Chippewa Valley Schools hires Fielding International to lead facilities master planning

Chippewa Valley Schools Board of Education members heard a district facilities master-planning presentation and were told outside consultant Fielding International will begin discovery work March 3 and present initial findings April 7.

The presentation, delivered by Mr. Roberts, a district administrator leading the planning effort, outlined a phased process: collection and review of existing data, a March–April discovery phase by Fielding, visioning and focus groups in the summer and fall, and development of a 5–10 year master plan for board approval next fall. "Fielding will be here March 3," Roberts said, "Between March 3 and April 7 . . . they will be working to collect gather data about our district, and they call it discovery documents."

Why it matters: the district has uneven enrollment across its schools — several North End elementary buildings are under capacity while some South End buildings are at or above capacity. The planning effort aims to align educational goals, safety and security reviews, and financial planning with facility changes that could take several years to implement. "This really gives an gives us an opportunity right now to look at our district in a way we haven't been able to look at it before," Roberts said.

Key points from the presentation - Background: the district has worked with Plant Moran RealPoint on enrollment projections and facility-usage mapping during 2024; Fielding International will build on that baseline data with deeper stakeholder engagement. - Timeline: Fielding's March 3 introduction to the board; discovery and baseline facility analysis through April 7; visioning and focus groups during summer and into October 2025; hoped-for board approval of a recommended plan by next fall. - Scope: visioning will include focus groups of teachers, principals, special education and special services staff, parents (a "CAC plus" group), and board members. The consultant will review learning spaces, media centers, support spaces, career and technical education (CTE) offerings, special-education placements (including the CLP program at Wyandotte Middle School), athletics and arts facilities, and options for shared or reconfigured spaces (including the district's role as the largest feeder to the countywide International Academy). - Financial and safety review: Roberts stressed financial planning and safety/security assessments will be part of the process, and said any recommended changes would be contingent on funding and would likely roll out over several years rather than be implemented immediately.

Questions from board members and public commenters focused on how Fielding's work would differ from Plant Moran's earlier analysis. Roberts said Fielding "will just dig a little deeper" and will talk with more people inside buildings to develop the district's vision for learning spaces. He described Plant Moran's work as having "scratched the surface" of building conditions and usage.

Clarifying details provided during the meeting included the district's role as the largest feeder to the International Academy (about 120 Chippewa Valley students out of roughly 400 countywide) and the district's plan to use discovery documents and baseline facility reports as inputs to subsequent visioning.

The board did not take any formal votes on facility changes at the meeting; it approved only the consultant's introduction and the timeline for discovery and visioning. Fielding will return for an introductory presentation March 3 and a baseline report April 7, after which the visioning and focus-group phase will begin.