The Whitefish Bay School District is working hard to ensure we are an "exceptional place to learn" for all of our students through equity and excellence.
The Whitefish Bay School District adapted the Wisconsin Department of Instruction (DPI) definition, "educational equity means that every student has access to the resources and educational rigor they need at the right moment in their education, across race, gender, ethnicity, language, ability, sexual orientation, family background, and/or family income."
The District Focus Plan beliefs include our responsibility of "respecting the diversity of students and engaging them as individual learners." Current research is on four focus areas for promoting excellence and equity:
- Effective Instruction
- Student-Teacher Relationships
- Family and Community Engagement
- School and Instructional Leadership
Currently we are engaged in several priorities to move the District's belief and vision into action. Below highlights some of our current work towards exceeding community expectations in both equity AND excellence in all four focus areas:
Family and Community Engagement:
- Member in Closing the Achievement Gap Consortium (CAGC) at Concordia University
- Network and collaborating with several Southeastern Wisconsin School Districts with a focus on closing the achievement gap within our Districts
- Participating in several Consoritum activities; African American Youth Institute (AAYI), New Educator Training, Administrator and School Board Professional Learning, Job Requirement Fair
School and Instructional Leadership:
- Integrated Comprehensive Support Academy and Modules and 4-Cornerstone Framework is utilized in our building professional learning and continous improvement planning.
- School Improvement Plans (SIPs) aligned to the 4-Cornerstone Framework.
Effective Instruction: Continous Improvment and Innovation Strategies
- Our district is moving foward with a Culturally Responsive Instruction in our K-12 program using the Partnership in Comprehensive Literacy model and our upcoming new mathematics resources, Illustrative Mathematics. These models builds in five of seven best practices structures (Daniels, Zemelman); gradual release, classroom workshop, integrated units of study, strategic thinking and collaboration.
- Each grade level and department has an assessment trained Collaboration Coach focusing on the 4 Professional Learning Communities questions during District collaboration time: What do we want students to know and be able to do? How do we know they learned it? What do we do with students who don't know it yet? What do we do with students that already know it?
- Building Leadership Teams participate in District Leadership Academy during the summer to develop school countinous improvement goals.
Student-Teacher Relationships:
- A school-wide behavior management framework is implemented in all of our schools. It provides a common language and structure that focuses on celebration and recognition of our students.
- ACP planning is both a process and a product. The process helps students integrate their academics and passions with career and college development activities through personalizing each students educational experience. The product is students setting and monitoring goals and selected courses and activities that will support their future development.
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