Schools

MIDDLETON–It started last year with name calling and has escalated to physical violence this school year, according to two Kromrey Middle School moms who allege their kids have been the target of bullies.

Kirsten Lobe and Suzanne Sahran said their son and daughter had been the subject of verbal abuse last school year. In an incident that happened last week, Lobe’s son had rocks thrown at him during lunch. Sahran’s daughter was slapped by one girl, while another filmed the incident on Sept. 28. It was then posted to the social media site Snapchat with the title “I slapped that h**” and a smiley face. 

Both moms as well as seven others have contacted the Times-Tribuneclaiming their kids were the victim of similar incidents. The other moms did not want their names published because they feared their children would be further traumatized.

MIDDLETON–Applications are being accepted for the Middleton Cross Plains Area School District’s (MCPASD) Weekend Food Program, through Sept. 20. The program free to all students in the district's six elementary schools and this year will expand to Glacier Creek and the Middleton Youth Center, which Kromrey students can attend after school.

The program provides healthy snacks and some small, easy to prepare, meals for children on Fridays during much of the school year. Food is sent home with children in bags. The first day for the 2019-20 school year is Oct. 3 because there is no school for students on Oct. 4.

More than 140 MCPASD elementary students participated last year and approximately 160 students participated in 2017-18. The program is voluntary and participation information is confidential. To be eligible, families must complete a form and return it to the social worker at their child's school by Sept. 20.

MIDDLETON–In her first school board meeting since starting the job as the Middleton-Cross Plains Area School District Superintendent Dana Monogue laid out her vision and goals for the first semester.  

“Well 23 days officially on the job and it feels great to be here,” Monogue said. “Everyone has been terrifically welcoming throughout my entire transition process, from the time I was hired, to today.”

Monogue said that all of her time spent transitioning into the district has been guided by four overarching goals: To listen and learn about the strengths challenges and opportunities for positive change; gain understanding about of district goals, initiatives, protocols and processes; make meaningful initial connections with stakeholders; and gain understanding of expectations, values, norms and needs of greater community.

She said she felt compelled to share the highlights from meetings she’s had with teachers and parents.

MIDDLETON – Ground was broken last week for this first new elementary school in the Middleton-Cross Plains Area School District (MCPASD) in 23 years.

Located adjacent to the 102-acre Pope Farm Conservancy on Old Sauk Rd., the new Pope Farm Elementary is scheduled to open to grades K-4 in September 2020.

The school building will be located near the crest of a glacial moraine putting students in the middle of the natural laboratory while preserving views from the conservancy of the State Capitol and Lake Mendota to the east.

The town of Middleton purchased the Pope family farm in 1999, reserving the right to later sell 40 acres to the school district to help defray the cost of the purchase. Placing a school next to the conservancy enhances both parties, said Mel Pope, family spokesman

“The family was very much behind this because…we’d rather see kids use the conservancy instead of having a housing development here,” Pope said.

After completing grad school at UW Madison in 1991 while working as a teacher McFarlane George Mavroulis says there was only one job listing that he cared to apply to.

“One came across for Middleton-Cross Plains Area School District, even then the reputation of this district was off the charts,” Mavroulis says. “I figured I’d just send a resume to that one and then three interviews later I ended up getting hired.”

Mavroulis was hired as the principal of Elm Lawn Elementary in the summer of 1992 and worked there for 10 years which he considers the highlight of his life and his career. 

“It was fabulous, it was from 1992 to 2002,” he says. “That’s where my relationships began with students and family and staff.”

NEW YORK, NY–The 7 O’clock Jazz Band was honored to be one of only 15 high school jazz bands in the country who earned a spot at this year’s Essentially Ellington competition in New York City. During their time there, the band performed for and learned from Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra members. 

Of this year’s competition, Wynton Marsalis, Managing and Artistic Director of Jazz at Lincoln Center, said, “We’re fortunate to play Duke Ellington’s music, and we realize that the Duke Ellington legacy is about creativity–we heard and saw that in our young people. You lifted our spirits and it’s been our honor.”

BOULDER, CO–Clark Street Community School (CSCS) has hit the gold standard in receiving the national recognition as one of seven schools in the country to become a School of Opportunity (SOO) in 2019. The designation honors schools that foster learning environments for students and provide research-based learning opportunities for all students. The initiative, started by the University of Colorado Boulder’s National Education Policy Center, includes only 45 schools around the country, which receive either gold or silver recognition. CSCS achieved gold.

MADISON–A former Middleton High School employee alleged in a racial discrimination lawsuit filed against the Middleton Cross Plains Area School District that she was told she had “no chance” for a vacant position because “we need some big, black men working here.”

According to suit filed May 21 in federal court:

Ruth M. Herbin had worked as an assistant to a high school Dean for most of the 10 years she was employed by the school district. However, when the district was hiring to fill other similar positions, Herbin was told she wouldn’t be considered because the district needed more diversity. And, after filing a discrimination complaint Herbin, a Caucasian, was fired for alleged insubordination.

In August 2017, the district was restructuring Herbin’s and another assistant’s positions due to lack of clerical work for them at the high school. Instead, the student support positions were being enlarged to include three counselors and social worker.

The Middleton-Cross Plains Area School District has released the following message regarding "Jesus Lunches," a controversial series of gathering that have sparked a debate about evangelism in public schools:

Dear families,

We wanted to share the following message that was sent to Middleton High School staff and families earlier today. We believe there is interest from our wider District community, plus we also wanted to provide information in case you see something in the media in the next few days.

We are writing to share with you some background on a topic your student may have come home and shared with you. There is a small group of parents who have been organizing free lunches at Middleton High School over the past year.

The world was a very different place in 2007.

George W. Bush was still president of the United States. Jim Doyle was the governor of Wisconsin. A little social networking service called “Twitter” had just been launched. Donald Trump was merely a reality TV star.

And here in the Middleton-Cross Plains Area School District, a man named Don Johnson was starting his new job as superintendent.

Now, after a wild ride that included a litany of ups and downs, that soft spoken but unflappable man has announced that after nine years as the top administrator, he plans to retire this summer.