Schools

MIDDLETON–A six percent salary increase was recommended Monday for all Middleton Cross Plains Area School District (MCPASD) teachers, staff and administrators for the 2023-24 academic year.

The increase was presented by the district’s finance staff which said it was needed to remain competitive and reach the 75th percentile for salary and wages paid by Dane County schools.

The cost to the district would be $4.33 million, according to information the district supplied.

Teachers and staff received a 5.5 percent total compensation package increase for the current school year, which school board and Middleton Education Association members said was the first significant wage bump in some time.

Under the salary proposal, annual pay for teachers with a bachelor’s degree increases from $45,126 this year to $47,500 in 2023-24. Salary for teachers with a master’s degree would increase from $51,126 to $53,500 in the same period.

MIDDLETON–A letter was sent out to Middleton High School parents, and an announcement made by MHS Principal Peg Shoemaker at Saturday’s varsity basketball ball game regarding a student’s death by suicide. 

The letter begins by saying that it is being sent to announce the loss of the student as well as provide resources for parents to help their children process the loss. Provided are the following links: How to help a grieving teen, https://www.dougy.org/resource-articles/how-to-help-a-grieving-teen; How to support children and teens after a death from suicide, and https://www.dougy.org/assets/uploads/Supporting-Children-Teens-After-a-Suicide.pdf.

LACROSSE–The Middleton High School Dance Team marked Feb. 4 by placing fourth and sixth place and a team member making the All-State Team.

The team placed fourth and brought home a trophy in the D1 Pom category. In the D1 Hip Hop category Middleton placed sixth. Neva Hinsey made the All-State team, and four teammates, Aleide Achenbach, Elizabeth Elsner, Neva Hinsey, and Hadley Maher were All-State Finalists. This is the second time Hinsey was name to the All-State Dance Team.

“This was our first top 5 finish and State Trophy in D1 Pom in program history!! We have come close to placing top 5 in D1 Pom multiple times, so this has been a long time coming. I choreograph our pom routine, so this trophy means a lot to me personally. The amount of hours put into this routine and late nights spent re-working choreography is immeasurable, and the pressure felt has been immense,” said Head Dance Coach Jackie Rehberg.

MIDDLETON – The Middleton-Cross Plains Area School District (MCPASD) has responded to parental concerns in the wake of a police investigation alleging bullying at the high school by increasing supervision in all locker rooms and training football coaches and students to recognize and report unlawful harassment.

On Feb. 13, the Middleton Police Department (MIPD) forwarded a request to the Dane County District Attorney to review information it collected while investigating a report of a potential sexual assault occurring last month in the high school shower room.

While the police stopped short of recommending charges be brought against four male students, stating it didn’t develop sufficient evidence, the information it released cited students being urinated on and subjected to other indignities after early morning workouts.

MIDDLETON-Middleton High School (MHS) Theatre is will present William Shakespeare’s “Much Ado About Nothing” as part of the 2022-2023 season.

Directed by Tim Gittings, with set designs by Zane Enloe, “Much Ado About Nothing” is widely considered one of Shakespeare’s best comedies and has been challenging actors and delighting audiences with its wit and warmth for over four centuries.

MIDDLETON–Looking to lessen the teacher shortage situation, the Middleton Cross Plains Areas School District (MCPASD) has begun the Future Teachers Program, an introduction for students to the teaching profession.

“It’s giving everyone an opportunity to see what the field is like, take courses, and perhaps expedite a pathway to an education career,” said Keith Schneider, director of secondary education.

Ten Middleton High School (MHS) students are currently enrolled in Intro to Teaching and Education where they not only learn teaching methods but see them in action. 

Students spend 50 hours in elementary classrooms watching teachers teach. So far, they’ve observed at Elm Lawn, Sauk Trail and Northside elementaries.

Next year, Education in Pluralistic Society will be offered.

MIDDLETON–A chronic shortage of bus drivers has prompted the Middleton-Cross Plains Area School District to stop busing St. Francis Xavier (SFX) school children beginning next month.

“They are sad (that) we have to take this step, (they) understand it and they are working with us, which is wonderful,” Superintendent Dana Monogue said at Monday’s Board of Education meeting about the Cross Plains’ parochial school’s response.

State law obligates the district is to transport students to another school within the district if their parents choose to have their children attend another school.

The district’s decision affects 36 families, she added.

The district will contract with parents to transport students to the 4K-8 grade school effective its suspension of bus service on Jan. 24, 2023, the start of the second semester.

MCPASD to Host Two Vaccination Clinics for Students, Community

MIDDLETON–As we approach the holiday season, the school district wants to ensure our community is healthy and safe! That's why the Middleton Cross Plains Area School District (MCPASD) is partnering with SSM Health to provide two vaccination clinics to our community before winter break.

The clinics are for all children and adults, regardless of whether their families are affiliated with MCPASD. The dates and locations of the two clinics are as follows:

Dec. 14 at Park Elementary School, 1209 Park Street, Cross Plains from 3:30-7 p.m.

Dec. 20 at Pope Farm Elementary School, 816 Schewe Rd, Middleton from 3:30-7 p.m.

Depending on age, there are two different signup forms.

Every person receiving a vaccination is encouraged to sign up and complete the forms before the day of the clinic.

MADISON–A former Middleton High School (MHS) student filed suit against the school district and principal Peg Shoemaker alleging his privacy was violated and he was defamed when a widely distributed text message mistakenly stated he had brought a gun to school. 

The suit filed Nov. 23 in Dane County Circuit Court alleged that:

On Jan. 24, the then 15-year-old student was wrongly believed to have a gun on campus.

Shoemaker’s text stated:

“Middleton High Sch: Staff, We received word that a student was on campus with a gun in his backpack. The student’s name is: (redacted from the complaint). We believe he has exited the building but have not confirmed. Please continue to keep students calm.”

The student is a juvenile and is not being identified by the Times-Tribune. He denied in the suit that he brought a gun to school that day or any other.

MIDDLETON–Resignations and “retirements” have created five openings on next April’s ballot for Middleton Cross Plains Area School District Board of Education.

Long-term members Annette Ashley, 12 years, and Paul Kinne, nine years, both representing Area IV, said Monday that they will not seek reelection.

Newly appointed members Tabitha Hansen and Catherine Kells told Board President Bob Hesselbein that they would seek election next spring. Hansen is an Area III representative, and Kells is an Area II representative. Bob Green, Area II, also said he would seek reelection.

There were many thank you(s) voiced at Monday’s board meeting after the prior week’s successful referendum.

“It wasn’t close,” Hesselbein said of the outcome, in which nearly 63 percent of more than 23,000 votes cast approved the $24.9 million operational referendum.