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Superintendent and principals present districtwide gains after multi‑year turnaround
Summary
At the Dec. 2 board meeting Superintendent Dr. Jeff Flagg and school principals presented state report card data showing multi‑year improvements across the Fond du Lac School District and credited system changes and partnerships for rising rankings and growth scores.
Superintendent Dr. Jeff Flagg reported at the Dec. 2 Fond du Lac School District Board of Education meeting that the district’s state report card and school‑by‑school measures show sustained improvement after three years of system changes.
Flagg said the district rose from the bottom 11% of Wisconsin districts three years ago to a district score of 68.3 this year and a rank of 205 out of 421 districts. “We are now ranked 205 out of 421 school districts in the state,” Flagg said, adding that the gains reflect “systems of continuous improvement” and partnerships the district adopted.
Why it matters: the state report card tracks both achievement and student growth; Flagg and principals argued the district has moved many schools from “meets few expectations” to “meets” or “exceeds expectations,” and that steady growth across underserved groups is evidence the system changes are affecting classroom learning.
The presentation summarized districtwide gains and showed most schools improved growth measures. Parkside Elementary Principal Amy Yan said Parkside’s growth placed it in the top 5% of elementary schools in the state, calling the result “remarkable” and crediting weekly data meetings and a 90‑day planning process. Chegwin Principal Melanie Steinberg described a multi‑year recovery from one of the state’s lowest rankings to an “exceeds expectations” rating, attributing the change to focused instruction and consistent data work.
Other principals who presented included Nick Scholtes (Evans Elementary), Jessica Hughes (Riverside Elementary), Kathy Pruzanski (Roberts Elementary), Matt Wolford (Rose Knoll Elementary) and Dave Micklecavage (Fond du Lac High School). Speakers highlighted common strategies: a University of Virginia partnership, weekly data‑driven instructional meetings, 90‑day plans, common curriculum resources and targeted small‑group instruction.
Principals noted gains for student groups the state tracks — Black/African American students, Hispanic/Latino students, students with disabilities and emerging bilingual learners — and said those groups’ growth rates rose from below the 12th percentile to at or above the 50th percentile in the most recent year.
Board reaction emphasized the central role of teachers. Board members praised principals and classroom staff and urged continued investment in the systems that produced the gains. Flagg closed by acknowledging the progress and the resistance that can accompany change: “Bold change brings bold resistance,” he said, and added the district must continue refining its systems to sustain and extend gains.
The board did not take a formal vote tied to the presentation; the item was informational and was followed by questions from board members about next steps and sustaining the work.
