Peshtigo elementary students contribute to National Assessment of Educational Progress

PESHTIGO – During the most recent regular school board meeting for the Peshtigo School District the board heard a presentation regarding a federal exam some students have been selected for.

Director of Curriculum Kami Harvey shared that around 50 of the over 70 students enrolled in fourth grade were randomly selected to participate in the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) testing.

Also known as “The Nation’s Report Card,” the National Center for Educational Statistics runs this federal program that serves as a large-scale survey assessment based off of tests taken by students in grades four, eight and 12.

Harvey explained, “There is a sampling process that is used across the nation to select schools and then to select students with the schools. They need to have a sampling of different demographics.”

The selected students in Peshtigo will take either a reading or math exam on Tuesday, Feb 10. The entire procedure is scheduled for two hours and will be run by an outside coordinator, with the actual exam expected to take around 70 minutes.

“We do not get individual student reports or a school report. Our information goes to our state and then national data,” Harvey added.

In personnel updates, the board approved the retirement of elementary school teacher Deena Trimberg at the end of the school year. Board president Gary Larsen thanked Trimberg for her 17 years of service.

Additionally, the board approved the updated job description for the director of building and grounds position. Superintendent Patrick Rau explained that the job description was updated to reflect the changes made to the building and required maintenance.

The job opening is currently posted and Rau said they hope to begin the interviewing process in February.

In financial updates, a $600 donation from the Peshtigo Wrestling Club was accepted to support the purchase of wall padding.

The 2024 - 2025 final audit review was approved, with Rau noting that the review came back clean and included a complement to Sarah Swanson, Betsy Wickman and Connie Dewitt for their work.

Planning for the 2026 - 2027 school year has begun, with the school calendar and open enrollment criteria both being accepted.

The next school year is slated to start on Sept. 1 and end around Memorial Day weekend with a total of 174 instructional days, including a week off for spring/Easter break.

As far as open enrollment goes, there are no limits for enrollment at the middle and high school but the special education department is at capacity. Rau said that part of the reason for not allowing any more open enrollment special education students is because the amount of aid given by the state was less than what the original estimate given to the district stated.

In other state news, Wisconsin Association of School Boards (WASB) delegate and school board member Tony O’Neill said they have been discussing policy revisions to how the state report card collects and presents data.

The board approved a second reading of policies before ending the meeting to go into closed session for a discussion regarding professional staff employment and benefit considerations.
The Peshtigo School District Board of Education will meet next on Monday, Feb. 9, at 6 p.m.

Story highlights

• Randomly-selected fourth-grade students will participate in the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) — also known as “The Nation’s Report Card” — on February 10 to contribute to state and national data.
• While open enrollment remains unlimited for middle and high school, the special education department is at capacity and cannot accept new open enrollment students because state aid came in lower than estimated.