Wauwatosa School District News for Parents and Community Members

News From the District Office

Wauwatosa School District Placed on the College Board’s AP® District Honor Roll for Second Year

The Wauwatosa School District is one of fewer than 400 public school districts in the nation being honored by the College Board with a place on the 2nd Annual AP® Honor Roll, for simultaneously increasing access to Advanced Placement (AP) coursework while maintaining or increasing the percentage of students earning scores of 3 or higher on AP exams. Increasing opportunities for students to participate in AP classes is one of the district’s four goals approved by the School Board.

Click here to read the complete press release.

Student News

• Cassandra M. Brzycki, senior at Wauwatosa East High School, recently earned a top composite score of 36 on the ACT test. Nationally, the number of students earning a composite score of 36 varies from year to year—approximately one-tenth of one percent achieve a top score. Among test takers in the national high school graduating class of 2010, only 588 of nearly 1.6 million students earned a composite score of 36.

• Tracey Johnson, Wauwatosa East, and  Natalie Mullins, Ellyn Kirtley and Alexandra Utech, Wauwatosa West, were named National Merit Semifinalists. These academically talented students have an opportunity to continue in the scholarship competition for some 8,300 National Merit Scholarships, worth more than $34 million, that will be offered next spring.

• Stephen R. Trojan, senior at West High School,  has been  named  a Commended Student in the 2012 National Merit Scholarship Program.

• Ozzy Houck, eighth grader at Longfellow Middle School, will be awarded  the 2010-2011 Nicholas Green Distinguished Student Award for Wisconsin. Included in the  award is a $500 savings bond for college. The award is given out through the National Association for Gifted Children. The award is given to students in the areas of leadership, academics and the arts.

• Bethal Assefa, senior at East High School, has been named a National Achievement Scholarship semifinalist.  As a semifinalist, she will be considered for a National Achievement Scholarship.

Staff News

• Tom Thaney, Wauwatosa East Theatre Director, will be inducted into the Wisconsin High School Forensics Theatre Directors Hall of Fame.
• Barb Bruesewitz, Family and Consumer Science teacher at East High School was named ProStart Teacher of the Year. Sharing honors with her is Executive Chef Jason Toftee from Eddie Martini's who was named ProStart Mentor of the year for all the mentoring he has done with Wauwatosa East students.  

News from the Superintendent

"Can  a Change in Secondary Schedules  Create More Opportunities for Students?"

Last Spring Dr. Ertl, Superintendent of the Wauwatosa School District, communicated with the community and staff through messages posted on the district web site. This year Dr. Ertl will continue to update the community with information about the various initiatives contained in the 2011-12 District Development Plan. You can read the plan here.

In his first message Dr. Ertl discusses the ongoing work of the secondary schedule committee. This committee has met for over a year to discuss student scheduling in the middle and high schools. The school board  has received updates through the process and will receive recommendations about the schedules later this fall. Click here to read this message.

"Hola! Welcome to Elementary Spanish!"

Dr. Ertl recently visited an elementary classroom to observe during a Spanish lesson. Click here to read more about the program.

Engagement Survey Results

In Spring 2009, parents were asked to participate in a survey about the effectiveness of the way they receive information about their child, their child's school and the Wauwatosa School District.  Among 505 respondents, the top five responses were: recorded phone messages (AlertNow,) e-mail, school newsletters, teacher/staff contact and the district web site. A majority of parents felt they received an appropriate amount of information in a timely manner. The comment section included requests for more teacher communication.

In Spring 2011, a second survey covered family engagement in their children's schools. Parents were notified about the survey through the district web site, AlertNow, e-mail messages, the district Facebook page and Twitter. The survey was announced at a school board meeting and included in local media coverage through Wauwatosa Patch and Wauwatosa NOW. Reponses included 514 families who completed the elementary survey and 421 families who completed the middle/high school survey.

Parents indicated the main area needing improvement is communication with their child's teacher, more so at the secondary level than at the elementary level. Parents requested more information than they currently receive about their child's assignments and grades and timely information about school and district-related activities and events.

In the comments or concerns section the district's website was consistently mentioned as being difficult to navigate. Responses were  mixed as to whether communication should be sent home through flyers or electronically.

