Make sure to follow all of our key safety protocols, just like Gus, so we can stay safe to stay open. #WatertownWay
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Dear Parents, Students, Friends and Neighbors,
Happy New Year! Welcoming a new year, especially this new year, is exciting because it creates a great opportunity for reflection, renewal and excitement for what our future holds. In the beginning half of the school year, we had many accomplishments that should bring our students, families and the WUSD great pride:
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Our Academic Decathlon Team continues its tradition of success, qualifying for the State Championship for the 9th consecutive year where they are ranked #1 in Division 1 and #2 in the State.
- We implemented a new, highly effective literacy curriculum in the elementary grades.
- Our athletes competed and represented us admirably.
- Our students, staff and parents engaged in opportunities to give back, and
- Our students performed in orchestra, band and choir concerts.
- We opened our new virtual eCampus Charter school.
- We implemented new technology platforms across our schools to help student learning.
We look forward to a new year of continued great accomplishments for our students and our staff!
We are currently registering our students in 4K and 5K for kindergarten, and we encourage all of our families to explore our additional options in eCampus, STEM programming and dual language programming while considering all the great opportunities at our elementary schools across the District offer our students. Also this September 2021, we will be opening the doors of our new Lebanon Elementary School as LEAP (Lebanon Environmental and Agricultural Pathways). If your child is interested in a unique project-based learning experience with a focus on our environment, consider LEAP Elementary School. For the first time this year we will also be offering a full-day 4K dual language/bilingual option at Schurz School, and we will again be offering a full-day 4K program at Douglas School; there will be limited seats available, but we are excited to offer this opportunity to our families. To enroll go to watertown.k12.wi.us and click on “Prospective Families” and “Enrollment Information” – if you require assistance contact the WUSD offices at 920-262-1460.
We are pleased to announce that this coming year, eCampus, the WUSD’s unique K-12 online school, will continue operating as a charter school. Ecampus will provide programming for students in kindergarten through 12th grade, and it will additionally be offering exciting career and post-secondary pathways for our high school students. Students enrolled in eCampus will be able to pursue the career pathways program and an accelerated degree path. To enroll or for more information go to our website at ecampusacademy.org or reach out to Assistant Superintendent, Dr. Dave Vitale, at 920-262-1460. There are so many great classes available to supplement your child’s learning and/or to offer a fully online education.
May all of you find a way to live the life of your dreams in the year 2021.
Cassandra Schug
Superintendent of Schools
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WUSD Teacher Earns National Board Certification
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A WUSD teacher who works with visually impaired students has earned her National Board Certification, the gold standard of teacher certification.
Kristin Grender serves as a Learning Strategist, Teacher for the Visually Impaired and Orientation & Mobility Specialist at Watertown High School and across the WUSD. Ms. Grender, who has been in education for 17 years, said she was inspired and “energized” to pursue the national certification after learning about the process during a professional learning day from fellow WHS teachers who are Nationally Board-Certified.
“It is important to continually analyze your work as a teacher and to seek out professional development,” Ms. Grender said. “I ask my students to be lifelong learners - so I feel it is important to show them that I embrace this sentiment in my own life.”
National Board Standards define what accomplished teachers should know and be able to do in 25 certificate areas. The standards cover 16 different subject areas and four developmental levels. It is considered the highest level of certification an educator can achieve.
Research shows schools with National Board-Certified Teachers (NBCTs) demonstrate better teacher morale, higher retention and increased community and parent satisfaction. The data further demonstrate that NBCTs make a direct impact on student learning. Studies have found that the positive impact of having a board-certified teacher is even greater for low-income students and students of color.
After earning an undergraduate degree in Special Education from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, Ms. Grender’s first teaching position was as an intellectual disabilities' teacher for students ages 3-21. More than half of her students had a significant vision impairment and her district had a difficult time finding a vision teacher.
