HSSD to work on graduate profile

By Ben Rodgers

Editor

DE PERE – The Howard-Suamico school board met on the St. Norbert campus on Monday, March 19, to discuss higher education.

The change in venue was to better facilitate a discussion about post-secondary schools and how the district would incorporate a graduate profile into its policies.

“We had a, really what I would characterize as quality, linkage with thought leaders back in February around this idea, a profile of a graduate,” said Damian LaCroix, superintendent. “If we can define what a profile of a graduate looks like, we can kind of backward map from there.”

LaCroix said he would like to create a group, similar to the referendum task force, and give them a charge to better define what a HSSD graduate is, and what skills they would possess.

“The thought was could we introduce that as a concept tonight,” he said. “If you like it, you could give a response to it and next time we come together on April 9 we could hammer out a charge.”

That charge would then be handed over to a leadership team, which would have “freedom within fences,” to better define the ends policy, LaCroix said.

“The board is really in essence creating a subcommittee of the board,” he said. “We would need to post those meetings technically, but I don’t see that as a big thing. We did the same thing with the task force.”

Mark Ashley, board president, said a few traits that define a successful Bay Port student would be proactive, self-directed and engaged.

“That student who will engage in the context of Bay Port is a student who will probably engage somewhere else,” Ashley said.

In other news, the district is fully engaged in promoting the April 3 referendum, which would give the district $5.85 million a year over five years.

Administration has met with staff from nearly all the schools, various civic organizations, given presentations at senior centers and spoke to visitors at libraries.

A final mailing will be sent out closer to Election Day and the district will text voters twice on Election Day reminding them to vote.