Rice Lake board hears Committee report urging yearly data, student leadership and discussion of cell-phone limits

The Rice Lake Area School District board on June 9 received a report from the Warrior Connections Committee that recommended continued, structured work to increase student belonging across district schools.

The committee — formed in November 2024 to study student connection — presented local interview results alongside Youth Risk Behavior Survey data showing declines in some measures of belonging. The committee’s presenter summarized what students told interviewers: "More than just programs, they want friendships, staff student connection, and spaces where students feel safe and accepted, being allowed to be myself, having friends here." The presenter said local interviews underscored fatigue, instances of bullying and weaker connection in middle and high school than at the elementary level.

Adam Beaver, a teacher who took part in student interviews, opened the committee’s remarks by saying, "The Rice Lake School District is an excellent school with great kids," and described the committee’s process of interviewing students and staff to surface barriers to belonging.

Why it matters: board members flagged that the committee’s findings could inform several policy and operational changes — from promoting clubs and after-school activities to exploring scheduling and transportation changes that make participation feasible. The committee suggested a suite of interventions, including yearly data collection, targeted outreach to students who feel disconnected, exploring a late bus to increase participation, and forming a youth leadership team to surface student-driven ideas.

What the board decided: members debated whether the work should be primarily board-supported or staff- and student-driven. Several trustees emphasized that for lasting change staff and students must be central; others said board support is needed for legitimacy and sustained follow-through. The board did not adopt any immediate policy; instead members agreed to continue the committee’s work, assign board representatives to follow up, and route specific policy proposals (for example, any formal cell-phone policy) to the relevant standing committees.

On cell phones: committee members and trustees discussed research and local practice from nearby districts; no policy change was adopted. Trustees agreed that any proposal would go first to the policy committee and that the district should prioritize educating parents and staff about research and local goals before adopting a top-down ban.

Next steps: the board asked for periodic reports back from the committee, recommended the committee narrow its priorities to a small set of actionable items, and signaled the topic would be included in the board’s July retreat agenda.

Quotations in this story come from committee presenters and board meeting remarks recorded in the June 9 meeting transcript.