Ms. Grender sought help from the Wisconsin Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired and the Wisconsin Deafblind Technical Assistance grant. She decided to go back to school and earn dual Master's degrees in Teaching Children with Vision Impairments and Orientation & Mobility. She also completed a certificate in Autism and a certificate in Transition from UW-W, and received Intervener training from the Minnesota Deafblind Project. And now, she is Nationally Board Certified.
“I have learned so much from my students, their families and the vision community,” Grender said. “The NBCT process helped me analyze my own abilities as an educator to best meet the needs of my students.”
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WHS Academic Decathlon Makes Program History |
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WHS is currently ranked #1 in Division I and #2 overall in the state. For the first time in program history every #WatertownWay decathlete reached the podium, with most winning multiple medals!
Congratulations to Katie, Nathan, Chris, Emma, Joshua, Jonah, Josh, Ayden, and Caleb!
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Spread the Word: Open Enroll into the WUSD for Great Programs |
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Know a family looking for a great educational experience who lives outside of the WUSD boundaries? Encourage them to Open Enroll into the WUSD for the 2021-2022 school year!
Families can apply for open enrollment from February 1 through April 30. Application forms and details are on the state Department of Public Instruction website here. Open enrollment allows parents to apply for their children to attend public school in a school district other than the one in which they reside.
The WUSD offers great programs including:
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LEAP Elementary School - Lebanon Environmental and Agricultural Pathways featuring project-based learning that is connected with the environment
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Schurz Elementary School - Dual Language and new this year we are offering a bilingual full-day 4K
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Douglas – half and full-day 4K programs and an outstanding education for all learners; school-wide use of relationship and social-emotional skill building strategies
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Webster – onsite half-day 4K program and looping in grades four and five and an outstanding education for all learners
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Lincoln STEM - engaging students in hands-on activities through Project Lead The Way
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WHS – 18 advanced placement classes, a nationally recognized music program, state-of-the-art pre-engineering programming, and a nationally recognized Academic Decathlon team
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Endeavor Charter School – unique project-based learning experience
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RMS Stem Academy and dual language programming; AVID implementation
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4K – range of full-day and half-day options for students and families at our local elementary schools and with our community partners
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eCampus - Accelerated Degree and Career Pathways
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Free Meals to Continue for Rest of School Year |
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We are pleased to announce that we will continue providing free school meals throughout the 2020-2021 school year, thanks to a nationwide waiver issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
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4K/5K Enrollment Opens February 1 |
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It is enrollment time! The Watertown Unified School District will begin accepting 4K and 5K online enrollment applications for our 2021-2022 school year on Monday, February 1 at 10:00 a.m.
If your child will be 4 or 5 on or before September 1, 2021 he or she is eligible for our four-year-old or five-year-old kindergarten programs. For more information, please visit watertown.k12.wi.us/onlineregistration.cfm or click the buttons below:
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Read about Our Elementary Schools! |
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NEW FOR 2021: The Watertown Unified School District will offer a limited pilot of FULL DAY 4K and FULL DAY 4K Bilingual Program for a limited number of students. Students will attend 4K following the elementary school calendar, attending from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. There will be a limited number of spots available in each classroom. The FULL DAY 4K will be located at Douglas Elementary School. The FULL DAY BILINGUAL program will be at Schurz Elementary School. Families who are interested should indicate that on the online application. A lottery of all interested families will be held at the beginning of April and families will be notified of their placement by mid-May, 2021. Each classroom will be limited to 19 students. If you are interested in the full-day programing, you MUST enroll by April 1, 2021.
If you have questions, contact us at 920-262-1485 for 4K or 920-262-1490 for 5K.
If you need online access, you can come to the ESC at 111 Dodge Street from 7:45-4:30 Monday-Friday by appointment. Please call 920-262-1460 x 3208 to schedule. #WatertownWay
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- Feb. 1-14 - Douglas Virtual Scholastic Book Fair
- Feb. 3 - Elementary AT HOME Learning Day & Secondary Asynchronous Virtual Learning Day
- Feb. 4 - RMS Virtual PTO Meeting
- Feb. 4 - Lebanon Virtual PTO Meeting or In-Person at Lebanon Firehouse
- Feb. 11 - RMS Parent/Teacher Conferences - 4:00 - 7:00 p.m.
