Block Scheduling Under the Microscope in Beaver Dam BD Will Accept Cooper Street Grant
5/25/10 - "We're going in the wrong direction." That was the comment of one of the more than two dozen parents and community members who attended a meeting yesterday to discuss the block scheduling format at the Beaver Dam High School.
The meeting featured Bob Gilpatrick, who was hired by the district to put together an evaluation of the 4 x 4 block format, which went into effect in 2007. In the format, students have four periods that last nearly 90-minutes each with lunch and a daily period to meet with their advisors. There are also small blocks of time set aside for electives.
During the hour and half meeting talk centered mostly on the negatives of the format, with those in attendance citing what they called a drastic drop in reading and math test scores as a major issue. They blame much of that on a lack of retention as some students could go 12-months without having a math course in the current format. Some also said they thought block scheduling could be a good concept but only if teachers were able to get the training needed for that type of environment, something many felt wasn't happening. The role of the advisory periods was also questioned by parents, who said a majority of their kids could not see the benefit in them.
Gilpatrick told the crowd that he would be compiling a report for the school board that would lay out their concerns and also possible solutions. The district is also asking that community members and parents fill out a survey about block scheduling on their website which will be assimilated into Gilpatrick's report. He's scheduled to present that report to the school board on June 21st.
5/25/10 - "We're going in the wrong direction." That was the comment of one of the more than two dozen parents and community members who attended a meeting yesterday to discuss the block scheduling format at the Beaver Dam High School.
The meeting featured Bob Gilpatrick, who was hired by the district to put together an evaluation of the 4 x 4 block format, which went into effect in 2007. In the format, students have four periods that last nearly 90-minutes each with lunch and a daily period to meet with their advisors. There are also small blocks of time set aside for electives.
During the hour and half meeting talk centered mostly on the negatives of the format, with those in attendance citing what they called a drastic drop in reading and math test scores as a major issue. They blame much of that on a lack of retention as some students could go 12-months without having a math course in the current format. Some also said they thought block scheduling could be a good concept but only if teachers were able to get the training needed for that type of environment, something many felt wasn't happening. The role of the advisory periods was also questioned by parents, who said a majority of their kids could not see the benefit in them.
Gilpatrick told the crowd that he would be compiling a report for the school board that would lay out their concerns and also possible solutions. The district is also asking that community members and parents fill out a survey about block scheduling on their website which will be assimilated into Gilpatrick's report. He's scheduled to present that report to the school board on June 21st.
5/25/10 - The city of Beaver Dam will be accepting a $350,000 FEMA grant to fix the culverts on Cooper Street. The Operations Committee last night discussed whether or not the city should sign-off on the award. While the funding will cover most of the costs to install new, larger culverts, it would only cover about half the costs to construct a bridge. Before city officials voted to advertise for engineering services to replace the culverts they questioned the necessity of the project and how much the city should spend. Mayor Tom Kennedy told the committee that replacing the culverts “just makes sense.” Cooper Street was fourth on a list of flood control projects that the city sought to fund with grant money; they were not awarded their top three choices, which included replacement of the dam gates at a cost of $600,000 and a new $1 million north side lift station. The current Cooper Street culverts were designed to withstand a 100 year flood but during heavy rains in 2004 and 2008 they created a bottleneck, backing up water over the street and down river. Kennedy says he never saw a need for the Cooper Street project unless it was grant funded. Governor Doyle announced last Tuesday that over 61-million-dollars in Community Development Block Grants were being awarded in counties affected by the 2008 floods.
Milwaukee House Assessment Tops $41K
5/25/10 - The Beaver Dam Operations Committee last night received an update on plans to demolish a downtown eyesore. The city had previously ordered the removal of the Milwaukee House at 101 Ryan Cantafio’s Way and the attached, former auto parts store at 204 South Center Street. City officials will be sending the property owner a notice of special assessment in the amount of $41,300 to remove the structure. Owner James Stricker is said to be cooperating fully with officials and has told us that having the city move forward with the demolition is more cost-efficient. The Milwaukee House should be down in the next couple months. Also last night, the committee authorized the engineering department to begin the bidding process to repair damaged sidewalks. A total of 62 property owners will be affected and 150 blocks of sidewalk will be fixed.
South Center Construction Starts Tuesday
5/25/10 - Starting Tuesday a short stretch of South Center Street in Beaver Dam will be closed to through traffic so the engineering department can install new sanitary sewer and force mains. The closure is between West Mill Street and West South Street. Engineering Coordinator Ritchie Piltz says traffic will be detoured onto First Street via Mill and South. The project is expected to take about three weeks to complete.
Fairest of The Fair Applications
5/25/10 - Applications are now being accepted for the “2010 Dodge County Fairest of the Fair” contest. The county’s 4-H & Youth Agent, Sally Schoenike, says the Fair Association is looking for girls who will be age 18 as of January 2010. Schoenike says the winner will represent the Fair Association in media and promotional events at the Dodge County Fair and other summer events. The winner would also serve as the 2010 Fair Hostess and plan the 2011 competition. In addition, the Fairest will have the opportunity to participate in the 2011 Wisconsin Fairest of the Fairs contest. The 2009 Fairest of the Fair, Amanda Hetzel, of Rubicon is a student at UW-Oshkosh studying to be a registered nurse with an emphasis in diabetic education. She says she “hopes the excitement never ends” but cannot wait to see who will be crowned as the next Fairest. Applications must be submitted by June 11.
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