#SMWay Podcast

A South Milwaukee health teacher, Kimberly Jaeger, is growing and learning in her career by incorporating project-based learning in her classroom. Her work and research may pave the way for similar types of learning across Wisconsin.

In May, the Music Department will present something entirely new—the debut of a piece composed specifically for South Milwaukee. That by itself would be interesting, but the two free shows will also incorporate visual art in the form of a gallery presentation and digital art played as an instrument during the piece's third movement. It's a big idea that layers and builds on the artistic disciplines of chorus, orchestra, and visual art to create a grand performance that is a culminating experience of the year.

In this episode, we visit the Orchestra Pit for the musical Chicago (spoiler, they're not in a pit), we see the Tournament of Books at Blakewood Elementary School, and we check in on our NASA TechRise student engineers and their progress on their project destined for a NASA weather balloon.

Our middle school engineers are going to space... sort of. Their project is, for sure. In May, an instrument the students are working on to study the atmosphere will be launched on a NASA weather balloon. We're only one of 60 schools nationwide -- and the only one in Wisconsin -- to earn the right to participate in the NASA TechRise Program, and our middle schoolers are hard at work soldering and programming their device ahead of the May launch.

Giving back to something gives you a sense of ownership and helps build community. Here's how to give back in at least three ways.

We meet District Nurse Sarah Barrett and about all of the worries and responsibilities modern school nursing programs face. Also, since it’s peak season for respiratory viruses, we’re going to review when to keep your child home from school and when to send them in.

Today on the podcast we’re going to college in three interviews: First we’ll hear from two students and where they are on their college journey, then we’ll hear from a college official about the process of applying and a rough timeline for students and parents to follow, and finally I talk to a financial advisor and the author of a book on paying for college.

The ACT is a standardized test that colleges use for a range of decisions, and as we’ll hear, scholarship-granting organizations help determine who they want to award those scholarships to. We’re talking about the ACT because it’s coming up in the spring and South Milwaukee High School has a new tool to help students prepare for the ACT and will begin dedicating some classroom time to preparing students for this important examination.

Recently, 8th grade health students explored and celebrated Red Ribbon Week - a time of year dedicated to learning about drugs and drug addiction. Some students made awareness posters, some tied ribbons around trees and poles outside the school, others made podcasts. This episode is the first in an occasional series called Student Voices. We hear the two podcasts the students created and what they learned about drugs and drug addition.

Math is math, right? Yes.However, how we teach it and understand how students learn it is constantly in flux. In this episode, we hear what the day-to-day math class looks like at each level, what the K-12 goals for math education are, and what parents can do, particularly at the elementary level, to build mathematical confidence in their children.

Eighth graders are choosing their courses for freshman year very soon. We're asking them to sketch out all four years of their high school career now - knowing that it will change - so we can think about the end goal and life after high school. Hear about how that's done, what a parent or guardian's role is, and how to prepare your student to make some of these big decisions.

Professional lights, a full size stage and orchestra pit, theater seating - a generation of students have benefited from having a professional performing arts center located in their building. We meet PAC Executive Director Rachel Abraham at center stage to talk about the history, the work, and the business of a performing arts center.

On this episode we meet two high school English teachers and discuss what a modern English Department looks like.

Wisconsin's newest reading law, Act 20, led to an examination of South Milwaukee's curriculum and practices - many of which were already part of the practice of SDSM. In this episode, Director of Curriculum and Instruction Christie Gajewski discusses new literacy practices this year with elementary teachers and instructional specialists.

Today we’re talking about the district’s new STEM program for elementary students. But in a bigger sense we’re talking about engaging curiosity in a hands-on way to look at something and learn how it works and why – or better yet, to build something and figure out how to make it work. I’m excited to introduce you to our STEM teachers who are on an exploration of their own – building a new program from the ground up, fueled by the natural curiosity of our youngest students.

In this episode, we meet Mike Arendt, the newly appointed high school principal. We talk about the role of a principal, how he sees students in their path to adulthood, and what plans he has for South Milwaukee High School.Mike comes to South Milwaukee after the departure of former principal Bryan Terry. He’s spent 17 years in education, has taught social studies, coached football and baseball, and was most recently the principal and athletics and activities director at Racine St. Catherine’s High School. He attended UW Milwaukee for his bachelor's and master's degrees.

The annual Wisconsin State Spanish Pronunciation Contest Championships is becoming a tradition in South Milwaukee. For those not familiar, it’s a contest where students study a bit of text, this year and last year it was a fragment of a poem, and practice pronouncing it exactly correctly. Today on the podcast we’re going to hear from four students who participated and got a first or second place medal for their mastery of the poem. Then we’ll hear from Cheryl Caruso on three decades of teaching a global language – Spanish – and how during her career language education is taught and how students are different today than before.