- Feb. 18 - Lebanon Parent/Teacher Conferences - 3:30 - 7:00 p.m.
- Feb. 18 - Douglas Parent/Teacher Virtual Conferences - 4:00 - 7:35 p.m.
- Feb. 19 - NO SCHOOL - STAFF DEVELOPMENT DAY
- Feb. 19 - Lebanon Parent/Teacher Conferences - 8:00 - 3:00 p.m.
- Feb. 19 - Douglas Parent/Teacher Virtual Conferences - 9:00 - 2:30 p.m.
- March 3 - Elementary AT HOME Learning Day & Secondary Asynchronous Virtual Learning Day
- March 4 - Lincoln STEAM Celebration Night - 3:00 - 8:30 p.m.
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March 5 - End of Trimester 2 - 11:30 a.m. Early Release WHS ONLY
- March 8 - Douglas Virtual PTO Meeting
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March 9 - Juniors Statewide ACT Test - No School for Freshmen, Sophomores or Seniors
- March 19 - End of Third Quarter
- March 23 - Junior Make-Up Statewide ACT Testing
- March 29 - April 2 - NO SCHOOL - SPRING BREAK
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Enhancing Teaching and Learning for Every Child - Every Day |
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New Lebanon Opens as LEAP with Environmental & Agricultural Foci |
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In September 2021, we will be opening the doors of our new Lebanon Elementary School as LEAP (Lebanon Environmental and Agricultural Pathways). Lebanon LEAP prioritizes a curriculum based on the themes of environmental and agricultural education in an interdisciplinary and applied approach.
Foundational skills in math and literacy will be emphasized and serve as the backbone for hands-on projects and authentic problems that challenge our students to think in creative and innovative ways. Through their work, students will also develop key skills and habits of lifelong learners such as teamwork, responsibility, and critical thinking. Learn more at lebanonleap.org
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Summer School is Around the Corner! |
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The planning for Watertown’s 2021 Summer School program is under way!
The 2021 4K-8 Summer School session will be conducted similarly to past years; a total of 20 days over a five-week period. The planned dates are June 15 through July 15.
We will be offering a mix of academic and enrichment programming while maintaining smaller class sizes to allow for social distancing. The Summer School program will continue to follow the safety protocols in place for the 2020-2021 school year.
New this year, we will have enhanced programming at the high school level designed to allow students the opportunity to earn up to 1.5 credits over summer, an increase from previous years. The 2021 High School Summer School will run three 2-week sessions. Each session will run a variety of credit recovery courses.
Session 1: June 14-25
Session 2: July 5-July 16
Session 3: July 19-July 30
Grade level locations and hours:
4K: 8am-11:30 am - Lincoln Elementary
Kindergarten: 8am-2pm - Lincoln Elementary
Grades 1 & 2: 8am -2pm - Webster Elementary
Grades 3 & 4: 8am-2pm - Watertown HS
Grades 5-8: 8am-2pm - Riverside Middle School
Grades 9-12: 7:45am-3:15pm - Watertown HS
More detailed information will be sent home in the coming weeks.
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Developing People and Partnerships |
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Five School Board Seats Up for Election on April Ballot |
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Nine candidates are running for five seats on the WUSD Board of Education. Voters should vote for not more than five candidates on the April 6, 2021 general election ballot.
Three of the five seats carry three-year terms and two carry one-year terms. The top three voter-getters on April 6 will serve three-year terms, and the fourth and fifth vote-getters will serve one-year terms.
Here are the nine candidates:
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Gosling Career Fair is Going Virtual - March 10 |
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Stay Informed With Community Updates |
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