James Smasal, Superintendent for the Kewaskum School District, and Darcy Budnik, Curriculum Director, were visited on August 29, 2012. The discussion focused on four areas concerning district policy; district expectations of new teachers; TPA and producing a student teacher video; and the following programs:
- The Add on Licensure Program extends the license of teachers. The program is individually tailored to help teachers or districts enhance their flexibility in curriculum areas.
- A new Principal Licensure Program is now available and is being offered in site-based cohorts or on-campus.
- The Reading Teachers License (316) and Reading Specialist License (317) are both licenses that can aid teachers in the development of programs to focus on the Literacy Common Core Standard that involves all curriculum areas.
The following key points were also discussed during the visit:
- There would not be a problem with a student teacher video being uploaded directly from the district. There is some concern about security of the video when it is sent out to the Internet. Parents will be notified about the making of a student teacher video in the classroom so they can have the option of opting-out their child from the classroom.
- The Add on Licensure Program sounds like a good program for the district. They feel it is important and will help some teachers who need additional licensure to maintain their jobs. The district has not had any requests from teachers for the program.
- The district will incorporate the Stronge Model of teacher evaluation in their hiring process. They want to use this format because it is data driven and will improve their process for hiring new teachers.
- The district needs more information on the 18 weeks same site student teacher/co-teacher program for student teaching. The main question that they have concerns what makes this program more in-depth then the regular two 9 weeks at two sites format for student teaching.