Holly Church, with the WIN program, told the Sparta Area School District board on Sept. 8 that the program served students across multiple school sites last year and that participant surveys showed consistently high satisfaction. "Last year we served 73 students" at Southside, Church said, and she provided comparable totals for other sites.

The report outlined participation and activities at three sites: Southside (73 students during the year), Sparta Montessori (91 students across grades 4K–6, including 12 from Meadowview), and Herman (174 students). Church said program staff include school-day employees, community members and high-school students, and that 35 high-school workers are currently available to help during the year.

Why it matters: WIN provides supervised before- and after-school care and enrichment that district staff say supports student academic and social development while families work. Church described academic reinforcement, reading practice, STEM activities, clubs and family nights as part of the program.

Details and supporting data: Church said WIN at Southside ran activities focused on letter and number recognition and social skills, and that the program took students to the Apple Orchard in Cashton. At Herman the program emphasized reading practice, art, STEM, writing and physical fitness; a reading incentive called Logger Dogs rewarded students with a loggers baseball-game outing for 1,000 minutes of reading.

Church summarized multiple survey and reporting instruments: the annual progress report (APR) submitted to the Department of Public Instruction and a separate student/family survey done in partnership with UW–Madison. She said the APR lags behind the UW–Madison survey and that the survey turnaround is faster. From the 2023–24 reporting period Church cited program demographics and outcomes: 54% of participating students were economically disadvantaged, 6% were English learners, 29% showed improved school-day attendance, and 57% showed improved classroom learning engagement as indicated by teachers. On perceptions, Church reported that 95% of students felt safe at WIN, 89% felt they belonged, 92% said there was at least one adult they could trust, and 100% of surveyed parents felt staff cared about their child.

Board questions and clarifications: Board members asked about differences between the APR and the UW–Madison survey; Church said the APR is routed through DPI and therefore takes longer. Church said family survey response rates were about 50% and student survey response rates were in the high 90s. Board members also asked how WIN participation compared to total school enrollments at each building; district staff supplied rough building enrollment figures during the discussion.

Next steps and context: Church said WIN intends to continue programming this year, adding activities such as crocheting and resuming field trips and ice-skating attempts for younger children. No formal board action or vote on the WIN program occurred during the meeting; the presentation served as an informational report.

Ending note: The board praised the program and asked staff to continue reporting attendance and outcome measures as the year progresses.