,326,330. This is an increase of approximately $3.24/month/$100,000 of property from the 2022-2023 school year. Many factors go into the setting of the school levy. Some of these include student numbers and per student revenue, equalized property values, state general aid, and private school vouchers. There was an increase in student count within TASD by 41 students this year, with an increase in summer school participation, too. For TASD, per student revenue went from $10,019 to $11,000/ student. Equalized property values across the District rose $199,079,076. General state aid rose by $1,075,802. With the state of Wisconsin’s increase in voucher school payments, that amount rose to $524,537. All those figures, along with the operational referendum passed last spring, gives TASD a total revenue limit of $37,076,262. The Board of Education voted to NOT take the entire amount of the $2,500,000 operational referendum that was passed last spring but to keep the school levy at a lower amount and reduced that amount by $700,000 to $1,800,000. The school levy is the total revenue limit minus general state aid. That leaves the school levy amount of $14,326,330. This translates into a mill rate of 0.00630375 or a projected school tax on $100,000 worth of property equaling $630.38. At the Annual Meeting in August, the projected school tax on $100,000 worth of property was $630.14.

pg 8

GERMAN STUDENT EXCHANGE PROGRAM STILL GOING STRONG ALMOST 20 YEARS LATER The Tomah High School German Department just wrapped up its biennial exchange with its German counterpart, the Heinrich von Kleist Schule in Eschborn, Germany. The exchange began nearly 20 years ago with a friendship between former Tomah High School German teacher Verona Chambers and Anke Koch, who met while Mrs. Chambers was chaperoning a group of Wisconsin students to the state of Hessen for their state fair. The two believed strongly in the benefits of youth exchanges and so the first exchange took place. The exchange has continued every other year (except for a five year hiatus due to Covid) when due to this hiatus, Tomah students instead, traveled this past June to Germany and Tomah reciprocated the exchange this fall.

In June, 15 students from Tomah High School traveled to Eschborn Germany to attend the Heinrich von Kleist Schule. They were paired with German students and stayed with their families and attended school with them.

Tomah students got the opportunity to learn about the history of Eschborn and Frankfurt. They took field trips to the Johannes Gutenberg Museum in Mainz where they learned the history of the printing press and got to see a few Gutenberg bibles. The group also traveled to Observation Point Alpha where they learned about the division between former East and West Germany and the Cold War. The trip included a lot of fun opportunities as well. The group got the opportunity to summer tobaggon down the Wasserkuppe. The group took gondolas over vineyards in the Rhine Valley and crossed the Rhine River on a ferry to tour the Rheinstein Castle.

This fall, Tomah High School reciprocated the exchange and we had 20 students from the Heinrich von Kleist Schule in Tomah from September 29th through October 9th. There were many wonderful memories made by all. The students had the opportunity to use the high ropes course at the high school. They took field trips to LaCrosse which included a trip on the Mississippi Queen and Granddad’s Bluff. The group also traveled to the state capital in Madison and toured the building. The group got to experience cranberries by touring the Rezin Cranberry Marsh. Our German guests also experienced school spirit by participating in homecoming activities which included the pep rally, parade, football game and dance. Many amazing memories and friendships were made during this four week exchange and plans for the next exchange are already being discussed! pg 5

DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI INDUCTION CEREMONY

HOMECOMING WEEK

The Tomah High School Distinguished Alumni committee chose Gregory Griffin, class of 1956, and Donna (Blado) Ulteig, class of 1961, as the inductees for 2023. The induction ceremony was held during Homecoming Week, in the High School Auditorium, where the alumni addressed the student body with the intention of motivating and inspiring them, now and into their futures. An unveiling was held afterwards, revealing the addition of their plaques to the THS Distinguished Alumni Wall. The inductees were invited to ride in the Homecoming Parade through downtown, as well as attend the Football Game, where they were brought down on the field to be recognized during Half-Time.

It was a beautiful fall day, filled with celebration! What an honor, as a school district, to have Greg and Donna accept this award for their accomplishments and share their experiences, successes, knowledge and advice with our students.

