November 16 Newsletter

Thanksgiving is a time to connect and celebrate with family and friends. I am thankful for the opportunity to serve the students, families, and staff in the School District of Beloit. I see our staff creating engaging learning environments to motivate our students in learning and growth. Working collaboratively, we want to continue to support and engage our families. I am fortunate to work with people who are passionate about education and the students and families we serve.

Enjoy your Thanksgiving break next week surrounded by friends and family.

In service,

Dr. Willie E. Garrison II

School District of Beloit Superintendent

As we continue to review our learning opportunities in our district, we will remain steadfast in reaching student achievement for all of our students. Our goal is to continue our upward trend toward year-over-year growth. I want to share some highlights from our recent state report cards. To view the report in its entirety, please click here.

• Overall report card score increased for a second consecutive year.
• Four of six elementary schools (grade 3) increased English Language Arts (ELA) achievement.
• Three of four intermediate schools (grades 4-8) increased ELA achievement.
• Work-based learning outpaced the state (School District of Beloit 24.8% v. State 8.5%)
• Theater, Art, and Design opportunities outpaced the state.
• Beloit Learning Academy “meeting expectations” based on high levels of growth/value-added.
• Beloit Memorial High School increased graduation rates to 90.4% (State is 91.7%).
• Beloit Memorial High School increased ELA and Math achievement.
• Beloit Memorial High School increased report card score to 55.2, less than three points away from meeting expectations - 58.0.

The School District of Beloit is facing two primary challenges:

• Lack of Funding: In April 2023, Beloit voters rejected a referendum that would have provided funding to maintain programs and services. In response, the District made cost-saving changes to employee health insurance, reconfigured grade levels, closed schools, eliminated positions, and deferred maintenance projects. Even with these efforts, we are forecasting significant budget shortfalls beginning in the 2024-25 school year.

• Aging Facilities: Many major building systems (heating, ventilation, air conditioning, electrical, plumbing, and safety) and interior components (windows, walls, doors, floors, and furnishings) have exceeded their service life and need to be replaced.

The Board of Education’s goals are to address our lack of funding and the most critical maintenance needs of our aging facilities by pursuing an operational referendum in April. To engage our community in this process, the School District of Beloit will conduct a survey and host several community referendum listening sessions. The survey will be mailed during the week of November 27 to all households within the School District of Beloit district. This survey will explain our budget situation, gather your feedback, and address other District needs. We encourage everyone to participate in our survey and our upcoming community referendum listening sessions.

Please join us at one of our upcoming community referendum listening sessions. You can participate in-person or virtually. We look forward to sharing our budget situation, gathering your feedback, and addressing other district needs.

On Mondays we post a 2-3 minute podcast that is shared out on our Facebook page and several podcast platforms with district top news of the week. Listen to this week's update.

Every Friday, we post a podcasts interview highlighting staff, students, and community partners. It's a great way to listen to all the #GoodThingsHappening in our district and community. Listen to the latest episodes highlighting our Knights Ambassador Program, Grow Your Own Multicultural Teacher Scholarship Program, and Second Harvest School Markets.

Winter Wear: Our elementary and middle school students should come to school with winter coats, hats, scarves, mittens/gloves, and boots. Students will have recess if the temperature is 10°, or above. If the temperature drops below 10° all students will have indoor recess.

If your student needs winter gear, please reach out to your child's student services team.

School Closings: While we will make every effort to keep our schools open throughout the school year, situations such as severe weather may make it necessary to close schools for the overall safety of our students and staff. If weather conditions require that we close our schools, you will receive notification via voice, text, and email. Please ensure that your contact information is updated and accurate in Skyward.

In addition to voice, text, and email, we will send a push notification to our SDB App, post an alert on our website, update the phone lines at each school, post on our Facebook page, and alert local radio and TV stations.

In-Person Community Referendum Listening Session: Wednesday, November 29, at 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at the Kolak Education Center.

Virtual Community Referendum Listening Session: Thursday, November 30, at 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Join with this link.

Upcoming Wednesday Early Release Dates: December 6 and 20, January 3

Thanksgiving Break: Wednesday, November 22 through Friday, November 24

Winter Break: Friday, December 22 through Tuesday, January 2

School Resumes: Wednesday, January 3 (early release)

Access our 2023-2024 school calendar for all the details.

At the School District of Beloit, we enjoy sharing events, achievements, and recognitions highlighting our students, staff, and community partners. We provide transparent and up-to-date information and communication through our social media platforms, our SDB App, website, weekly school newsletters, and my weekly newsletter. We appreciate the positive engagement by everyone who follows us on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn and stays connected with us by downloading our SDB App or accessing our News Tab.

We believe in respectful, truthful, and encouraging messaging and communication. We will continue to communicate in that manner with our students, staff, families, and community.

Thank you for taking the time to read my bi-monthly newsletter. I always appreciate the opportunity to connect with our students and families. Email me at superintendentnewsletter@sdb.k12.wi.us and let me know what you think of the information I am sharing in my newsletter. Your name will be entered into a random drawing to win a SDB swag bag.