Crivitz – The Crivitz School Board approved shortening the 2025 summer break to start the next school year before Sept. 1 to accommodate the referendum construction schedule, and it celebrated a state nomination for the national Blue Ribbon Award program in the category of Exemplary Achievement Gap Closing Schools.
An academic year of strong growth for Crivitz Public Schools in 2023-2024 year prompted the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction to nominate the school district for the National Blue Ribbon Award in the category of Exemplary Achievement Gap Closing Schools, Superintendent Kelly Robinson said at the Dec. 18 board meeting. The Wisconsin Department of Public Information confirmed this nomination with the Peshtigo Times.
To be eligible for the category, which rewards schools for their growth or improvement, schools must score in the top 15% of “average growth” for historically marginalized student groups. Supt. Kelly Robinson said the school district is eligible in two categories of disadvantaged students: percentage of students with special needs and percentage of students eligible for free and reduced lunch.
The free and reduced lunch enrollment also qualifies the school for other programs, such as the Exemplary Achievement Gap Closing Schools nomination, Robinson said.
45% of the district’s students are eligible for free and reduced lunch, Robinson said. This allows the district to be graded more heavily on growth than raw achievement scores, Robinson said.
In its 2023-2024 District Report Card, Crivitz earned an overall score of 75.1 and four stars, or exceeds expectations, in the category of achievement-gap closing schools, Robinson said. She added that the district’s score of 75 was the highest score in Marinette and Oconto counties. The Wisconsin of Public Instruction looks at students’ achievement, absenteeism and graduation rates when considering schools for the National Blue Ribbon program, she said.
With an English Language Arts score of 59.7 points, Crivitz School District outperformed the state average of 58.3. It exceeded the state average score of 58.3.
Its math score of 65.4 also exceeded the state average of 57.6, Robinson said.
At the elementary level, the district’s English Language Arts score rose to 81 from 71. Its math growth score increased to 67.9 from 60.3. “The more growth we have the better the achievement is going to be,” Robinson said. “We’re really focusing on reading intervention and math intervention.”
“We have intervention time in our schedule for both reading and math. They’re able to do small group, one-on-one interventions. Before kids would have to go to interventionists, they are getting that support in the classroom,” Robinson said.
Elementary School Kam Dama said the school is going back to teaching phonics for reading with reading interventionists going into the classroom and working with small groups. “Our teacher-mentor program is wonderful. It’s been a very positive thing for our school,” Dama said. “We have individual plans for every student that scores at the 25th percentile or below.”
The school district’s middle school scores went up in three out of four categories, according to Middle/High School Principal Jeff Baumann. The middle school’s overall score is 68.3, one point better than the prior year. The high school’s score of 87.7 puts it higher than the state average. Its English score is at 64.7. “We instituted some AP Lit and some AP language classes. I think those are helping. Our math scores are always phenomenal,” he said. The district’s high school math score is 73.4 compared with the state score of 52.7.
In growth, 100% of students scored better than they were expected to, Baumann said, based on a comparison of students who scored similarly in the past. “The state average is 66, we got 100, and that’s one of the main reasons we got nominated for the award,” he said.
Robinson said students buy in to the school district’s program. “Even though those study islands aren’t their favorite in the world, we see the benefits of them. Yes, it helps with achievement. Talking to my own child about how to learn, just the ability to take information, process information and then apply it is what we’re teaching here.”
In a development on the referendum project, the School Board approved Fondulac-based CD Smith as the construction management company for the project. The company worked with Marinette Public Schools on its renovation project, said Tom White, Buildings, Grounds & Transportation Director. “CD Smith seemed to have more experience with the school end of it,” he said. “I was more impressed with CD Smith’s safety with the kids being around and their safety checks on their employees and vendors coming in.”
To pave the way for the project, the school district plans to petition the state for a waiver that will allow it to shorten the 2025 summer break by starting school before Sept. 1. “By shortening the 2025 summer, we are extending the 2026 summer,” Robinson said.
Extending the 2026 summer will allow for more construction to occur when students aren’t in the building, Robinson said.
The proposed calendar ends the first semester of the 2025-2026 school year at Christmas break. The third quarter would end right before spring break, Robinson said. “I would not move up graduation by two weeks. They are still out earlier than other students. May 16 is early enough for graduation.” The board approved a resolution allowing the district to file a waiver asking for the exemption so the district can start school prior to Sept. 1.
In a discussion of Emergency Operations Plans just a few days after the Madison shooting at a parochial school, Robinson told board members the school district has school safety plans but keeps them close to the vest for security reasons.
“Students are given the direction: In the event of an emergency, you follow us. You listen to us. We will get you to a safe place.” She invited any board member who wished to know more about the Emergency Operations Plans to meet with her.
The district held a lockdown drill Dec. 5. “Ninety percent of students and staff do exactly what they’re told to do. Then there are some outliers,” Robinson said. The board approved the emergency operations school safety plans and lockdown drill reports.
The board approved two overnight trips for the cheer team to compete in a qualifying competition and the state competition.
The board approved a compensation plan that will adjust each increase by $200 retroactive to the start of the school year and provide the following increases: perfect-attendance incentive goes to $500 from $250 each semester starting next semester; the prep-time stipend goes to $40 from $20 starting immediately; the credit reimbursement goes to $200 from $125 starting immediately; post-retirement benefits for unused sick leave go to $75 from $50; unused sick time for support staff goes to $50 from $30 for unused sick leave.
In response to a reporter’s request for information about annual increases in compensation, Robinson said, “The teachers have a set increase each year depending on where they are on the salary schedule, from $1,300-$1,500 annually. Support staff and admin staff salary increases are voted on by the board in spring each year. This year it was 4%.”
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