Full bios and nomination forms can be found on our website at tomah.education/distinguished-alumni/index

ATHLETIC HALL OF FAME INAUGURAL INDUCTION For more info: tomah.education/athletics/athletic-hall-of-fame Tomah High School welcomed their inaugural class of inductees into the Athletic Hall of Fame. The 2023 inductees included Hale Quandt -THS Football, Boys’ Basketball, and Track and Field Coach (1943-1947). Under his leadership, the THS football team went undefeated, and the basketball team made state appearances all four years. He also coached track for one year, in 1945, and was able to guide 3 athletes to the state meet.

Ron Grovesteen (1965 graduate) participated in football, basketball, and baseball, earning a varsity letter every year in each sport. Ron holds the record for career touchdown passes (51) and was second in career passing yards (3,500). In basketball, Ron is a member of the 1,000-point club. In baseball, Ron is in the top 10 for strikeouts and top 15 in batting percentage.

Tricia Betthauser (1988 graduate) participated in tennis, volleyball, basketball and softball. In basketball, she scored 895 points in her career, putting her 6th in the top 10 list in school history and was the leading scorer in the conference her sophomore, junior, and senior years. In softball, Tricia lettered 3 years and was team MVP her junior and senior year.

Tyler Laudon (2000 graduate) participated in football, wrestling, and baseball. During that time, he dominated in wrestling, earning and holding the school win percentage record at 96.3%, going 157-6. Tyler is also 1st in career take downs, 2nd in alltime career wins, and top 5 in career pins. In football, Tyler was a 3-time letter winner and a member of the 1998 team, which was the only team to play in a level 4 playoff game, and he holds the 5th spot for career tackles. In baseball, Tyler earned 2 letters and led the 1999 MVC Conference and regional champion baseball team with the highest on base percentage.

Nomination forms can be found on our district website.

pg 7

DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI INDUCTION CEREMONY

HOMECOMING WEEK

The Tomah High School Distinguished Alumni committee chose Gregory Griffin, class of 1956, and Donna (Blado) Ulteig, class of 1961, as the inductees for 2023. The induction ceremony was held during Homecoming Week, in the High School Auditorium, where the alumni addressed the student body with the intention of motivating and inspiring them, now and into their futures. An unveiling was held afterwards, revealing the addition of their plaques to the THS Distinguished Alumni Wall. The inductees were invited to ride in the Homecoming Parade through downtown, as well as attend the Football Game, where they were brought down on the field to be recognized during Half-Time.

It was a beautiful fall day, filled with celebration! What an honor, as a school district, to have Greg and Donna accept this award for their accomplishments and share their experiences, successes, knowledge and advice with our students.

Full bios and nomination forms can be found on our website at tomah.education/distinguished-alumni/index

ATHLETIC HALL OF FAME INAUGURAL INDUCTION For more info: tomah.education/athletics/athletic-hall-of-fame Tomah High School welcomed their inaugural class of inductees into the Athletic Hall of Fame. The 2023 inductees included Hale Quandt -THS Football, Boys’ Basketball, and Track and Field Coach (1943-1947). Under his leadership, the THS football team went undefeated, and the basketball team made state appearances all four years. He also coached track for one year, in 1945, and was able to guide 3 athletes to the state meet.

Ron Grovesteen (1965 graduate) participated in football, basketball, and baseball, earning a varsity letter every year in each sport. Ron holds the record for career touchdown passes (51) and was second in career passing yards (3,500). In basketball, Ron is a member of the 1,000-point club. In baseball, Ron is in the top 10 for strikeouts and top 15 in batting percentage.

Tricia Betthauser (1988 graduate) participated in tennis, volleyball, basketball and softball. In basketball, she scored 895 points in her career, putting her 6th in the top 10 list in school history and was the leading scorer in the conference her sophomore, junior, and senior years. In softball, Tricia lettered 3 years and was team MVP her junior and senior year.

