Raymond Takes Over as Washington Island School Administrator

As the smallest K-12 district in the state, Washington Island School has always presented a unique situation for its students, faculty and staff. This has proven especially true in recent months, when budget cuts and labor battles have roiled districts large and small across the state. With that in mind, I interviewed new Washington Island School Administrator Tim Raymond, who started work July 6. Raymond was most recently the principal at Edgar High School in Edgar, Wisconsin.

Andrew Phillips (AP): What’s your general feeling coming into this new job?

Tim Raymond (TR): Excitement. It’s a great challenge right now. A lot of the issues facing public schools are truly magnified at Washington Island. I’m truly excited to hit the ground running.

AP: Have you always lived and worked in small communities?

TR: Yep. Born and raised in a small community. The community I’m coming from is about 1,400 people [Washington Island’s population is 673].

AP: How will your past work experience help you adapt to the island’s unique situation?

TR: I spent five years at Lakeland Union High School as an assistant and associate principal. Lakeland is very similar to the island. It’s also remote. Let’s put it this way – one student could throw a stone to the Upper Peninsula.

AP: What experiences and strategies will you bring to the job that others may not have?

TR: I think I bring in a skill set that understands the importance of maintaining a school district that is not only healthy, but working to achieve better things tomorrow than who they are today. That takes vision, and understanding in the financial formula. You always start with the vision.

AP: What will be your approach to bringing as many academic opportunities (advanced placement courses, varied course offerings) to the island as possible?

TR: Right now we have no AP courses – that’s going to be an avenue I’ll definitely examine. We’re also going to be expanding our outreach program, with ITV [Instructional Television] and online courses through CESA [Cooperative Educational Service Agency] and [Northeast Wisconsin Technical College]. [Students] are our clients – we’re here to serve them. We need to be the educational hub of our district. We’re looking at dual-credit [high school and college] courses through NWTC. I’ve already had several meetings with folks at NWTC, and they’re very excited to begin a partnership.

AP: How much will you incorporate technology into the island campus to reach those goals?

TR: First I have to start with an inventory. Technology can mean a million different things. It’s the online classes that we could offer, not only to our own students but to other students, generating revenue. NWTC is going to come in and do an inventory.

AP: How will you approach the island athletic program?

TR: I just got done with several talks about athletics on the island. I need to see where [students’] interests lie. We already have an agreement with Gibraltar, approved by the WIAA, for spring sports in 2012. That obviously presents logistical issues. Now we need to consider whether we want to continue that for the 2012-13 school year, for fall and spring sports. We need to be offering those things. Public education in America is very Greek – we look to develop the entire person, not just the academics. Whether it’s theater or a wrestling match – those are all opportunities for students.

AP: How much do you see working or partnering with other schools to increase your students’ opportunities being a part of the island’s future?

TR: We have to explore those avenues, but we also have to be offering things that other schools aren’t. When we share our students with other school districts, we lose money unless there’s a reciprocity. [Money] has to be a part of the equation, but it can’t be leading the equation.

AP: How much will Washington Island’s unique situation change your general approach to leading a school?

TR: Education is a people business, a business where we look our students and staff in the eye and say ‘Let’s hit the day running.’ Whether it’s the island, or Wisconsin Rapids where I student taught, where there were 500 students per class, it’s the same business.