school connection - greendale schools - home€¦ · stadium volume 20 issue 2 | |spring 2016...

QUICK CONNECT

SEE WEEKLY HIGHLIGHTS from the schools by checking out the “SPOTLIGHT” section under the news tab of the GSD website at www.greendale.k12.wi.us.

SAVE THE DATE

YEA! GREENDALE TRADE SHOW EVENTSaturday, May 7, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Community Learning Center

8TH GRADE FAREWELL ASSEMBLYWednesday, June 8, 6 p.m. at GHS

LAST DAY OF SCHOOL - ALL STUDENTSThursday, June 9

CLASS OF 2016 GRADUATIONSunday, June 12, 1 p.m. in Gavinski Stadium

VOLUME 20 ISSUE 2 | WWW.GREENDALE.K12.WI.US | SPRING 2016

SCHOOL CONNECTION

For Dr. Gary Kiltz, building relationships and getting to know people will be a priority when he becomes the new leader of Greendale Schools this summer. Kiltz was confirmed as the permanent Superintendent of Schools at a special meeting of the Board of Education on February 22. He will officially begin his tenure on July 1, but expects to visit and participate in Greendale Schools’ and community events frequently before he officially begins in his new role.

Dr. Kiltz comes to Greendale from the School District of Menomonee Falls, where he has worked as Director of Curriculum and Learning since 2012. He also served as a principal for more than 12 years, locally at both Menomonee Falls High School and South Milwaukee High School, as well as in Arizona. Dr. Kiltz began his career as a social studies teacher before working

with at-risk students as a lead teacher and director of alternative schools in Menomonee Falls, West Bend, and Mesa, Arizona.

He earned his Bachelor’s degree in Secondary Ed-ucation from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a Master’s degree in Administrative Leadership and Supervision in Education from the University of Wisconsin- Milwaukee. His Ph.D. in Educational Lead-ership and Policy Studies was conferred by Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona. He also holds cer-tification in curriculum and instruction from Cardinal Stritch University.

Kiltz grew up in Hales Corners and attended Whitnall Schools. The third of four children, he was raised in a supportive and loving family where he learned the patience, coaching, and mentoring skills he has used

Continued on page 3

Gary Kiltz Named Greendale Schools Permanent Superintendent

Welcome Dr. KiltzDr. Kiltz (right) joins in the fun at Cheers to Education.

2 GREENDALE SCHOOL DISTRICT | WWW.GREENDALE.K12.WI.US | V.20 IS.2 SPRING 2016

DISTRICT NEWS

Creating Opportunities Through PartnershipsGreendale Schools is a relatively small district, and yet, students are afforded many opportunities. This year, additional programming is available through partnerships with businesses, other schools, and community groups.

One such group is Forward Thinking, a collaboration of the Whit-nall and Greenfield School Districts, and the local governments of Greendale, Greenfield and Hales Corners. This organization works to find efficiencies and share resources in matters that affect our region. Forward Thinking partners hosted an Anti-Heroin Sum-mit on February 15 to address the drug use and its risks in our communities with presentations by local police and area families affected by addiction. Additionally, the high schools in these districts worked together with MATC to offer high school juniors the “Explore Your Future” half-day conference at the Oak Creek campus. During this event, students were introduced to career pathways, such as Health Care, Educational Services, Emergency Services, Business, Marketing, and others, and the two-year and four-year college options for each pathway.

In addition, various community groups in Greendale have been working with the Greendale Schools to create opportunities. Here are a few examples:

● • The Greendale Chamber of Commerce and several member businesses have served as mentors, investors, and advocates for high school student entrepreneurs.

● • The Greendale Women’s Club has donated to the local Reading Buddies organization and has offered perfor-mance opportunities for our high school music programs.

● • The Greendale Education Foundation continues to support innovative classroom projects and support students in financial need with donations.

● • The Greendale Panther Athletic Booster Club continues to support purchases of uniforms and other equipment for the 23 sports teams at Greendale High School.

Efforts like these help to enhance our District’s work to provide the depth of services and programs to our students at all grade levels and they exemplify the words of Helen Keller that “Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.”

By Kim Amidzich, Director of Curriculum and Instruction

College Park Earns School of Recognition Award From DPI

College Park Elementary has been recognized by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) as a Wisconsin Title I School of Recognition for the 2015 -16 school year. The school earned “High Progress” recognition because its students’ standardized testing achievement was within the top ten percent of Title I schools experi-encing student growth in reading and math.