Tyler Laudon (2000 graduate) participated in football, wrestling, and baseball. During that time, he dominated in wrestling, earning and holding the school win percentage record at 96.3%, going 157-6. Tyler is also 1st in career take downs, 2nd in alltime career wins, and top 5 in career pins. In football, Tyler was a 3-time letter winner and a member of the 1998 team, which was the only team to play in a level 4 playoff game, and he holds the 5th spot for career tackles. In baseball, Tyler earned 2 letters and led the 1999 MVC Conference and regional champion baseball team with the highest on base percentage.

Nomination forms can be found on our district website.

pg 7

WORKING TOGETHER FOR SCHOOL SAFETY

Keeping our schools safe is everyone’s responsibility from staff to students to parents to community members to emergency personnel. Together, we can do a better job. Tomah Area School District has always had a partnership with local law enforcement to keep our schools safe and in 2013 that partnership helped create the Tomah Area School District Safety Committee. This group was made up of people from the community, local law enforcement and emergency services, city officials, and school district employees.

The committee has continued to regularly meet to look at best practices in school safety. While TASD has had safety protocols in place for years, there are always ways to improve, so in 2018, when the Wisconsin Department of Justice formed the Office of School Safety, with the primary task of making sure schools in Wisconsin are focused on keeping kids safe, Tomah Area School District started utilizing those resources, too. The Office of School Safety ensures school districts are complying with the requirements of Wisconsin Act 143 to include having maps of every school building, submitting a safety plan for each school that involve a local law enforcement agency conducting an on-site school safety assessment, conducting school violence drills each year and making sure all staff are trained in the district’s safety protocols. Requiring schools to submit this information regularly is a key factor in keeping safety plans current and relevant. In addition to ensuring the components of Wisconsin Act 143 are followed, the Office of School Safety provides an assortment of trainings. This past summer almost 70 people met with personnel from the Office of School Safety and trained on the Standard Response Protocol and the Standard Reunification Method. These procedures are practical, action based, responses to any given situation within a school community. Practicing what to do in any situation makes the likelihood of carrying through during an actual crisis more likely.

Another safety resource created by the Wisconsin Department of Justice Office of School Safety, that Tomah Area School District utilizes is the SPEAK UP, SPEAK OUT Resource Center, which is a comprehensive, one-stop place to turn with important concerns, offering a Threat Reporting System, Threat Assessment Consultation, Critical Incident Response and General School Safety Guidance.

Student, parents, school staff, or any community member can submit a school safety concern or threat via a website (speakup.widoj. gov), toll-free number (1-800-697-8776) or by text (text SUSO to 738477). Resource center staff work around-the-clock to respond to tips and deploy a response locally by communicating directly with school administrators, law enforcement, and counselors. This tip-line is used to identify not just threats to schools, but also other daily safety concerns students encounter, such as drug use, selfharm, suicidal thoughts, and more. This is just one more way we are all working together to keep our schools and community safe.

TASD SETS SCHOOL LEVY At the October 23rd Tomah Area School District Board of Education Meeting, the school levy was set at $14,326,330. This is an increase of approximately $3.24/month/$100,000 of property from the 2022-2023 school year. Many factors go into the setting of the school levy. Some of these include student numbers and per student revenue, equalized property values, state general aid, and private school vouchers. There was an increase in student count within TASD by 41 students this year, with an increase in summer school participation, too. For TASD, per student revenue went from $10,019 to $11,000/ student. Equalized property values across the District rose $199,079,076. General state aid rose by $1,075,802. With the state of Wisconsin’s increase in voucher school payments, that amount rose to $524,537. All those figures, along with the operational referendum passed last spring, gives TASD a total revenue limit of $37,076,262. The Board of Education voted to NOT take the entire amount of the $2,500,000 operational referendum that was passed last spring but to keep the school levy at a lower amount and reduced that amount by $700,000 to $1,800,000. The school levy is the total revenue limit minus general state aid. That leaves the school levy amount of $14,326,330. This translates into a mill rate of 0.00630375 or a projected school tax on $100,000 worth of property equaling $630.38. At the Annual Meeting in August, the projected school tax on $100,000 worth of property was $630.14.