During the 2011-12 school year the website will be reorganized and the use of Facebook and AlertNow for notifications will also be examined. District staff will also utilize a parent focus group to examine the various methods used to communicate with families and develop a comprehensive communication plan. If you are interested in participating in the focus group, contact Laura Wainscott at 414-773-1062.

Click here to visit the Wauwatosa School District Elementary Libraries web page for a variety of links that support student learning or click here  for the Secondary Libraries web page.

Children's Theatre of Wauwatosa Presents 2011-2012 Series

• To Laugh is to Live: - December 3-East; December 10-West

• The Crying Princess and The Golden Goose: January 14–East; January 21-West There will be a celebration reception honoring the 75th anniversary of the Children's Theatre Program after the January 21 performance.

• The Princess Went Thataway:  February 11-East; February 18-West

• The Land of the Dragon: March 3-East: March 17–West
   
• Let's Keep the Dream Alive and The Musicians by Patsy Ford Simms: April 28-East:March 31-West
   

There is still Time to see "Footloose: The Musical"

at West High School this Weekend!

            The curtain will rise on the Wauwatosa West High School Trojan Players’ production of “Footloose:  The Musical,” on November 11 and 12 at 7 p.m. in the theater at West High School, 11400 W. Center St.

            “Footloose:  The Musical,” will be performed by a cast of more than 55 students with the assistance of 15 technicians and an 11-piece rock ensemble.  The set, built upon a large scaffolding, will feature various elements representing portions of the musical’s setting—the small western town of Bomont.  The rock and roll musical is similar to the 1984 movie starring Kevin Bacon and subsequent remake, but it takes the music from the movies to another level, integrating the songs into the story and driving high energy singing and dancing performances, leading up to the grand finale, “Megamix.”  “Footloose:  The Musical,” is typically appropriate for anyone 10 to 12 years old or older but does contain some mild language so parental discretion is advised.

            Purchase tickets online at www.seatyourself.biz/trojanplayers. All tickets are reserved:  $15 adults and $10 students and senior citizens. For more information, call (414) 773-3219 or visit www.facebook.com/trojanplayers.

Wauwatosa East High School Presents

"Cyrano de Bererac" 

            The Tosa East Players will perform “Cyrano de Bergerac,” on November 11, 12, 18 and 19 at 7:30 p.m. and November 13 at 2 p.m. at East High School, 7500 Milwaukee Ave.

            Amidst the majesty of 17^th century France, gallant swordsman and lonely poet Cyrano admires the beautiful Roxanne from afar—hiding behind an excessively long nose.  Cyrano feels he could never be worthy of such an exquisite woman, let alone tell her how he feels.  As fate would have it, Cyrano finds an opportunity to express himself by writing love poems to her on behalf of his friend Christian, an attractive young cadet who also longs for Roxanne.  With each soul-stirring letter that builds a romance Cyrano will never know, he continues to dream—will Roxanne ever learn the truth behind the deep-felt words or will it forever remain a secret of her heart?

            The production will be a black box venue with the audience sitting on the theater stage, actors/actresses will wear lavish period costumes designed by student Hailey Rakowiecke and a stage combat artist will train the Musketeers in dueling skills.

            Tickets:  $15 adults, $12 senior citizens, $10 senior citizens with Gold Pass and students, $8 students with ID pass and $6 children age 12 and under.  To purchase tickets, go to www.seatyourself.biz or call (414) 773-2110.

School Board News

The next regularly scheduled School Board meeting will be Monday, November 14,  at 7 p.m. at the district's administrative building, the Fisher Building, 12121 W. North Ave. Agendas for upcoming meetings are posted on the district's website and can be found by clicking here.

If you can't make it to a School Board meeting, you have a variety of opprotunities to stay up-to-date with what is happening in the district.  Want to watch the meetings? No problem. You can view meetings online on the district's website by clicking here. You can also watch meetings on Channel 13, the district's public access channel. The schedule of meeting rebroadcasts can be accessed by clicking here.

Find Us on Facebook

Have you become a fan of the district on Facebook? You can get the latest and most accurate district information sent to you via Facebook. Just click on the Facebook link on the right side of this page. Signing up is simple, fast and free.

Your email address will not be shared with any outside service or organization. It will only be used to provide you with up-to-date news and information about the Wauwatosa School District and our schools.

If you have any questions or comments, please contact Laura Wainscott at (414) 773-1062 or email.

Thank you for your continued support of Wauwatosa Schools!