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View the video Helping Children Build Optimism in Their Lives
Hello Everyone!
Welcome to our website, the Port Washington-Saukville School District, and this very special place. We are extremely proud of our students, their accomplishments, and their service to our communities. They are a wonderful group of young men and women. Please spend some time reviewing our new website, because it contains some useful information about our students and programs. Please follow us on Facebook and LinkedIn.
We continue to hold high expectations for our students and staff members as we again score above the state average in all standardized tests including the new Forward Exam and the ACT suite. Also, all our school buildings met or exceeded expectations on the state report card. We offer 14 Advanced Placement (AP) courses at the high school for college credit. We again had a large number of AP scholars, with more students taking the ACT test, and our overall score exceeding the state average.
Student mental health is a significant concern across the country. Our District has emerged as a leader in providing services and support to students who struggle with mental health issues. We have been asked to make several state and national presentations about the programming we have developed to support our students’ mental health, which in-turn assists them in better focusing on learning in the classroom. We have a 45-member community-wide Mental Health Committee that meets on a monthly bases to develop specific action steps to help our students and support parents.
As you know, we have a very special place here because of the quality of our staff members and their caring attitude and dedication to our students and parents. When you walk into any of our five buildings, you can feel the positive energy, camaraderie, excitement, and pride. Our nine member School Board has been responsible for providing positive, student focused leadership for successful student learning.
Technology education and career readiness continue to be major focus areas. Consequently, we have a large S.T.E.A.M. (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics) community-wide partnership with over 30 industrial, manufacturing, and business partners. Also, we have developed innovative and pilot education programs with Concordia University and MATC. Many of our students are job-shadowing, doing internships, taking tours, and learning from real-life career experiences. We were selected by the Department of Public Instruction to be one of the 25 school districts across the state to pilot the new Academic Career Readiness Program for our 6th through 12th grade students.
Our school district has undertaken a major construction project to remodel and rebuild a like-new high school, and add additional classrooms and a secure entrance to Dunwiddie Elementary School because of the increasing elementary enrollments. Construction began in 2016, and will continue until the fall of 2019. The project is now ahead of schedule and within budget. The Dunwiddie Elementary School classroom addition and secure offices were completed in January, 2017. The new three-story academic addition to the high school was also completed in August, 2017. The demolition of the oldest parts of the building has been completed and the large new middle section of the high school complex is being built, which includes a large, arena-style gymnasium, secure entrance, new office spaces, a large, welcoming commons area for students and the community, a two-tiered open cafeteria, wrestling room, fitness center, new music room, and new band room. This addition is scheduled to be completed in December, 2018. The auditorium will be completely redone and expanded into a performing arts center, also by December, 2018. The Board thanks the community for their support in the passage of the referendum in April, 2015.
As you can see, we have a very exciting school year ahead as we continue to build for the future and help all of our students become successful and productive citizens. We continue to focus on our theme: “Every single day, every moment of the day, every child is better off because of his/her interactions with every staff member.”
This has been a brief summary of the many opportunities for our students. Please browse our website and visit us on Facebook and LinkedIn to learn more, and you will quickly become aware of why this is such a very special place for our students to learn, grow, and thrive.
Best Regards,
Michael R. Weber, Ph.D.
Superintendent of Schools
