School district representatives to meet with state legislators

The School District of Rhinelander has been selected to take part in a meeting with state legislators focused on the success of school programs that promote career opportunities for students.

“Our unique program is our Rhinelander Partners in Education partnerships for our Academy and Pathway programs for our students,” school district officials said in a press release. “Another huge feather in our cap for SDR!”

The event will be held on Thursday, February 27, from 8 a.m. to noon at the Madison Concourse Hotel.

“The event will be held as a half-day workshop where legislators and their staff will be invited,” the release states. “We expect between 50 and 75 participants. It is co-sponsored by WASBO, WASB, SAA, SWSA, and WiRSA (the rural schools alliance). The overall purpose of the event is two-fold. First, participants will acquire a clear high-level understanding of how public schools are funded in Wisconsin, and that will include helping to clarify common misconceptions about school finance. Second, we hope the event will help cultivate relationships between legislators and school administrators such that legislators see value in our knowledge and perspective and will think to reach out to us when they have questions about a given policy and how it might affect public schools.”

The career panel will be the culminating segment of the program as it really brings home one of the key essential values public schools provide to Wisconsin’s economy and communities, the release states.

 The program will include some key school superintendents providing their perspective on how they bring outstanding educational opportunities to Wisconsin students and some of the challenges they face in sustaining that endeavor. 

There will also be a presentation on the key aspects of school finance in Wisconsin and then a discussion activity that uses quiz questions to help solidify the concepts and provides opportunity to discuss areas of confusion or misunderstanding about how school finance works and what the impacts of current policies are.

“The Rhinelander Partners in Education and related programs is one of five career-oriented model programs that we have identified to help legislators understand some of the ways public schools are 1) providing stand-out opportunities for students to develop knowledge and skills that will propel their lives and careers and 2) providing critical value to Wisconsin’s economy and businesses by helping to develop the future workforce,” the release states. “The other programs are Whitehall School District and its partnership with Ashley Furniture; the LAUNCH program in Elmbrook schools; the La Crosse school district’s Youth Apprenticeship and related programs; and the Southwest Milwaukee Consortium. Each program is exemplary and distinct from the others in its approach and structure.”