The Highland School District held its monthly meeting on April 8th. Under the announcements and reports, the board engaged with Senior Exit Project presentations. Sumaryn Halverson presented on the Impact of Social Media. Sumaryn read the book by Jonathan Haidt, “The Anxious Generation.” She was then involved in discussions at different levels. Sumaryn engaged with the board on her project in the school, which included presenting to a fifthgrade class, baking cookies, and positive signage. Generally agreed on was that the habits are here to stay, but stressed to avoid social media, respect others, and not show embarrassing pictures. Sumaryn plans to attend UW Oshkosh to study Medical Imaging. She said that job shadowing helped her to make that decision.
Ben Ford also presented his Senior Exit Project, which related to sports injuries. Ben put together three videos about injuries related to before, during, and after an event. The focus was on sprained ankles and concussions, as that was the most prevalent in his experiences. Ben did his paper report and the “Training Mindset.” The paper had observations and his research on injury prevention, both how genetics and chemicals can affect the outcome. The basic takeaway is not to push too much. Ben did his job shadowing in Platteville during a basketball tournament. Ben is planning to enlist in the Marines when he graduates.
In other announcements, donations were recognized. Jen Yager did a session on Financial Literacy to show the importance of understanding and using various financial skills in business and daily life. Lindsay Jackson’s dad donated a special wheelchair to be used in the school as needed.
A project with educators and CESA 3’s Lisa Arneson and Darla Burton was titled “Portrait of a Graduate.” This program focuses on preparing students for real life with a focus on essential skills like critical thinking and competencies for real-world readiness. This year it is a voluntary program in Highland, which next year will be required by DPI.
Ashley Halvorson updated the board on the data accumulated and how many attended a four-year college in the last five years, as this was somewhat of a surprise. Advanced College Placement courses are being reviewed and evaluated.
For new business, the SWEEP 1 and SWEEP 2 agreements were approved as they are the most reasonable. The Early Literacy Remediation Plan will follow ACT 20 and is now posted with the DPI template with local information. The 2026 Summer School Program was approved after review of the Standard Enrichment, with online registration expected to start the week of April 13th. The addition of time for snow days at the beginning and end of the day should satisfy mandated instruction time requirements.
The district received three bids for blacktop/sealcoat and accepted the bid from Midwest at a cost of $7,800. Seal coating should be sufficient at this time.
A therapy dog was voted down reluctantly because of special reasons. Contracts with CESA #3 and Upland Hills were tabled until a later date.
Three-Year-Old Kindergarten was discussed at length. The funds would come from Fund 80. Space is available, and in a short and directed survey, eight families said yes, they are highly interested. It is estimated that fourteen kids would be a great number. The limiting factor will be square feet available, but that is of little concern. The start and finish times would be different from the rest of the school for safety and traffic flow. The three-year-old kindergarten will not be a money maker but a service that many feel is important for the growth of the school and community. Open enrollment is not available for three-year-kindergarten unless there are special circumstances. There is no legal obligation to keep the program in the future if that decision is made.
The Policy Committee presented policies they reviewed, discussed, and studied. The board approved all policies with updates. The policy #7510-Use of District Facilities was further discussed and how it compared with ten other districts, and then modified as needed, specific to Highland. The changes related to not needing rules for organizations not specific to the Highland School District. The option to use the software Bound for scheduling is expected because of improved capabilities with the upgrade.
For staffing changes, the board was informed that Whitney, who manages the district’s social media, was stepping down in the future. Linda Hebgen will be retiring at the completion of the next audit this summer. Linda was thanked and complimented on the funds she has saved for the Highland School District in her forty years of service. Other retirements accepted with reluctance are Carter Weigel, who taught History in Middle School, and Eric Amweg, who is the band instructor. It was decided to offer the band instructor position to James Leven, who has been the interim this year.
The school board discussed a request from some citizens of the school district who desire to change the apportionment of the representation on the school board. The process starts with collecting a hundred eligible signatures. The restructuring would need to be voted on at the Highland Annual meeting and would take three years to fully implement the change.
AmeriCorps has been providing free services in math and reading. This provides essential tutoring, mentoring, and student support services, which are well-received.
The transportation of students to different co-op sports and events was discussed as the school van is not as reliable because of the number of miles. Volunteers and insurance concerns with transporting by parents or coaches are being confirmed. The option of replacing the van will be looked at. The gymnastics team, with Dodgeville’s success, has bumped the team up to D1. The decision will be appealed and is not expected to change the program to a large degree for the athletes who participate.
The administrator reported that school funding by the State of Wisconsin needs to improve, as demonstrated by the number of referendums in the state this election. School enrollment in the thirtyone schools of CESA #3 is down 700 students. The GOP had proposed a limit for referendums which was vetoed. The school policy on grooming will be reinforced as needed with the passage of 2025 Wisconsin Act 57 signed in March. In February the WIAA changed gender identification and now prohibits transgender students, assigned male at birth from competing in girls high school sports.