To receive this Schools of Recognition award, schools must meet state test -participation and attendance goals, and receive Title I funds based on state guidelines, which include having significant numbers of students enrolled from low income families based on federal free and reduced price school meal income guidelines.

“College Park is a positive place to work and learn. Visitors can at-test to the positive climate, with a focus on learning, created by our tremendous staff. Their work in providing high quality instruction in reading, language arts, and math is evident each day,” said Kerry Owens-Bur, College Park’s Principal. “All of our learning is supported by the positive connections each staff member makes with students every day. Our office staff, custodial support, lunchroom/recess mon-itors, educational assistants, lunch servers, and extended care staff treat students with respect and kindness, creating a safe environment for our entire school population. We are thankful each day for the opportunity to work with amazing children and families.”

Continued on page 4

GREENDALE SCHOOL DISTRICT | WWW.GREENDALE.K12.WI.US | V.20 IS.2 SPRING 2016 3

DISTRICT NEWS

throughout his career. As an undergraduate political science major at the UW, he found his way to a career in education.

“I did volunteer work in an after-school program with students at risk of not graduating,” he explains. “I fell in love with working with these students and working as a teacher and a personal mentor, helping them to work through different issues in their lives. Two months into the experience, I changed my major to become a social studies teacher.”

Twenty-four years into his career in education, Dr. Kiltz is excited for the opportunity to lead Greendale Schools. His family, wife Melinda, and his ten-year-old daughter, will make their home in Greendale later this year and Eliana will enroll in Greendale Middle School.

To get to know him better as an educational leader, the School Connection editors sat down with Dr. Kiltz recently as he makes plans to lead Greendale Schools.

SC: What do you see as the community’s role in our schools?

GK: We all have a role to play in the success of our students. It’s important for all of us to re-alize that the education of our children happens beyond the four walls of our buildings. We need to tap into our parents and community to serve as advocates and co-educators for our students. As we think about providing pathways that become career options and college opportunities, we need to utilize others to help us shape those experiences and to expand learning beyond the classroom to bring community-based educational experiences for our children.

SC: How will you make a difference in Greendale Schools?

GK: To start, I plan on being a good listener and giving opportunities for parents, students, and staff to have a voice within the school system. I want to hold staff chats, and parent and community forums. I also want to meet with student organizations in middle school and high school. I especially look forward to visiting with graduating seniors for conversations about their experiences in our system. I’d like to learn what has been really positive in their school careers here, and what have been some pain points they would like to see some improvements around. I think all these conversations set a foundation as we move forward into strategic planning and setting some long-term goals and short-term progress metrics. These can serve as some seeds for components of the strategic plan as we move forward. Additionally, I will bring in tools and tactics around facilitating that very important strategic planning process. Working together with the community, the District leadership team, and the Board of Education on a new strategic plan and continuous improvement cycles will help us to take a great school system and make it even better.

SC: What motivates you?

GK: On a professional level, working on behalf of the children each and every day is what motivates me: watching their growth, hearing their questions, and observing their curiosity. It’s great to see how students question and seek out ways to grow. Our job is to find out how we can create the personalized opportunities for all students to test out those choices. That is a real challenge, but something we can accomplish. Personally, I have many things that motivate me. I love to learn and I love to challenge myself physically by competing in triathlons. My wife thinks I am nuts, but the physical activity helps keep me balanced and gives me time to be reflective.

Dr. Gary Kiltz Continued

GHS Students Outpace State on Advanced Placement Tests

Advanced Placement (AP) Testing is offered to high school students through The College Board. Earning a 3 or higher on the test qualifies students for placement or credit for college courses at most universities. Overall in the State of Wisconsin, 24.7 percent of the students from the Class of 2015 who took an AP exam earned a score of 3 or higher on that exam. Wisconsin remains in the top dozen states nationwide for AP performance.

At Greendale High School in the spring of 2015, 222 students took 458 AP exams. 89.2% earned a 3 or better. At GHS, 241 of the exams were taken by members of the Class of 2015. Those seniors scored 3 or better on 209 of the exams. That’s an 86.7 percent passing rate and significantly above the state statistic.

More information on student achievement is available on the 2015-2016 District Fact Sheet. Access it online at http://www.greendale.k12.wi.us/about-us.html or pick up a printed version in any school office, at the Community Learning Center, or the District Office.