pg 8

GERMAN STUDENT EXCHANGE PROGRAM STILL GOING STRONG ALMOST 20 YEARS LATER The Tomah High School German Department just wrapped up its biennial exchange with its German counterpart, the Heinrich von Kleist Schule in Eschborn, Germany. The exchange began nearly 20 years ago with a friendship between former Tomah High School German teacher Verona Chambers and Anke Koch, who met while Mrs. Chambers was chaperoning a group of Wisconsin students to the state of Hessen for their state fair. The two believed strongly in the benefits of youth exchanges and so the first exchange took place. The exchange has continued every other year (except for a five year hiatus due to Covid) when due to this hiatus, Tomah students instead, traveled this past June to Germany and Tomah reciprocated the exchange this fall.

In June, 15 students from Tomah High School traveled to Eschborn Germany to attend the Heinrich von Kleist Schule. They were paired with German students and stayed with their families and attended school with them.

Tomah students got the opportunity to learn about the history of Eschborn and Frankfurt. They took field trips to the Johannes Gutenberg Museum in Mainz where they learned the history of the printing press and got to see a few Gutenberg bibles. The group also traveled to Observation Point Alpha where they learned about the division between former East and West Germany and the Cold War. The trip included a lot of fun opportunities as well. The group got the opportunity to summer tobaggon down the Wasserkuppe. The group took gondolas over vineyards in the Rhine Valley and crossed the Rhine River on a ferry to tour the Rheinstein Castle.

This fall, Tomah High School reciprocated the exchange and we had 20 students from the Heinrich von Kleist Schule in Tomah from September 29th through October 9th. There were many wonderful memories made by all. The students had the opportunity to use the high ropes course at the high school. They took field trips to LaCrosse which included a trip on the Mississippi Queen and Granddad’s Bluff. The group also traveled to the state capital in Madison and toured the building. The group got to experience cranberries by touring the Rezin Cranberry Marsh. Our German guests also experienced school spirit by participating in homecoming activities which included the pep rally, parade, football game and dance. Many amazing memories and friendships were made during this four week exchange and plans for the next exchange are already being discussed! pg 5

YES WE CAN!

Utilizing PLC practices, general and special educators can develop collaborative partnerships to close the achievement gap and maximize learning for all.

Over the past two years the Tomah Area School District has been dedicated to understanding the PLC process, what Professional Learning Communities entail and how to implement the PLC processes effectively. Our district mission is: High quality student learning. Every child. Every day. With this mission it is the belief that with the right support ALL students can learn at high levels.

In October the district took a team of 24 teachers including general education teachers, special education teachers, and administrators from all levels to a 2-day workshop called “Yes We Can”. This workshop provided our team hands-on training to learn how PLC best practices support success for ALL students through the development of collaborative partnerships and identifying high-leverage structures and strategies that will level the playing field and accelerate learning.

As the state adopts more rigorous academic standards, there is a greater sense of urgency to ensure that all students learn at the highest levels, including English learners, children with special needs, children from poverty, and children facing trauma. The district recognizes the importance of developing systems to efficiently monitor student progress towards learning goals and supporting the success of every student.

The workshop covered topics such as collaborative structures, a guaranteed and viable curriculum, balanced and coherent systems of assessment, and individualized education program (IEP) goals tailored to student areas of deficit. As well as developing a plan for site-based next steps, so we can effectively implement our trainings in our buildings. The PLC process helps everyone focus on the right work.

The district’s goal is to build a school culture that believes all students can succeed. Trainings such as the “Yes We Can” workshop foster the mission statement and help train the staff to better achieve these goals.

THS SCIENCE LABS RENOVATED The science labs at the High School were all original rooms from 1964, and due for some updating. The conversation regarding a renovation project began all the way back in December of 2020. Plans were created, and Board Facilities approved the renovation in November of 2022, which consisted of the renovation of three rooms in the science wing of the High School. The School Board gave final approval in December of 2022 and ESSER III funds were used for the project. Construction began on June 7th and was completed prior to the start of the school year.

