FREE WHITEWATER

Education

Education, Open Government, School District

Whitewater Schools: Meeting, Survey, Timeline for the Next District Administrator

by  •  • 2 Comments

There are important steps ahead in the Whitewater Schools’ search for a new district administrator. (A link on the district webpage  has information about the process. I’ve reproduced key information below.) Tonight, at 6:30 PM in the Whitewater High School library, there will be an open forum where residents can share their views on what…

Education, Open Government, Press Release, School District

Whitewater Schools: Paltry “Community Input”

by  •  • 4 Comments

Update, 2.10.20 – Since this post, the location has now been changed to Whitewater High School’s more spacious and inviting library. There’s a story in a local newspaper about a public forum for community input on the search for a permanent Whitewater school district administrator. Here’s the beginning of the newspaper’s account of the district’s efforts:…

Culture, Education, School District

Ready-Made is Poorly Made

by  •  • 4 Comments

The Whitewater Schools now have an interim district administrator, and the district is looking to hire a permanent replacement. At the most recent school board meeting of 1.27.20, there was a brief discussion of community involvement in the selection process (see meeting video).  The school board president and vice president (having each been on the…

Babbittry, Boosterism, Culture, Economy, Education, School District

Whitewater School Board, 1.27.20: Palmyra-Eagle & Competition Between Districts

by  •  •  Comments

?? On Monday night, Whitewater’s school board met first in closed session, and about an hour later in open session. (A video of the open session is embedded above.) Part way into the meeting, after a summary of the latest developments concerning the nearby Palmyra-Eagle School District, a candidate for that school district’s board spoke…

City, Education, School District

On the Dissolution of the Palmyra-Eagle School District, Reason Carries the Day

by  •  • 3 Comments

Earlier today, a School District Boundary Appeal Board (Wis. Stat. §15.375) voted by a margin of 6-1 against the dissolution of the Palmyra-Eagle School District. The possible dissolution of that school district loomed for many months. Dissolving that district would have led to a significant reallocation of students, faculty, resources, and obligations to Whitewater or…

America, Authoritarianism, Education, Law, Trump

More Dangerous Than More Dangerous

by  •  •  Comments

At the Washington Post’s Plum Line, Greg Sargent writes that William Barr’s deceptions are more dangerous than you think. It’s an excellent post about Barr’s attempt to validate Trump’s lies (about Russia, Ukraine, election interference). Sargent’s assessment is even less favorable for the future – and so more ominous – than he writes. Sargent is right…

City, Education, School District

Whitewater Schools’ State Report Cards

by  •  •  Comments

Wisconsin’s Department of Public Instruction annually issues report cards measuring schools’ performance across several major categories. Whitewater’s detailed report card results appear below, first for the district, and then for each of her five schools (one high school, one middle school, and three elementary schools). These documents are available here for download – in full…

Education, School District, Wisconsin

Dissolving a School District

by  •  • 2 Comments

In an advisory referendum held yesterday, a majority of residents in the Palmyra-Eagle School District voted in favor of dissolving their school system: Of the 2,298 votes cast in the Nov. 5 advisory referendum, 1,218 (53%) voted in favor of dissolution; 1,080 voted against it, according to unofficial results released Tuesday night by the school…

City, Education, School District

Whitewater Schools’ Presentation of Goals

by  •  • 1 Comment

This morning, I posted about the 10.28.19 Whitewater Unified School District board meeting. See School Board, 10.28.19: 3 Points. That post, I mentioned that I would request copies of the goals presentations from Monday night that were not included in the agenda packet.  Today, before submitting my request, I received a note from the district…

City, Education, School District

School Board, 10.28.19: 3 Points

by  •  • 7 Comments

The Whitewater Unified School District Board met Monday night. I’ll update this post with the meeting video as soon as the school district posts the video online (as its own policy requires). For now, three points stand out from the agenda items for the meeting. 1. Academic Presentations. There were three presentations on academic plans…

City, Education, Language, Newspapers, School District, University, Writing

The Janesville Gazette‘s Sketchy Reporting on Major Topics

by  •  • 3 Comments

The nearby Janesville Gazette, a newspaper that insists ‘local matters,’ too often reports on Whitewater’s local matters in a careless way, ignoring key information.  Whether that paper’s omissions are through negligence or by design, reporting like this ill-serves Whitewater. (In fairness, the Gazette long ago ran itself into the ground, and sold out this summer…