Sign up on the NEWS page of the District website: http://goo.gl/gkOxd0 or email [email protected] to subscribe to this quarterly newsletter.

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SCHOOL NEWS

❑ March 21, 2016

❑ April 11, 2016

❑ April 25, 2016

❑ May 2, 2016

❑ May 16, 2016

❑ June 6, 2016

❑ June 20, 2016

Greendale’s Board of Education meetings are open to the public. Agendas are posted on the District’s website prior to each meeting as well as at the Public Library.

(Scheduled dates are subject to change and may be confirmed by calling the District Office at 414-423-2700.)

BOARD OF EDUCATION MEETING SCHEDULE

Ready Access Transforms Learning

In the fall of 2015, Greendale Schools embarked on a learning initiative called Ready Access to provide every student in grades 5 through 12 with his or her own personal Dell Chromebook. The goal of the Ready Access program is to provide students with equal access to technology, increase student engagement and technology literacy, and stretch their learning beyond the school walls. We have now passed the midpoint of the school year, and the initial launching of the initiative has been met with positive results. The students have embraced this new responsibility of using and taking care of this tool provided to them for educational purposes.

At Greendale Middle School, the implementation of Ready Access has resulted in many changes in the way that teachers deliver instruction and the methods in which students access information. Students and teachers now work in a Google Apps for Education environment, with access to the Google Drive to store their work and information in the “cloud.” Necessary tools that allow both groups to create documents, spreadsheets, and presentations are shared easily with their classmates and teachers through the Drive. Each teacher’s individually-created Google Classroom allows staff to create and organize their assignments, provide feedback to the students efficient-ly, and gives students an effective way to communicate with their teachers in a collaborative environment. This is especially important when students are absent from a class or need help organizing their workflow.

Teachers have been engaged in professional development this year to help them identify ways to increase personalized learning for their students in a Ready Access environment. The person-alization of learning helps students identify their own path for growth and creates purposeful, meaningful experiences to help them move forward at the appropriate challenge and develop-mental level. Students are encouraged to set and monitor academic and personal goals, and their personal device is one tool they can use to manage this. Students and teachers have access to numerous resources resulting in the practice of inquiry, or the opportunity for students to explore, ask the questions, and tackle problems that motivate them to learn because of these increased opportunities for personalization afforded by Ready Access. Students are empowered to take more ownership for their learning and see the relevance for what they are learning.

Communicating to families about the new methods of teaching and learning in the Ready Access environment is a key component of our program at Greendale Middle School. Utilizing the Technology Corner column of the weekly parent newsletter, the school provides examples of how the student device is used in the classroom, technology related articles, information on working in a Google environment, and helpful tips for technology use both at home and school. This type of communication is important as we continue to work together as a school community to make this journey in integrating Ready Access a success.

By John Weiss, Principal, Greendale Middle School

Mrs. Owens-Bur added,“Greendale Schools’ commitment to dedicating time for interactive science and social studies, along with instruction in art, music, physical education and Spanish contribute to keeping students engaged and excited about learning.”

“Greendale Schools consistently meets growth goals for its students because of strong instructional delivery and class-room practices, collaboration among teachers, and focused professional development,” Kim Amidzich, Director of Curriculum and Instruction said. “Congratulations to our College Park staff, students and parents on this well deserved recognition.”

State Superintendent Tony Evers will host an awards program in Madison on March 14 to further recognize Wiscon-sin Title I School of Recognition award recipients. College Park will receive a plaque to mark the distinction. Repre-sentatives from the school will be on hand to accept the award on behalf of College Park staff.

A listing of statewide schools earning this recognition for 2015-16 can be found here: https://goo.gl/zJ7hSO.

Award from DPI Continued

Gets Students Reading & Retaining What They Read


Greendale’s 4th through 8th graders divided into teams of four to participate in the annual Battle of the Books competition in February. Teams read from a list of 20 selected books and prepared to answer questions about the plot, characters, and name of the author in a game-show format. Elementary school teams competed by grade level and then between grades to be crowned a school champion. Middle school teams in every grade level competed in one battle to decide the school champ. The top teams from each school competed in the (online) state-level competition in late February. In 2015, the top team at Can-terbury Elementary (a fourth grade team) was named State Champs with a rare perfect score in the state competition. This year, 214 teams took the State Battle test. Our College Park team tied for 7th place in the state! Our Canterbury and Highland View teams tied for 14th place in the state. All three teams achieved the honor of the 300 club (teams that scored at least 300 points)! The Greendale Middle School team came in 14th out of 150 teams!