LAGRANGE ELEMENTARY GARDEN PROJECT

Twelve years ago, Karen Olson started a garden at LaGrange Elementary. Each year, the third graders plant the garden in the spring and her summer school class cares for the garden much of the summer. Any food harvested during the summer is then used in the summer food program. When summer ends, the produce goes to the food pantry. (This summer 30 pounds of produce was donated!)

AP Chemistry students in Ms. Kauer’s class conduct their gravimetric analysis lab in the newly renovated science labs at the High School!

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Heather Friziellie, workshop presenter and author of the book Yes We Can, is currently superintendent of schools for Fox Lake Grade School District 114, and previously served as both an elementary and middle school principal.

Then, when school starts back up for the year, the produce is harvested by her class and served not only at LaGrange, but used throughout the district by our Food Service Director, Jesse Bender.

TASD’s Maintenance Department recently built two raised garden beds and Ms. Olson is already making plans to add more, so crops can be rotated. “It has been so rewarding helping students discover the joys of gardening!” -Ms. Olson

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STUDENTS LIVING BETTER: MENTAL HEALTH ASSEMBLY The Youth Alive organization has been helping students live the best life since 1993. They have developed a very strong school assembly program that features speakers with messages of hope and have since reached over 25,000 students with that message. Their aim is to empower every student to live the best life possible. They focus on positive life change through better choices and the undeniable worth of every student. They use engaging music and empowering speakers to reach the students and get them thinking, get them talking, not just during the assembly, but long after they leave.

RED RIBBON WEEK

Tomah Middle School joined forces with the 88th Readiness Division out of Fort McCoy to celebrate Red Ribbon Week.

Middle School students were given the opportunity to enter an Essay Contest, focusing on increasing awareness of substance abuse and how drugs and alcohol have and/or continue to affect their families or their communities. Rebecca Janiszewski, from the 88th Readiness Division attended the school’s Red Ribbon Assembly and awarded coins to six essay winners. The winners were invited to Fort McCoy to meet the base commander and share their essays with staff and soldiers of the 88th RD. The ultimate mission behind Red Ribbon Week in Wisconsin is to reduce substance use and empower young people to make healthy choices that are drug-free, and to bring communities together to take a stand against drugs.

Congratulations to essay winners Neisha Winn, Lotty Orozco, Kendra Meyer, Bronson Roose, Alysha Frey, Nola Wickersheim, and Kaylee Sadowski.

They came to Tomah on October 16th for a day of district wide assemblies. Throughout the day, each school came to the High School auditorium to hear from speaker Terrence Talley. Terrence’s mission is “Students today face an uphill battle against bullying, peer pressure, family hurts and life altering choices. If we can help bring students together, give another option, heal some hurts and help realize positive life choices, we would have better students and a positive school atmosphere.”

Terrence’s overall theme for his talk was Students Living Better.

This mental health assembly was tailored each time, to the audience in attendance, whether it was elementary school students, middle school students, or high school students. He got on their level, addressing their mental health needs with age appropriate stories and examples, from respecting yourself and your teachers and being kind to others for the younger students, to his own personal stories of bullying, to shinning a light into the darkness that some of our older students may be walking in. His message was one of hope, resilience and empathy.

He was both hilarious and relevant. He spoke about seeing what others around you might be going through, and how you can choose to help people live a better life, and how one encounter with another person can change their entire future. Most importantly, that every student in that auditorium mattered.

During his address to the high schoolers, he spoke about being a husband and father, and how he gives the best “dad hugs”.

How he offers these hugs to anyone who needs one or might not get hugs from anyone else. As the high school assembly came to a close, many students found their way to the front. To tell their story, to be heard, to connect, to feel they mattered.

Just like the message he spoke. They stood in line, patiently waiting their turn. Some simply thanked him for coming. Some shared about things they were facing in their lives. And most walked away with a “dad hug”.