An annual tradition is about to happen at Rawson Elementary School, and that’s why third-grade teacher Bill Gaynor has student art collected from the entire year in every corner of his classroom. Soon that artwork will be gently placed into a box, wrapped with care by students, police officers, firefighters, and other volunteers, and delivered with notes of care and encouragement to area cancer patients urging them to keep their spirits up and fight the Cancer Bully. On this episode, we’ll hear from Mr. Gaynor about the cancer box project and talk a little bit about his career as an educator and who his students are – a fitting tribute during Teacher Appreciation Week.

With the financial assistance of a grant, and its connections to high learning, the two South Milwaukee High School teachers and their students are teaming up to do real research on microplastics in water.

Today we’re talking about the National Honor Society at the high school and the real commitment that society has to community service. I think maybe we don’t celebrate enough the community service our students do. Just last week the Lakeview Elementary Student Council donated dozens of toys to an animal shelter and a box of tennis balls to the police department’s K-9 Unit - Rocket, who happily accepted them. This winter the middle school spent six weeks or more on community service projects to build a sense of community inside the school. At the high school level, the National Honor Society is one of the main vehicles for students to give back. In honor of the nearly 40 students inducted this week into the society, I thought it would be a good time to shed some light on that group and what they do for the school.

Welcome to the SMWay Podcast, I’m your host, Daniel Bader. Today we’re touching on a hot-button topic in Wisconsin, reading legislation. Specifically, ACT 20, a law passed last summer states that all Wisconsin schools are required to provide science-based early literacy instruction in both universal and intervention settings.Today we’ll speak with Christie Gajewski, Director of Curriculum and Instruction about what ACT 20 is, what South Milwaukee is doing to follow the law in our schools, and what we can expect.

How do public schools teach students to play music? It's a process that starts as early as Kindergarten, but by high school can mean deep involvement in a world of musical opportunities. In this episode, we speak to instructors from elementary, middle, and high school about the process of learning and loving to play music as part of school.

A staple of schools across the nation is the spring high school musical. Our High School is performing the award-winning show Legally Blonde – a musical based on a book and a 2001 movie by the same name. There are three components to a musical, the actors, the orchestra, and the stage crew. Today, you and I are going behind the scenes and talk to members of the crew who build the scenes that transform our theater into the world of Legally Blonde.

For several weeks now School Board members and District representatives have been out in the community with tables, like at the Bucyrus Club and various sporting events talking to residents about the 2 million dollar non-recurring operational referendum that’s on the ballot on April 2nd. We had a big information night at the high school and have two more planned out in the community. Today’s podcast is a version of one of those sessions – I’ve invited administrators from each area affected by the referendum to tell us about what the additional dollars would be used forThe referendum is called Safe, Supported, and Successful. We’ll start with student and staff safety, then student success, and then hear about how we’re supporting students and staff. Then, at the end, I’ll take the questions we’ve gotten about the referendum and ask Business Services Director Dan Arnold to answer them. 

 Today’s episode is going to be a little different in that it deviates from our regular format. STEAM night – a celebration of all the work in our schools through the lens of STEAM – Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math – is one of the biggest events during the year and certainly the biggest one-day academic event outside of graduation. Today we’re bringing you three audio postcards or snapshots from STEAM night, one from technology, one from engineering, and one from the arts.

Today we’re talking about one of the newest student activities in South Milwaukee – First LegoLeague. If you’re not aware of what it is, it’s more than bricks and Lego figures, though those are certainly part of it.At the suggestion of a parent who wanted his daughter to be involved in some sort of robotics club, South Milwaukee Middle School started up two FirstLego League teams as an after-school activity.Today on the podcast we hear from two of those students and their coach and what that experience has taught them.

Welcome to the SMWay Podcast and the first episode of 2024. I’m your host, Daniel Bader. In our last episode, we heard about music students giving back to the community by using their talents to carol out in South Milwaukee. Today we’ll hear a little bit about South Milwaukee Middle School’s Cold Winter Warm Hearts initiative last year and how they’re building on that effort this year. While the projects are meant to help others, there is some real thought behind what giving to others can do for an organization’s internal culture and the members of that community. First, let’s hear from two eighth-grade students about what they did last year and its impact on them.

Apollo Jazz - an extra-curricular choral group - spent a day recently out in the community caroling. In this episode, we’ll hear from students why they joined the Apollo Jazz Choir, what it is, and hear some of their music. We’ll hear from the teacher-leader of the group, Aimiee Swanson, a little bit about how South Milwaukee High School’s two-person Music Department is growing and getting students really excited about music.