FunCompetition

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Here are some fun

facts regarding

the Greendale

Battle of the Books.

Elementary Battles :

Middle School Battle:

185 45 925

4,296 16,0954,279STUDENTS teams books read

questions asked

PAGES

points scored highest score

62 of 64

teams

15books read

3404,885PAGES


SCHOOL NEWS

CAN FOURTH GRADERS RUN A TOWN?

YES THEY CAN!Throughout the months of December and January, students in fourth grade classrooms across the District were busy with the expected reading, mathematics, and writing exercises. In addition, these stu-dents had the opportunity to learn basic financial “life skills,” such as writing a check, filling in a checkbook register, managing their “money”, applying for jobs, preparing for interviews, and joining the “workforce”. These lessons on job skills and money management are an introduction for students to the importance of financial literacy and their learning is transformed to a “real world” setting when stu-dents experience and apply their new knowledge first-hand through a culminating field trip to Milwaukee’s Junior Achievement BizTown.

Utilizing the Junior Achievement (JA) curriculum in the classrooms of Greendale’s elementary schools, students gain insight and under-standing of the free enterprise system. JA’s focus builds on students’ abilities in creativity, teamwork, personal finance, and job readiness. Throughout the learning process, students consistently draw upon the “soft skills” needed to be a successful community member. These

skills include working together as a team of critical thinkers, using interpersonal relationship skills, learning how to persevere and solve problems, and overcoming the challenge of speaking in public.

The students are also exposed to concepts such as entrepreneurship, supply and demand, goods and services, taxes, spending and saving, and others. They gain insight into how to write a resume and how to apply for a job. The students leave JA BizTown understanding the relationship between what they learned in school and their participa-tion in a local economy.

Teaching our students about Financial Literacy through the Junior Achievement program is an engaging and hands-on approach to learn-ing. Each year, students, teachers, and parents enjoy participating in the JA experience.

“JA BizTown was a great experience for everyone involved,” explained Jenette, a Highland View parent and JA field trip chaperone. “The kids were well prepared and took the opportunity very seriously. I

By Tracy Flater, Principal, Highland View Elementary, and Michael Mullen, Principal, Canterbury Elementary

Promoting Financial Literacy in Greendale’s Elementary Schools

Continued on page 7

was really impressed by the level of teamwork they demonstrated. Everyone pitched in and supported each other to succeed as a team.

“It was a great learning environment. It was especially rewarding to see how much more the kids appreciated the work people do after having done it themselves,” she added.

Teachers feel the same. “JA BizTown is one of the favorite units fourth graders complete related to the Social Studies curriculum,” said Canterbury teacher Amy Bauer. “BizTown curriculum teaches students about work-readiness, entrepreneurship, and financial literacy. Students engage in filling out applications and conduct an interview with other teachers or ad-ministrators in the district. On the day of BizTown they work their actual jobs learning about how a real community runs. Students comment about how they love working at BizTown.”


Understanding District Accounting Funds

School district accounting is much different than accounting for businesses in the private sector. As a government entity, the Greendale School District uses fund accounting. Each of our funds has its own set of financial sheets. Each fund is regulated so only certain transactions can be included in a particular fund. This article will talk about a few funds that we use here in Greendale and what kinds of transactions are allowed in each.

Our general fund (Fund 10) accounts for the majority of the transactions in the district. For the 2015-16 budget, approximately 78% of total expenditures for the district are budgeted for in Fund 10. The majority of items such as general instruction, technology, maintenance, and high school athletics are budgeted in Fund 10. Fund 10 may have a negative or positive fund balance. Fund balance is the difference between the assets and liabilities of the fund. The Greendale School District board policy requires that Fund 10 maintains a 15% balance as a percentage of annual expenditures. Currently our fund balance in Fund 10 is approximately 25% of annual expenditures.

Transactions related to special education are accounted for in Fund 27. Fund 27 ends with a $0 fund balance at the end of each fiscal year (June 30). To do this, a transfer must be made from Fund 10 (general fund). The revenue received in Fund 27 does not cover all the expenditures in the fund. Therefore the transfer from Fund 10 is needed.

