Letter to the Editor: School Boards Celebrate Wisconsin School Board Week

Door County School Districts are joining all public school districts across the state to celebrate Wisconsin School Board Week – Oct. 1-7 to honor our local board members for their commitment to our communities and their children.

Strong schools make strong communities. These men and women devote countless hours to making sure our schools are helping every child reach their potential and graduate college, career, and community ready. They make tough decisions every month and spend many hours studying education issues and regulations in order to provide the accountability our citizens expect.

The key work of school boards is to raise student achievement by:

• Creating a vision for what the community wants the school district to be and for making student achievement the top priority;
• Establishing standards for what students will be expected to learn and to be able to do;
• Ensuring progress is measured to be sure the district’s goals are achieved and students are learning at expected levels;
• Creating a safe, orderly climate where students can learn and teachers can teach;
• Forming partnerships with others in the community to solve common problems; and
• Focusing attention on the need for continuous improvement by questioning, refining, and revising issues related to student achievement.

Even though we show our appreciation in October, their contribution is a year-round commitment. On behalf of our students, families, and staff, we thank the following board members for their service.

Gibraltar:  Mark Weborg (President); Mike Peot (Vice-President); Lynnea Hickey (Clerk); Fred Anderson (Treasurer); Lynn Herman; Britt Maltby; and Stephen Seyfer.

Sevastopol:  Lisa Bieri (President); Keith Volkmann (Vice-President); Karen Brauer (Clerk); Cindy Zellner-Ehlers (Assistant Clerk); Jay Zahn (Treasurer); Dave Kacmarynski; and Sue Todey.

Southern Door:  Tammy Sternard (President); Jamie Schmiling (Vice-President); Pamela Parks (Clerk); Christopher Jackson (Treasurer); Polly Alberts; Marilyn Fitzgerald-White; and Kim Starr.

Sturgeon Bay:  John Hauser (President); Keith Miller (Vice-President); Tina Jennerjohn (Clerk); Teri Hooker (Treasurer); Scott Alger; Beth Chisholm; Jess Holland; Chad Hougaard; and Amy Stephens.

Washington Island:  Amy Jorgenson (President); Tom Jordan (Vice President); Kirsten Purinton (Clerk); Sarah Duggan Goldstein; and Kevin Krueger.

Superintendents Kyle Luedtke, Sevastopol; Mati Palm-Leis, Washington Island; Dan Tjernagel, Sturgeon Bay; Tina VanMeer, Gibraltar; Patti Vickman, Southern Door