Shifting school focus
Beranek: fewer students interested in college
The Marathon Board of Education last week Wednesday congratulated with applause principal David Beranek for Marathon High School being rated in 2022 the best high school in central Wisconsin by U.S. News and World Report.
Beranek, who credited high school staff for the accolade, said the recognition was great but questioned whether the high school’s top ranking would continue given changes in the economy and the career goals of students.
Beranek said the U.S. News and World Report’s rankings heavily rely on college prep indicators, such as ACT test scores and the number of students in Advanced Placement classes.
He reported many Marathon High School students are shifting their focus away from college. These students, he said, want to head to a technical school, such as Northcentral Technical College, to pursue a career in the trades or, otherwise, just get a job in today’s employee-starved economy.
Beranek said he couldn’t promise school board members future high ACT scores. He said some students refuse to take the college entrance exam which now is given to every Wisconsin junior in order to measure school quality on annual report cards.
“I had heard about this, but this year I witnessed it myself,” Beranek said. “The student says, no disrespect, but I will sit in the test and just not take it.”
Beranek said this refusal is understandable: some colleges no longer look at ACT scores and the scores do not help students headed towards a career in the trades.
The principal questioned the validity of a test that a significant number of students don’t take. “You wonder what the data will be across the state,” he said.
In other board business:
n Board members held a reorganizational meeting. Elected officers were: Jodi DeBroux, president; Lia Klumpyan, vice president; Beth Seubert, clerk; Ted Knoeck, treasurer; Paula Vesely, assistant clerk. Board members named Klumpyan as Wisconsin Association of School Board representative, Seubert as CESA 9 representative and Jackie Hanke as Marathon County special education board representative.
n District administrator Rick Parks announced representatives of the Marathon City Village Board and Marathon Board of Education will meet Thursday to set an agenda for a joint meeting to discuss future housing projects in the village.
n Board members approved a resolution to pay off early $435,000 of bonds sold in 2019. The early payment will save the school district $198,422 in interest on a $4.235 million bond.
n Board members directed administration to have Site Logic, a Twin Cities engineering firm, propose putting together a long-range capital plan for school infrastructure, including lights, heating systems and buildings. Board members said they could hear a competing firm make a proposal, as well.
Cost of the proposal will be free, said administrator Parks, but the company wants to be the general contractor for any future construction project.
Board member Ted Knoeck asked that any future plan not include items where school maintenance crews already know what needs to be done, such as school roofing.
n Board members approved a list of co-curricular advisors and offered contracts for summer school employment. The board pays summer school teachers not affiliated with Marathon Public Schools $20 an hour; $25 an hour if they are affiliated; and $30 an hour if they have a masters degree.
Board member Seubert abstained from the summer school employment vote.
n The board voted to have Baseman Floors, Appleton, refinish the new gym floor for $22,632.
n Board members voted to hire Rhianna Sweno as a second grade teacher. They also accepted the retirement of Pam Hurtis, elementary teacher.
n Marathon Area Elementary School/Marathon Venture Academy principal Ryan McCain announced there will be an eighth grade graduation ceremony on Thursday, June 2, at 6 p.m.
He said that dean of students Lynelle Love was working with the Wisconsin Department of Justice to incorporate principles of restorative justice to elementary and middle school discipline. In the program, students will not just face consequences for misbehavior, but be asked to repair relationships.
