Fond du Lac superintendent pushes operational referendum, prioritizes planning time and data-driven instruction

Matt Steinbarth, the new superintendent of the Fond du Lac School District, said he will spend significant time preparing for a possible operational referendum and restoring teacher collaboration time that he said was lost after last year’s budget vote. "If we go to referendum again, I'm gonna be pouring a lot of time into making sure if we go to referendum that that can pass," Steinbarth said in a recorded interview.

Steinbarth told the program the referendum is tied to classroom supports and student outcomes. He said one priority is returning planning and collaboration time at the middle- and high-school levels so teachers can perform data-driven instruction (DDI) and respond to assessment information. "I want to make sure that that's rounded K–12," he said, describing DDI as a way for teachers to "look at information coming in from student assessments and making plans on…