Fund 38 and 39 are debt service funds. Revenues in these funds are generated by a property tax levy and the expenditures include principal and interest payments on district debt.

Fund 50 accounts for all the transactions related to food service. All revenue received for school breakfasts and lunches along with the related expenditures must be recorded in Fund 50. Fund 50 may have a positive fund balance but not negative. If there is a negative balance then a transfer from Fund 10 is needed. Here in Greendale, our current food service program is self sufficient and we do not need a transfer from Fund 10. When there is a positive bal-ance it must stay in Fund 50 and be spent on food service expenditures. In summary, a profit in Fund 50 cannot be spent on general education expenses.

Fund 80 is the Community Service Fund. Expenditures in this fund are used on activities such as adult education and community recreation programs. Our Park & Recreation Department is included in Fund 80. Revenues in Fund 80 are generated by Park & Recreation income and a property tax levy.

These funds all play a unique role with regards to the district’s budgeting process. They each have restrictions on what types of expenditures can be made and how fund balance can be used. Hopefully you now have a better understanding of the fun of fund accounting!

By Todd Hajewski, Director of Business Services

CAN FOURTH GRADERS RUN A TOWN?

YES THEY CAN!Biztown was an amazing experience, and I feel lucky to have been the Mayor that day. I enjoyed learning about checking accounts and how to balance a checkbook.

DISTRICT NEWS


DISTRICT NEWS

New Math Olympiad Program Inspires Creative Problem Solving in MathematicsThe Math Olympiad program began in 1977 and last year 150,000 students from 6,000 teams worldwide competed. All but one state participated along with 30 other countries worldwide. The Canter-bury Math Olympiad team launched this year as a way to challenge the school’s high-performing math students. Its members are 15 fifth-grade students who meet four times a week during their math intervention or SAILS time. The program began as a suggestion from a parent and helps to fulfill the desire to develop a math-related program to complement the highly successful Battle of the Books reading program.

Students work independently through a series of problems and dis-cuss the strategies used in this math work. The focus is on creative problem solving in mathematics and not necessarily on getting a

correct answer, which will serve the student’s long term goals of becoming mathematicians.

Math Olympiad is designed to stimulate an enthusiasm and love of mathematics through working and learning together as a team. Students also benefit from the introduction to important mathematical concepts and learning major strategies for problem solving. Each month, the Mathletes take part in a five-question contest that chal-lenges their problem-solving strategies.

With all of the favorable feedback received so far, it was decided to create a fourth grade team as well. This team will compete a few times before the competition wraps up at the end of March.

By Michael Mullen, Principal, Canterbury Elementary

Alumni Spotlight: Class of 1994 Grad Makes an Impact on Children’s Health ManagementMary Ehlenbach (née Sy), a 1994 alumna of Greendale High School, is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at the University of

Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health in Madison, where she also serves as Medical Director of the Pediatric Complex Care Program at UW Health-American Family Children’s Hospital.

Under Mary’s direction, the hospital’s Pediatric Complex Care Program was launched in 2014. The program provides medical management and care coordination for children with complex medical conditions who receive care from many subspecialists at American Family Children’s Hospital, and spend a significant amount of time in the hospital. In collaboration with the State of Wisconsin Department of Health Services and the Special Needs Program at Children’s Hospi-tal of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, Mary’s program is the recipient of a multimillion-dollar federal Health Care Innovation Award through the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation.

Mary enjoys caring for these chronically ill children and their families, with an emphasis on coordinating their medical care with a global

pediatric perspective and improving quality of life while maximizing health and time out of the hospital.

After graduating from GHS in 1994, Mary attended the University of Notre Dame, then the University of Wisconsin Medical School. She completed postgraduate training in pediatrics at the University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics. In 2006, she moved to Seattle, Washington, where she worked as a pediatric hospitalist. She returned to Wisconsin in 2011 and joined the faculty at the University of Wis-consin-Madison.

She resides in Madison with her husband, Dr. William Ehlenbach, their three daughters (Madeleine, age 10; Bethany, age 8, and Phoebe, age 4), and their hound dog Laila. Mary’s parents, Santiago and Lynn Sy, still reside in Greendale.

GREENDALE ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT

6815 Southway Greendale, WI 53129 Phone: 414-423-2700 Fax: 414-423-2723 www.greendale.k12.wi.us

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school connection - greendale schools - home€¦ · stadium volume 20 issue 2 | |spring 2016...

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