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Somerset administrators lay out academic and staff goals, new safety reporting and community partnerships
Summary
Administrators presented the district's cascading goals (90‑day cycles), proficiency targets for ELA and math at each level, staff engagement efforts, rollout of the state 'Speak Up, Speak Out' reporting platform, and community partnerships and projects across schools.
Administrators presented a districtwide goals report at the March 16 meeting, describing a continuous‑improvement model organized around 90‑day cycles and four pillars: students, staff, operations, and community and families.
A district presenter described the staff pillar as focused on retention, recruitment and engagement, citing listening sessions with employee groups, revised wellness activities and work with an external consultant to analyze benefits. "Listening, just taking the time to listen, is the most important thing we can do as an admin team," the presenter said.
Sarah (district academic lead) outlined academic targets and strategies: a district ELA proficiency target of 65 percent across grades 3–11 to place the district near the 90th percentile among comparable districts, and a math target of 71 percent. She described work on ELA fluency blocks, use of StudySync as a core resource and fidelity checks in PLCs. "We looked at districts that were of similar size, demographic to us, and then we ranked them out," she said, explaining the benchmarking behind the 65 percent target.
School-level presenters described building-specific goals and programs: the elementary set ELA and math proficiency targets (70 percent and 79 percent respectively), Math FactLab for early grades and community service partnerships (food pantry drives, pet-rescue collections); the middle school emphasized cross‑content instruction and career exposure trips to local businesses; the high school reported peer observations, writing-focused professional learning and efforts to connect students to programs.
Administrators also detailed a statewide tool for anonymous reporting. The board was told the 'Speak Up, Speak Out' platform is run by the Wisconsin Department of Justice Office of School Safety, is free and available 24/7; parent communications will go out March 19 and student training is planned the week of March 23.
Board members asked questions about assessment measures and the transition from district assessments (FastBridge and Progress Learning) to state tests. Administrators described using multiple data points — state assessment, district assessment and classroom measures — to triangulate student progress.
The goal report concluded with an invitation for community members to participate in a leadership cohort and applied projects the schools have run with local nonprofits.
