Cedarburg School District

The Cedarburg School District is the public school district serving Cedarburg, Wisconsin. It was established in 1886. The first schools, built in 1887, were the Hamilton Schoolhouse, now located in the Hamilton Historic District of Cedarburg, and the first Cedarburg Public School, built in 1894.[1] The Cedarburg Public School building now serves as the Cedarburg senior center. The district currently operates three elementary schools, one middle school, and one high school. The superintendent is Jonathan Lamberson.[2]

Elementary schools

The three elementary schools in the Cedarburg School District are academically structured in the same way. English, math, science, and social studies are all taught by the students' homeroom teachers. Music, physical education, and art are taught by separate teachers who specialize in those subjects. The school guidance counselor visits each classroom once a week. Classes also go to the school Information Media Center (IMC) once a week. Music, physical education, art, guidance, and media center alternate in the schedule so that each student has one hour of each class each week.[3]

Westlawn Elementary School

Westlawn Elementary School serves students in kindergarten through fifth grade and has a pre-kindergarten program. Westlawn was built in 1956 to replace the Lincoln Building and the Hamilton Schoolhouse.[1] Enrollment is 319.[4] The principal is Paul Sanders.[3] The school mascot is the Dolphin, and the school colors are dark blue and light blue. Also Westlawn is a blue ribbon school.

Parkview Elementary School

Parkview Elementary School serves students in kindergarten through fifth grade and has a pre-kindergarten program. Parkview was built in 1969 to accommodate the growing population of Cedarburg. Enrollment is 401.[5] The principal is Jayne Holck.[6] The school mascot is the Bull-pup (a young bull dog), and the school colors are blue and white.

Thorson Elementary School

Thorson Elementary School serves students in kindergarten through fifth grade and has a pre-kindergarten program. Thorson was built in 1969 to accommodate the growing population of Cedarburg. Enrollment is 492.[7] The principal is Angela Little.[8] The school mascot is the Jaguar and the school colors are blue and white.

Webster Transitional School

Webster Transitional School or Arthur L. Webster Transitional School, serves students in sixth through eighth grades. Webster was opened in 1973 to replace the original Cedarburg middle school system, which had students scattered across several buildings, but sharing one gymnasium. Webster was a Blue Ribbon School in 1982-1983.[9] It has 692 students.[10] The principal is Tony DeRosa and the vice-principal Daniel Reinert. The school mascot is the Wolverine and the school's colors are blue and white.

Each grade in Webster is divided into two teams, which are designated 6-1 and 6-2 for sixth grade; 7-1 and 7-2 for seventh grade; and 8-1 and 8-2 for eighth grade. Each team has its own math and science teachers. In sixth and seventh grade, each team has two or three English teachers who also teach social studies. In eighth grade, each team has two English teachers and a separate history teacher (not social studies).

Webster also requires extra classes, referred to as "allied arts." These classes are technology education, physical education, art, guidance (or Academic Career Emotional and Social), home economics (or family and consumer science), drama, choir, band, general music, and the foreign languages German, Spanish, and French. Students select from choir, band, or general music in their first year at Webster. Sixth graders are required to take all three foreign languages and technology education, one each quarter, as well as home economics, art, and physical education. Home economics is taken one semester, and art the other. These classes alternate with physical education, which is taken every other day throughout the year. In seventh grade, students choose the foreign language they wish to take and that is taught every other day throughout the year. The allied arts schedule for a seventh grader is similar to that of a sixth grader, except for ACES instead of home economics and art. Technology education is also in this schedule for one semester every other day. Music has its own period in seventh grade and is required. General music is not taught in eighth grade. In that year students select three classes, with music as one of these options, and take them the entire year. Drama is available only for eighth graders.

