DeForest Area School District

DASD

News

A four-year-old child gets her ears checked by a representative from Meriter at the DASD

Early Learning Fair, held on March 7.
 
 For friends of the DeForest Area School District
March 2013
Board selects Susan Borden as new superintendent

The DeForest Area School District's Board of Education took formal action at its Feb. 25 meeting to approve Susan Borden as the new superintendent for the school district. Borden will begin her duties at the end of the school year when current Superintendent Jon Bales leaves for his new position with the Wisconsin Association of School District Administrators (WASDA).
 
"Susan will bring an impressive list of credentials and a proven track record of success to our district," Berg said. "We believe she best fits the criteria we are looking for based on input we received from staff, students, and community. Her experience and leadership style will assure that our school district maintains its tradition of excellence and continuous improvement."
 
Though Borden will not be starting her job officially until July 1, Berg expects to work with her and current superintendent Bales to plan for a smooth transition for staff and the community. 

Full article is available on DASD website: www.deforest.k12.wi.us > District > News
Board members and district staff attend community engagement workshop

 

School board president Jan Berg and Vice President Steve Tenpas recently attended a Community Engagement workshop at the Whitewater University Innovation Center.  The one-day workshop was sponsored by the Wisconsin School Public Relations Association.

The workshop featured an interactive session by the International Association of Public Participation (IAP2) and case study presentations by Wisconsin school districts.

Tenpas and Berg were joined at the workshop by Superintendent Jon Bales, School/Community Relations Coordinator Debbie Brewster, and Administrative Assistant Ann Stettbacher.
 
thank you image
Superintendent search process -- thank you to community
 
The following Letter to the Editor is reprinted from the March 14 issue of the DeForest Times-Tribune. 
 
To the DeForest area community: 
On behalf of the entire board of education, we would like to thank the many individuals and groups in our community who participated in our superintendent search process. Input from the various stakeholder groups was an important part of the school board's decision-making process and ultimate selection of our new superintendent, Dr. Susan Borden. 
 
Read more, p. 2
 
Spring school board election 
 
Three seats are open for the April 2 election for the DeForest Area School Board. Running for these positions are:

Town of Windsor: Steve Tenpas (I)
Village of DeForest (2 seats open): Jan Berg (I), Kate Lund (I), Jeffrey Horn
 
Planning for the future 

by Superintendent Jon Bales

 

It is clear that the municipalities served by the DeForest Area School District are embracing population growth and the expansion of our larger shared community. With a current population of greater than twenty thousand, there are thousands of new planned housing units to be added in the district. As the economy heals, we are seeing more housing development in and around our new neighborhoods as well as turnover in our existing housing stock in the area. This obviously results in a growing student population in schools.  

 

The school district's board of education has been planning for this growth for some time and is poised with options to engage the public in a conversation about facility growth and expansion. Addressing the regions planned growth will understandably require the District to make adjustments in both the short and long term when it comes to managing class sizes and making the best use of available space before new space can be added. The last expansion in classroom space in the DeForest school district was thirteen years ago. 
 
See related article below (Elementary school boundaries)
Read more, p. 3 
 
Elementary school boundaries
 
Each year DASD staff and administration monitor and evaluate space needs at the elementary school level. In recent years, there has been more of an increase in population in the Windsor Elementary School attendance area than the other elementary schools. Yahara has seen a decline in population, and Eagle Point has remained stable.

All students are normally assigned a school based on the prescribed attendance boundaries of the district. Each year, parents may request a "boundary exception" to attend an elementary school out of their neighborhood. Nearly 100 elementary school boundary exception requests are reviewed annually by principals and the Director of Administrative Services. District administrators try to honor these requests as much as possible to meet the unique needs of families. These decisions are made each year based primarily on available space and class sizes. In addition, once a student has been granted a boundary exception, the student has been given a higher preference for subsequent years, if space allowed.

Read more, p. 4
 
DASD Updates In Brief

Click HERE for updates:
  • Bergh to serve on state advisory council, p. 2
  • School safety, p. 2
  • EPES receives $500 grant for science program, p. 3
  • Exxon Mobil grant awarded to Windsor Elementary School, p. 3
  • Elementary schools moving to trimesters, p. 5
 
 

Voice mail system unavailable April 4

 

The District's Learning Information Systems Department is working on an upgrade to our voicemail system that requires approximately 2 hours of downtime. On April 4th, they are estimating approximately 2 hours during which voicemail may not be retained.

To minimize the impact of this project, we've scheduled it over our spring break when call volumes are low. Although we do not have the exact times at this point, we wished to notify parents and families. Other communication options will be available during the down time.

In case of an unforeseen issue with this upgrade, each school will have a cell phone number available for communication purposes. We don't anticipate that we will need these numbers, but if you should need to contact your school and do not receive an answer, please use the following numbers on April 4th only:

Use these phone numbers to contact school offices on April 4:
EPES: 516-6034
DAMS: 509-8874
DAHS: 516-8537
MES: 516-7128
YES: 516-7618
District Office/HEC: 234-1870
WES: 516-7493
 
School Spotlight

 

Click HERE for Spotlight features.

  • Battle of the Books, p. 5
  • DAHS Forensics team earns conference title, p. 5
  • Bingo!, p. 6 
  • Student artwork displayed at Hilldale Mall, p. 6
  • MOO-vin' for a Cure, p. 6
  • Mr. Norski crowned at DAHS, p. 7
  • YES student wins Haiku competition, p. 7
  • GT4K goes "Nuts for Nutrition" ... March is National Nutrition Month, p. 7
 
 
Older adult volunteers needed!

The Digital Communications class at DeForest Area Middle School is looking for older adults to be part of a video documentary on April 22 and 29, 1:30-2:30 pm. 
(a final project reception will also be held at the end of May)

Both sessions include an interview about your life, specifically with examples of "resiliency," with a small group of 8th grade students. A final session (date to be determined) will be a group reception where students will share their video documentaries and thank the older adults for participating in the project.
If interested, contact Digital Communications teachers
Laura Kruschek at [email protected]; 842-6134
Holly Mair at [email protected]; 842-6162 

 

 
In This Issue
Community engagement workshop
Thank you to community
Spring school board election
Planning for the future
Elementary school boundaries
DASD Updates
Voice mail system
School Spotlight
Older adult volunteers needed
Stay connected
Events calendar
Stay connected with DASD
 
Like us on Facebook Facebook pages 
 
 
Visit our blog DASD News Blog 
 
View our videos on YouTube YouTube channel 
 
Bus delays and school closings
 
Timely notices are posted on the district's home page. These notices are used if for any reason a bus is delayed
picking up children in the morning or dropping them off at the end of
the day.

Local radio and TV announcements will also continue to be made for
weather-related school closings. Notices are also posted on the District
website, or you may call 842-6668.


 
 
(page 8)


 

Upcoming events in the Madison area p. 8

 

Back-to-School Lunches for Grandparents, April and May 

 

The Sound of Music

May 2-4

 

Summer Swim Lesson Registration

May 8

 

Summer Drama Camp

Register by May 14

 

More at:


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Thank you!

Click here to download a PDF version of this DASD News issue (and previously versions).
Thank you for your support of the DeForest Area School District. 
Contact Information

Please contact me if you have any questions or if I can assist you in any way . . .
 
Debbie Brewster, School/Community Relations Coordinator
DeForest Area School District
520 E. Holum Street
DeForest, WI 53532
(608) 842-6581 phone
(608) 842-5492 fax
[email protected]
www.deforestareaschools.org