Today on the podcast we’re talking to members of the school board about some serious topics. In one way or another, since the spring, the idea of a referendum has been mentioned as a way to close the gap between the district’s revenue and its expenses.But it’s one thing to mention going to a referendum, it’s another thing to really consider what that would mean. The School Board is out listening to the community as they deliberate what they should do.We check in with two school board members and ask what they've been hearing.

Today, we’re talking about student report cards – specifically Elementary school report cards, because they’re changing.How and why would a report card change? Good question. We associate report cards, as a rule, with letter grades - A, A minus, B etcetera. Get an A or B, and you’re doing well. B- or C there might be some issues, Ds and Fs indicate problems. Pretty clear markers, but not very informative and not really how we assess how elementary students are doing. Director of Curriculum and Instruction Christie Gajewski is joining us today to talk about the change South Milwaukee elementary parents will see in the language on the report cards – they’re not really cards anymore either, are they?

Report cards are as a part of school as pencils and chalkboards. The goal of the report card is to give parents an idea of where their students are in their studies and an early warning sign that they might be struggling in a subject and need some help. Schools and school districts have report cards too – for many of the same reasons. In this episode, we’re going to hear from some of the people who report the data back to the state, and who also use that data to improve how our schools operate. We’ll also hear from superintendent Deidre Roemer about some system-wide changes to help South Milwaukee schools improve for students – and on the report card.

There’s no mystery in the benefit of having a theater program, and South Milwaukee has a pretty killer one. Hear about the energy and commitment that is poured into the theater program that makes it the high-quality educational experience that it is.

In this episode we’re learning about a new system to address bullying in South Milwaukee schools. Instances of student bullying and conflict have been managed from building to building. This year schools have access to new Department of Public Instruction resources to implement a District-wide system – one that’s being piloted in the Middle School.

Today we’re talking about attendance and why it matters. For some time, South Milwaukee has had an attendance problem, and over the last two years the District has worked to improve those rates – after all, you can’t improve reading or math skills, prepare for high school or pass a class to get credits to graduate if you’re not in school learning. School is compulsory for students ages 6 to 18 in Wisconsin. That means unless a student is homeschooled and parents are running it in accordance with applicable laws, children are required to attend a school - private or public. Public schools, then are also required to keep track of attendance, and to the best of their abilities, account for the whereabouts of every child enrolled in the school district, every day. Tody we'll hear about some of those efforts and how they're paying off so far this year.

The benefits of early childhood education are real and measurable. All Day 4K has been available at each of our elementary schools since 2018. In addition to the benefits to children, there’s a benefit to their families, too. According to census data, the average income for a family in South Milwaukee is about $50,000 a year. Now consider the cost of daycare. Online childcare finder Tootris estimates that Wisconsin families pay an average of $10,197 per year or $850 per month to send their four-year-old to daycare. The School District 4K program is basically free – parents pay only a small registration fee. Students have access to a high-quality curriculum, teachers with advanced degrees in early childhood education, and facilities like the District’s school playgrounds. In this episode, we hear from a teacher about having 4K students, what they learn, and what having 4K classes means to the District.

It’s a new school year and an exciting time for our students and teachers. For a group of teachers in South Milwaukee, it’s REALLY a New Year, because it’s their first year. For some it's their first year as a teacher, for others, it's the first in our little city on the lake. Today we’ll hear from two of them and learn what led them to teach in the first place, and how they got here. Then we'll hear about hiring teachers in this labor market and what hiring educators in Wisconsin is like.

The first day of school is a cherished and honored ritual across our entire country. It’s unique in that it’s not a holiday like Thanksgiving or the Fourth of July, it doesn’t surround a food item or drink like the Shamrock shake or Girl Scout Cookies. But it is one that is unique to our culture and we all have memories of it, good and bad. We hear from the unsung heroes of that American ritual of the first day of school – the people who have worked all summer to get ready for that special first-day-of-school ritual the custodians and cleaners of our Buildings and Grounds staff.

Today we’re introducing South Milwaukee’s new superintendent, Deidre Roemer. We’ll hear a little bit about her family, her career, where she’s been and what led to South Milwaukee. I’ll ask her about first impressions of the District and the city, about what we should celebrate, and what we need to work on. Spoiler alert, she’s hit the ground running. I’ll also ask her about the state’s education budget, what’s changed since our last podcast episode, and what it means for South Milwaukee.

There has been some remarkably fast movement on the school funding front at the state level – action that we expected to happen in July or later, and the news for South Milwaukee, and many other financially strapped districts is not good. While it was always a long shot to sway legislatures to district requests, the deal reached recently between the legislature and the governor - a former educator - came as a shock, for a lot of reasons. Today we’ll unpack the implications of that deal for South Milwaukee’s finances in the new school year and beyond from Business Services Director Dan Arnold, explore what effects it will have on our students with Christie Gajewski, director of curriculum and instruction, and ask outgoing interim superintendent Jim Shaw his view about school funding as an educator with 50 years of experience in schools.

