West Allis-West Milwaukee School District athletic staff and school athletic directors presented a district athletic strategic plan and related initiatives Wednesday, outlining goals for student leadership, coach development, facilities access and increased participation. The board heard survey results from students and parents and school-level action plans from Nathan Hale and West Allis Central.

The presentation was framed around a district vision “to be the preferred choice when people want to choose what district, what school, where am I going, and athletics is important to them,” Shelley (athletics staff) told the board. Shelley said the district will emphasize “character, community, pride, and a competitive mindset” and will measure progress through engagement, connectivity and facility improvements.

Why it matters: Athletics programs affect student engagement, retention and school climate. The board and staff said they want consistent expectations across sports, better access to conditioning and facilities outside the season, and clearer evaluation for coaches — changes they say should increase participation and community support.

Districtwide context and survey
Shelley told the board the district completed its first athletic program survey of student athletes and parents, administered through School Perceptions. “School Perceptions said they were impressed with the number of responses and the return rate,” she said. The survey showed students and parents agreed the district’s rules and expectations were generally clear and that events and facilities were safe; it also flagged access to conditioning (in season and out), inconsistent expectations among sports, and partnerships with youth organizations and alumni as areas for improvement.

School-level goals
Trevor, Nathan Hale’s athletic director, presented three priority areas: student leadership, coaching development and participation. “By October 1, we want to establish a student athletic leadership team, which is also known as SALT,” Trevor told the board. He said SALT members would plan school-wide service projects, define appropriate behavior for student sections, and help shape themed home games. Trevor outlined coach training goals (100% completion of WIAA training and three in-house professional development sessions) and said he wants a unified weight-training program and periodic athlete testing days between seasons. He also reported recent social-media growth, saying views on Facebook had increased 635%, interactions 620% and follows 450% after a more consistent posting schedule.

Katie, West Allis Central’s athletic director, said Central’s work focused on increasing general student engagement with athletics and boosting attendance at events. “I want them to feel included,” Katie said of student athletes, and she described steps to incentivize attendance — booster passes, a superfan program tied to rewards, student social-media aides and collaboration with student council and senior leaders to create theme nights and promote events.

Targets and resources
Trevor reported Hale had 468 athletes last year (about 43% of the school population) and set a goal to increase participation by 15% (about 70 additional athletes). Katie said Central’s fall and winter participation rate was around 30% of the student body and set a goal to raise that figure to about 40% by the end of the winter season. Both ADs said many improvements rely on continued staff time, existing transportation and incremental costs for officials or added team levels; they said uniforms and major facility projects are managed on multi‑year cycles or through specific fundraising.

Board questions and discussion
Board members asked about academic eligibility, feeder connections with intermediate schools, assistant‑coach evaluation, uniform-replacement cycles, retiree passes and use of the district’s rec department as a feeder and facility partner. Dr. Robinson (superintendent) said ADs are being embedded in school administrative teams to better align athletics with academics and attendance interventions. The district’s intermediate athletic director, Bobby Forman, was described as coordinating joint meetings and shared practices between intermediate and high school coaches to strengthen feeder pathways.

Decisions and next steps
No formal board vote was taken on the athletic plan at the workshop. District staff said they will continue implementing the strategic plan, administer end‑of‑season student surveys across sports, refine coach job descriptions and evaluation tools, pilot the SALT program at Hale this year and share successful practices across both high schools. Staff also committed to better communicating existing retiree guest‑pass benefits and to continuing monthly meetings that include intermediate school athletic staff.

Ending note
Board members praised the work completed to date and urged the ADs to continue coordination between the two high schools and with feeder programs so successful pilots can be adapted districtwide.