The point of the assembly was to let students know they mattered, to give every student hope and to empower them to give hope to others, and the message was received.

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Wisconsin DPI Digital Learning Team Members Visit TASD

Digital Learning Education Consultant Amanda Albrecht, and Computer Science and Digital Learning Innovation Consultant Amy Bires from the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) Digital Learning and Technology Team recently visited Tomah Area School District where members of our instructional faculty, a student representative, and administrative team offered presentations reflecting STEM curriculum lessons our students take part in throughout the district in grades 4K – 12. Examples of lessons taught in our district included coding, robotics, internet safety, as well as demonstrating the use of district virtual and augmented reality hardware. DPI representatives offered strong praise for the innovative practices our 4K-12 technology curriculum offers to students and provided valuable connections to state level resources that may be utilized to expand the district’s already robust technology program and infrastructure.

“We’re proud to have amazing faculty and administrator leadership in the Ed Tech space to meet the needs of a modern and frequently transforming digital curriculum. Through their efforts our students will continue to gain valuable knowledge along their journey to career and college readiness.” Mike Hanson, TASD District Administrator

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MESSAGE FROM OUR DISTRICT ADMINISTRATOR

MARK YOUR CALENDARS:

Hello Tomah Area School District Families and Community Members! The 2023-2024 school year is off to a wonderful start, and this Fall 2023 publication of the HOWL highlights the amazing gifts and talents of our students and faculty! Tomah Area School District is honored to share this most important journey -educating our children - with you! Howl On! High Quality Student Learning, Every Child, Every Day is our district mission statement.

To meet the high ideals of this mission statement and dedication to continuous academic improvement, Tomah Area School District continues its collective commitment to the Professional Learning Community (PLC) process ensuring high levels of learning for all students and faculty. The district and the schools are the Professional Learning Community while Guiding Coalitions and Collaborative Teams within our schools function as the fundamental structure of the PLC. Guiding Coalitions of teacher leaders and administrators at our school buildings provide leadership and direction creating Shared Mission, Shared Vision, Collective Commitments, and Shared Goals. Collaborative Teams of teachers at grade levels or content areas work interdependently to achieve common goals associated with improving student and adult learning. This collaborative culture drives our school improvement process.

Improving the Social and Emotional (SEL) well-being of our students is an additional strategic priority in our district this school year. We’re dedicating time and resources to improve our SEL programs by rebuilding our systems of supports and interventions to address student behaviors through evidence based practices that build positive relationships and stronger classroom engagement. This important work aligns directly with the Professional Learning Community. We are very grateful to members of the Tomah Area Board of Education for their visionary leadership providing strong support to our teachers and administrators through embedded professional development focused on these transformational activities during this school year.

Thank you for being our partners through your support and presence in our community of learners! Together we make the Tomah Area School District a wonderful place for our children to learn and grow!

Dr. Mike Hanson District Administrator Tomah Area School District

Pupil Non Discrimination Self Evaluation Report

Wis. Admin. Code § PI 9.06 requires school boards to evaluate the status of nondiscrimination and equality of educational opportunity in the school district at least once every five years and report the results to the Department of Public Instruction.

To meet the five-year evaluation and reporting requirements, districts must evaluate the status of nondiscrimination and equality of educational opportunity in the following areas: • School board policies and administrative procedures. • Enrollment trends in classes and programs. • Methods, practices, curriculum and materials used in instruction, counseling, and pupil assessment and testing. • Trends and patterns of disciplinary actions, including suspensions, expulsions, and handling of pupil harassment. • Participation trends and patterns and school district support of athletic, extracurricular and recreational activities. • Trends and patterns in awarding scholarships and other forms of recognition and achievement provided or administered by the district. • School district efforts to achieve equality of educational opportunity and nondiscrimination. • School district technology, including electronic communications by school district staff.

