New Richmond leaders plan 6–12 consolidated campus and recommend associate principal amid parent safety concerns

New Richmond Exempted Village Superintendent Tracy Miller told families that the district will reconfigure its secondary schools so grades 6 through 12 operate as a unified campus and that the only immediate personnel change will be a new principal next year.

Miller said Joe Stewart will serve as the 6–12 campus principal and that the district has approved a job description for a new associate-principal role. "We just finished interviews last week... I'm gonna recommend that Ms. Kozlowski as our associate principal," Miller said, adding the board will consider the hire at its next meeting.

The move is framed as a curricular and operational alignment designed to reduce students falling behind during the eighth-to-ninth-grade transition and to increase collaboration among teachers. Stewart, who spoke about his experience in 7–12 environments, cited five-year data showing that about "20 to 24 percent" of freshmen previously failed two or more classes by the end of the first semester and credited a targeted intervention or "white team" with bringing failure rates for that group down to roughly "6 percent." "This is giving us a chance for every teacher in these two buildings to read from the same script," Stewart said.

Administrators emphasized that students should not expect major classroom changes next year and described a phased implementation. Miller said the district will keep four administrative positions but reconfigure duties so the associate principal provides direct coverage when Stewart is in the other building.

Parents used the meeting's Q&A to press administrators on discipline and safety. One parent said, "I've had to pull all my kids off the bus because they were getting beat up," and asked how the district could guarantee children's safety. Miller responded that she could not guarantee absolute safety but said the district will do "the very best we can" and outlined specific measures: locked doors with staff-controlled entry, staggered movement between buildings, scheduling more staff on duty during high-traffic times and use of positive behavior interventions (PBIS).

A staff member described the PBIS approach the district intends to expand: teachers award points students can redeem for small rewards, the handbook consequences will be applied consistently, and teachers will coordinate to reinforce expected behavior. John Fry, who identified himself in the meeting and described disciplinary data, said the district must teach culture and expectations starting in sixth grade; Fry cited about "800 referrals" in the middle school this year versus "270" at the high school as a data point for the need to build consistent expectations.

Administrators also noted logistical limits: the middle-school building is a retrofitted elementary school with narrower hallways and limited lab facilities, so the district does not plan to mix students in classrooms but will allow some advanced middle-school students to take one or two high-school classes and to share common areas under controlled conditions.

Miller offered curriculum as an example of anticipated academic benefits, saying the district intends to expand access to Algebra I so students can take that course by eighth grade rather than later. Special education services will continue as a continuum across grades 6–12, with intervention specialists assigned according to student needs.

Next steps: Miller said she will make the formal recommendation to the board to hire Kozlowski as associate principal at the next meeting and that much of next year will be a planning year focused on implementing PBIS, finalizing supervision schedules and aligning department professional learning communities. Administrators encouraged families to follow up by email for specific incidents and promised continued updates as the transition proceeds.