Board of Education Update – September 15, 2014
ACT Scores, Participation Grow
State Superintendent Tony Evers has announced that Wisconsin’s 2014 public and private high school graduates who took the ACT during high school got a composite score of 22.2, compared to 22.1 last year, making Wisconsin second in the nation on the ACT assessment.
· Locally, SFHS students earned a composite score of 22.3, which is above both the state (22.2) and national (21.0) composite scores.
Evers also noted that Wisconsin far outpaced the nation in meeting the ACT’s “benchmark scores” measuring college and career readiness in each subject area.
· Locally, SFHS students outpaced the state college and career readiness scores in English Composition, Algebra, and Biology.
This March, all Wisconsin 11th-graders will take the ACT as the state joins 18 others that administer the assessment to all students during high school.
· During the 2013-14 school year, 66% of SFHS students took the ACT.
· In addition to all SFHS 9th and 10th graders completing the ACT Aspire tests (formerly known as Explore and Plan), all SFHS 11th graders will be taking the ACT.
Families will be receiving additional information about the change in testing requirements.
ACT results for public school students are available by school and by district on the WISEdash Public Portal.http://wisedash.dpi.wi.gov/Dashboard/portalHome.jsp
Five Teachers Complete Summer Externship
During the week of July 28- August 1, five of the District’s teachers completed an externship at Bemis Manufacturing. They will be reporting at the October school board meeting, along with representatives from Bemis.
· Deb Hasler – HS Math
· Karen Marx – Grade 5
· Greg Scheider – Grade 4
· Lori Siegert – Grade 3
· Roy Schwab – Grade 2
What is an externship?
Due to the short duration, externships can be easily completed during a just a few days during the summer. Externships can be viewed as job shadowing, since externs are closely supervised by employee volunteers who agree to walk them through day-to-day routines at the company or organization. The experience allows teachers to apply their coursework learning to a real life setting. It is a chance to observe and ask questions. The goal of an extern is to become familiar with new professions and job fields. Externships are also a source of networking contacts.(definition adapted from Wikipedia) Externships are not only conducted for the benefit of the extern, but for the host as well. Both parties get a chance to observe one another. Successful externships could lead to some many possibilities for our teachers, as well as our students.