As part of this process, the district is seeking input from parents/guardians and community members in the above areas. If you would like to provide input, please contact Mike Hanson, District Administrator, mikehanson@tomah. education

H i g h Q u a l i t y St u d e n t L e a r n i n g . E v e r y C h i l d . E v e r y D a y.

dates to remember for the 23-24 School Year!

November:

March:

11/2: Miller K-2 Elementary Concert 6:30pm @ THS 11/3: END OF FIRST QUARTER 11/3: HS Band Concert 7:00pm @ THS 11/7: Wyeville Elementary Concert 6:30pm @ THS 11/9: Lemonweir Elementary Concert 6:30pm @ THS 11/20: Board of Education Meeting 7:00pm @ RKLC 11/22-11/24: NO SCHOOL (Thanksgiving Break)

3/1: HS and MS Show Choir Concert 7:00pm @ THS 3/5 & 3/7: TMS/THS P.M. Conferences 3/8: Band-O-Rama 6:30pm @ THS 3/15: Spassabend Performance 7:00pm @ THS 3/18: Camp Douglas/Oakdale Elementary Concert 6:30pm @ THS 3/18: Board of Education Meeting 7:00pm @ RKLC 3/19: LaGrange Elementary Concert 6:30pm @ THS 3/22: END OF 3RD QUARTER 3/25-3/39: NO SCHOOL (Spring Break)

December: 12/1-12/3: MS Musical Production 7:00pm @ THS 12/8: MS Band Concert 5:00pm @ THS 12/14: MS Choir Concert 7:00pm @ THS 12/16: HS Choir/Band Winter Holiday Concert 7:00pm @THS 12/18: Board of Education Meeting 7:00pm @ RKLC 12/25-12/29: NO SCHOOL (Winter Break)

April:

4/1: NO SCHOOL (Spring Break) 4/9: LaGrange K-2 Elementary Concert 6:30pm @ THS 4/11: Warrens Elementary Concert 6:30pm @ THS 4/15: Board of Education Meeting 7:00pm @ RKLC

January:

May:

1/1: NO SCHOOL (Winter Break) 1/2-1/3: NO SCHOOL (Staff Professional Development) 1/13: HS Show Choir Spaghetti Dinner/Performance 7:00pm @ THS 1/15: NO SCHOOL (Grading/Collab) 1/15: Board of Education Meeting 7:00pm @ RKLC 1/19: END OF 2ND QUARTER

5/3: NO SCHOOL (Staff Professional Development) 5/3: HS Musical 7:00pm @ THS 5/4: HS Musical 7:00pm @ THS 5/5: HS Musical 2:00pm @ THS 5/6: Senior Scholarship Night 7:30pm @ THS 5/7: Miller 3-5 Elementary Concert 6:30pm @ THS 5/9: HS Choir Concert 8:00pm @ THS 5/10: School-Wide Carnival 8:00am-9:00pm @ LaGrange 5/10: HS/MS Jazz Band Concert 7:30pm @ THS 5/13: MS Band Concert 7:00pm @ THS 5/14: Lemonweir Elementary Concert 6:30pm @ THS 5/16: MS Choir Concert 7:30pm @ THS 5/18: HS Band Concert 7:00pm @ THS 5/20: Board of Education Meeting 7:00pm @ RKLC 5/22: Baccalaureate 7:00pm @ THS 5/25: Graduation 10:00am @ THS 5/27: NO SCHOOL (Memorial Day) 5/31: Last Day of School (Early Dismissal)

February:

2/5: 8th Grade (Incoming Freshman) Registration 6:30pm @THS 2/19: NO SCHOOL (Staff Professional Development) 2/19: Board of Education Meeting 7:00pm @ RKLC 2/23: Elementary Musical 7:00pm @ THS 2/24: Elementary Musical 7:00pm @ THS 2/25: Elementary Musical 2:00pm @ THS 2/27 & 2/29: Elementary School P.M. Conferences

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FALL 2023

608.374.7004 www.tomah.education 608.372.5087 Tomah Area School District

HIGH QUALITY STUDENT LEARNING.

EVERY CHILD. EVERY DAY.

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