Wisconsin Education NewsJuly 15, 2025A daily update of education news and events that are taking place around Wisconsin. Building Academy- Begins August 2025 If you are an experienced administrator committed to becoming a learning leader who is transforming a school into a learning organization, then join AWSA’s 2025-26 Building Academy. Mukwonago Area School District mulls renaming Park View Middle School MUKWONAGO — The Mukwonago Area School District is facing excitement in anticipation of the groundbreaking for the new and renovated middle school. "In recent months, our district and our board has been engaged in conversations about whether to retain the name Park View Middle School or consider using a new name on the facility and has approved the relocation of the local veterans memorial to middle school’s grounds," the district said in a post. La Crosse schools superintendent Engel on bids for $11.5 million elementary addition School District of La Crosse superintendent Dr. Aaron Engel joins to talk about the next step in the $53.5 million referendum plan, plus the Wisconsin state budget passing and potential fallout from more federal funding freezes. Waukesha County school district is latest to remove LGBTQ+ language from harassment policy The Arrowhead Union High School District is the latest in Wisconsin to update its harassment policy by removing the word “gender” and replacing it with “sex,” causing some parents to fear LGBTQ+ students will be targeted. The Arrowhead school board voted unanimously on the change July 9 with no discussion. The policy was first discussed in June. What's going on with Green Bay's superintendent search? What to know before September In the search for its third new superintendent since 2020, the Green Bay School Board will decide at its next meeting, July 28, on the direction it'll take for its superintendent search. It will likely select either the Wisconsin Association of School Boards or, if the board decides to choose an external search firm, to begin the process of requesting proposals from search firms. $56,000 grant will help Stevens Point School District support students with IEPs STEVENS POINT − Students in the Stevens Point Area Public School District will benefit from a grant to support individualized educational programs. The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction awarded a $56,000 grant to support students with IEPs over the next three school years. Specifically, it will provide professional development for teachers and administrators to support neurodiverse students within the junior high special education program. GBAPS school board braces for budget cuts amid federal funding freeze, state aid shortfall GREEN BAY (WLUK) -- The Green Bay Area Public School District is already thinking about going to referendum. This comes as officials say the new biennial state budgetdoes not address the district's financial needs. Resident voices concerns about Monona Grove School District’s screen policy for K-3 grades A more stringent screen time policy for Monona Grove School District students in grades 4K-3 is needed, according to one resident. Sue Carr, from Monona, expressed that view at the July 8 school board meeting, advocating for an ad hoc committee to study the issue and come up with a holistic policy for all district schools, but especially its youngest learners. A later start for high schoolers? GBAPS considering major school start time pushback for 26-27 In a few school years, teenage Green Bay students may be able to sleep in a little extra. The Green Bay School District is considering changing high school start times and adjusting class scheduling for the 2026-27 school year, hoping to improve student attendance and success. Right now, any potential changes are in the first stages, with feedback and listening sessions planned for the future. Appleton Area School District considers enforcing truancy law APPLETON, Wis. (WBAY) - For the first time in six years, students who skip class in the Appleton Area School District could receive a truancy citation. The possibility will soon go before the Appleton City Council, but first, the public will have a chance to sound off on the issue next month. This is all about making parents more accountable since the family would be cited for truancy. That’s if the city council votes to bring back the law they got rid of in 2019. RUSD aims for 75% literacy proficiency and to outperform other districts by 2027 RACINE, WI — Racine Unified School District’s (RUSD) goal is to have 75% of students in PreK-3rd grade reach literacy proficiency and to outperform the state’s five largest districts by 2027. Early literacy performance in third grade serves as an indicator for evaluating reading development. The district also measures how many words per minute a student reads, and both show that third-grade students are underperforming. MPSD Shakes Up Cell Phone Rules-Here’s What Students Need to Know Students in the Manitowoc Public School District will soon not be allowed to bring their cell phones to class. Superintendent Lee Thennes explained on the WCUB Breakfast Club that the policy is specifically for high school students, who most likely have a cell phone in their possession. Wisconsin kids are struggling with mental health. Experts say state funding will help. Officials in the state Department of Public Instruction say a new batch of state funding for school-based mental health programming will help the ongoing effort to stem rates of depression and anxiety among Wisconsin’s young people. Over the next two-year budget cycle, Wisconsin schools will collectively receive $50 million in state funding to pay for school-based mental health programs, with $40 million distributed the first budget year and another $10 million paid out during the second year of the biennium. MADISON, Wis. – Attorney General Josh Kaul today joined a coalition in suing the Trump Administration over its unconstitutional, unlawful, and arbitrary decision to freeze funding for six longstanding U.S. Department of Education programs just weeks before the school year is set to start in many places. Without this funding, many educational programs will shut down – already, ongoing summer learning programs have been left unfunded. MADISON — Gov. Tony Evers delivered his weekly radio address highlighting the 2025-27 bipartisan pro-kid budget he signed into law last week that invests in Wisconsin’s kids, families, and communities statewide. Why is Wisconsin losing out on universal school lunches? MADISON, Wis. — A provision to make school lunches free to all students failed to make it across the finish line in the state budget process. The $147.7 million program the governor introduced in his budget was ultimately culled by the legislative process, over objections of many education advocates.
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