Webster offers extracurricular activities ranging from sports to clubs to academic contests, such as the National Spelling Bee, the National Geography Bee and the Knowledge Master Open.[11]

Cedarburg High School

Cedarburg High School (CHS) was founded in 1896, with the current building constructed in 1956. Enrollment is 1117. The school's principal is Jeff S. Nelson. The school's vice principals are Jodi Hackl and Carolyn Neureuther. The school's mascot is the bulldog, whose name is Brutus (as of 2014), and the school colors are orange and black.[12]

Controversies

Robert Zellner Firing

In early 2006 CSD requested the resignation of Robert Zellner, a popular, award-winning science teacher at CHS, claiming he had viewed pornography on his district computer and that he had also stored photos of bikini-clad CHS students there. When Zellner refused, the district called a public school board meeting at which the district's (and specifically the superintendent's) complaint against Zellner was publicly aired. The complaint included (according to Zellner) several factual inaccuracies about the incident. The board, on the basis of this information, voted unanimously to fire Zellner.

Zellner responded by filing for arbitration. The district accepted the arbitration and agreed to accept the results as binding. Zellner won the decision and the arbitrator ordered the district to reinstate him immediately. The district refused.

During this time public opinion against Zellner was fueled by several short newspaper articles constructed largely from the district's charges.

Forensic evidence from Zellner's computer demonstrated that he had conducted a 67-second search using the query word "blonde" and clicking on a search result link labeled "more of these," which resulted in a number of links along with thumbnail photos to be displayed. The evidence showed that Zellner had not, as the district had claimed, clicked on any of the results, nor had he unduly saved or perused photos of bikini-clad CHS students on his computer. The results were consistent with Zellner's claim that he was carrying out the administration's requirement that he periodically check results from queries students might submit while using district computers for school work.

Despite the presence of over 1400 porn photos on Zellner's PC, forensic evidence was never able to show that these were anything more than inadvertent results of queries, unsolicited popup ads and malware.

Zellner, a former president of the teachers' union, claimed that he had been singled out for firing because he had opposed school board policies, many of which had resulted in reduced teacher morale. As one example, in his role as president Zellner had taken a survey of teachers and gotten an overwhelming "no confidence" vote in the superintendent and board. Notable was that, despite multiple reported problems in the past with popups and porn appearing on district computers, only Zellner's PC had monitoring software installed.

After the school district refused the decision in the binding arbitration numerous court filings followed wherein CSD accrued more than $250,000 in legal costs to defend the decision.

Eventually the district won. As of 2010 Zellner remains unemployed despite having applied to several other area school districts.[13][14][15]

Opt-in Policy

In 2010, the Cedarburg School District came up with an opt-in policy for sex education. If a parent did not sign a letter saying that his or her child would be participating in this education, the student would not be taking that part of the sex education, which cover issues such as abortion, homosexuality, contraception, and masturbation. This policy is in violation of Wisconsin state-law and the Cedarburg school district may face a lawsuit in the future.[16]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 http://www.town.cedarburg.wi.us/about-cedarburg.cfm
  2. ↑ http://www.cedarburg.k12.wi.us/administration.cfm
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 http://www.cedarburg.k12.wi.us/schools/westlawn/
  4. ↑ http://www.education.com/schoolfinder/us/wisconsin/cedarburg/westlawn-elementary/
  5. ↑ http://www.education.com/schoolfinder/us/wisconsin/cedarburg/parkview-elementary/
  6. ↑ http://www.cedarburg.k12.wi.us/schools/parkview/
  7. ↑ http://www.education.com/schoolfinder/us/wisconsin/cedarburg/thorson-elementary/
  8. ↑ http://www.cedarburg.k12.wi.us/schools/thorson/
  9. ↑ "BLUE RIBBON SCHOOLS PROGRAM Schools Recognized 1982-1983 Through 1999-2002". U.S. Department of Education. p. 91. Retrieved 2009-05-17.
  10. ↑ http://www.education.com/schoolfinder/us/wisconsin/cedarburg/webster-middle/
  11. ↑ http://www.cedarburg.k12.wi.us/schools/webster/
  12. ↑ http://www.cedarburg.k12.wi.us/schools/high/
  13. ↑ http://www.milwaukeemagazine.com/murphyslaw/default.asp?NewMessageID=11202
  14. ↑ http://www.jsonline.com/news/ozwash/37691814.html
  15. ↑ http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/news/97345684.html
  16. ↑ http://www.todaystmj4.com/news/local/105511553.html

External links