Wauwatosa School Board reviews school growth plans; principals report gains, pilots and equity concerns

On March 5, 2026, the Wauwatosa School Board met in the Fisher Administration Building to hear school growth plan updates from principals representing schools across the district.

The session opened with a presentation from Dean Heuss, administrator of the Wauwatosa Virtual Academy, who described the expansion of a restorative pathways program and the GED Option 2 pathway used to award district diplomas. Heuss said the academy uses mentoring, Check & Connect interventions and “healing‑centered engagement,” and reported that course‑completion metrics rose from roughly 55% midsemester to the low‑80s later in the term, calling the work “about hope, healing, accountability, and growth of young people.”

Nicole Curry, associate principal at Bell R. Phillips School, told the board that the school’s priorities for 2025–26 center on literacy across content areas, staff capacity to support self‑management, and academic/career planning. Curry highlighted scorecard gains—"students who have been with us for at least a semester, 25% of them have seen an increase in their STAAR test scores; students who have been with us for at least a year have seen a 44% increase"—and said behavior referrals fell from 244 last year to 94 this year. She said Bell R. Phillips is partnering with the Institute for Personalized Learning and plans a pilot in the restorative pathways (MCAP) program before broader rollout.

Longfellow Middle School principals Monique Porter and Jack Friedel summarized a 20‑day staff action plan emphasizing checks for understanding, collaborative PACE time, and data‑driven instructional shifts. Porter told the board that while some staff initially viewed the work as “another thing,” leaders elevated teacher examples and used interviews to select and develop School Leadership Team members.

At Lincoln Elementary, Principal Jeff Peterson pointed to gains in the fifth‑grade math pilot and attendance (reported around 97%) and shared data showing female students’ math outcomes improving from about 67% above the 50th percentile to 83.2%. Peterson also described a baseline of behavior data (12 majors, 55 minors and 191 walkie calls from September to January) the school is using to target reteaching and supports.

Washington Elementary Principal Joe Russell emphasized the district’s Read Plus literacy work and said that the school has reduced the population of students at risk: “13 percent of our students are below that 20th percentile,” he said, and noted that some disproportionality remains—"Black students were five times more likely to receive office referrals than white students," and 70% of reported ODRs were attributable to a small cohort of repeatedly referred students.

Jefferson, Roosevelt and East High School presenters described similar two‑year plans focused on instructional fidelity, peer observation, and culture work tied to restorative practices. At East High School, leaders reported anecdotal improvements after implementing a personal communications device (PCD) policy, saying the school recently recorded a day with zero PCD infractions and that students have more in‑person social interactions.

Across presentations board members repeatedly pressed principals for subgroup breakdowns and for clarity on how changes in adult practice—coaching, professional learning and co‑teaching—will be measured. Principals described a mix of existing district supports, targeted SST work, and ongoing data drills to isolate disproportionality and identify students who need tier‑2 or tier‑3 interventions.

The board made no formal policy votes during the meeting; after the last presentation a motion to adjourn was moved, seconded and carried by voice/roll call. The meeting ended at 7:43 p.m.

Why it matters: the school growth plans outline the district’s near‑term approach to narrowing achievement gaps, reducing repeated disciplinary referrals and aligning professional learning with new curriculum pilots. Board members signaled continued attention to subgroup outcomes and implementation fidelity as pilots expand.