The last Tiny Office Concert was not recording in a tiny office, but in the birthplace of the SMWay Podcast - a tiny practice room in the music wing of the high school. The students crammed a piano and four people into the room!

Tiny Office Concert 3 - Gian Arica and Shelby Brooks cover Fillmore County by Vansire.

In this episode, we meet track coaches Stan Druckrey and Mark Hoffman. Between the two of them, they have 80 years of experience with this city and its children.Coach Druckrey started here in the 1970s, and Hoffman in the late 1980s. These two are being honored with the planned dedication of our new track. Both of them teach or have taught in our classrooms in addition to running a storied track and field program. What these two men can teach us today goes far beyond athletics. We’re going to hear their perspective on what motivates students, how a sense of team is created, and how things have changed since they started.

Music teacher Aimee Swanson and her fifth grader, Gloria, recreate the student-written song sung during the Speak Up for Public Schools events on April 19. Students created the lyrics to the tune of Woody Guthrie's This Land is Your Land. Gloria plays guitar and harmonizes to her mom, Aimee. Learn more about supporting Wisconsin Public School funding here.

The story of how one Blakewood teacher, the late Judy Canfora, and her love of nature, made a lifelong impact on two of her colleagues, Colleen Bartlein, the middle school administrative secretary, and Chris Bosetti a middle school science teacher (both of whom are retiring themselves this year) and their children.To honor Judy’s life, Colleen and Chris organized a group of Judy’s former colleagues and students who gathered on April 28 to plant a tree in Judy’s memory at Blakewood, right near the forest she loved and which bears her name.

Today we’re celebrating excellence here on the podcast - specifically in our language education program. Recently three of our students did exceptionally well at the 2023 Wisconsin Spanish State Pronunciation Contest. For the second year in a row two students earned a first-place award, and this year another student won a second-place award. Today we’ll hear from these three talented middle school students about the competition and from their teacher, Mr. David Linden, about language education in South Milwaukee.

Mason Cooley, an American thinker and writer, once said What lies behind “appearance is usually another appearance.” That can be taken a number of ways, but when I think of it from the perspective of the District’s efforts to rejuvenate our athletic fields, I think of the depth and breadth of what that project will do for South Milwaukee - for our students, for our residents, and for our appearance to the outside world. Construction is set to begin on Bucyrus Stadium's Spatholz Field this Spring. High-quality turf and eco-friendly padding and infill are replacing the grass surface. The same is happening to the infield of the softball and baseball fields. The track around the field is being replaced with a modern surface more conducive to the sport. The reason this is necessary at all is the location of the fields and the regular flooding that whisks away nutrients and soil, leaving the playing surface prone to damage and hard to play on. The roughly $3.3 million effort was kicked off by a generous $1 million donation from the Bucyrus Foundation for the football field. The Launching a Legacy Committee - a group of community members - alumni and former coaches - took the ball, so to speak, and has raised more than $270,000 so far with more to come, and the school board has approved bids and has committed to ensuring the whole project is completed. It’s an exciting time.

Our music students not only work pieces for school, but they also have their own interests and passion for the art. What I have for you today is what I'm calling – until NPR tells me not to – a Tiny Office Concert. It’s a performance, really, not a concert, of a song or piece of music that a student is working on themselves – not as a part of an assignment.

We tend to put ourselves in boxes - sports kids, art kids, theater kids. In this episode, we throw that notion out as we explore all the aspects of what goes into a big production like a spring musical. At least at South Milwaukee, the spring musical is a near-total community effort. Career and Tech students build the sets and run the sound, art students paint the sets, and the cast is made up of students from all walks of life. The pit musicians come from the student body, but also from the staff and community. The musical is applied learning, builds skills for life, and is presented to the community as an example of what a free, public education can do.

Music teachers are exceptionally hard-working, talented, and energetic people in schools full of dedicated hard-working, and talented teachers. Today on the podcast I’m excited to share some rehearsal music from our schools and introduce just two of South Milwaukee’s own seriously talented music teachers to explain how we teach music and the varied and valuable benefits of a good education in music.

History in our country is a pendulum, swinging back and forth, directing where we pour our energy. The 1990s and early 2000s saw a push toward a college education and attendance for all of our students because a high school diploma was no longer adequate for the job market. That pendulum has swung again, maybe to somewhere in the middle and we’re finding rewarding, well-paid careers are not only for those with college degrees but for those with the skills to excel in a profession, so high schools are adapting and teaching those skills as part of a free public education.