Baraboo school leaders share their approach to keep kids from being held back

BARABOO, Wis. (WMTV) - Teachers in the Baraboo School District are continually evolving how they teach to ensure students will stay on track during the upcoming school year.

One of the many concerns during COVID-19 pandemic and virtual learning was that children would get held back a grade level.

According to the latest data from the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, 3,064 students were retained in the 2020-2021 school year out of the nearly 830,000 students enrolled across the state.

None of those students were in the Baraboo School District, as the district has been able to keep retention numbers at, or close to, zero for the past several years.

“We really look at meeting students where they are and really trying to make sure that we can make adjustments to meet their needs each and every year,” said Dr. Rainey Briggs, the Superintendent of the Baraboo School District.

Dr. Briggs said Baraboo teachers are trained to focus on social-emotional learning and differentiating instruction based on a student’s specific needs, which helps greatly with grade retention.

“By us being back in school full-time last year, it really allowed for teachers to connect with kids, to assess and see where they are,” added Dr. Briggs.

Teaching techniques need to constantly change to keep up with learning standards, so Dr. Briggs said getting “back to normal” from COVID isn’t really the focus at Baraboo schools ahead of the new school year.

“I don’t know if I would want to be ‘normal’ more than what is a new way of educating kids that can really give us the results that we want, as well as the results that we want for kids to be global citizens, to really enjoy learning, but then also go out into the world and make a difference,” explained Dr. Briggs.

The first day of school in Baraboo is September 1, 2022.

Many school districts in Sauk Co., Columbia Co., Rock Co., and Dane Co. also retained zero or very few students during the 2021-2022 school year.

A select few districts, however, saw higher numbers of students getting held back.

Number of students retained per school district (DPI data from 2020-21 school year):

SAUK COUNTY

• BARABOO: 0
• REEDSBURG: 14
• RIVER VALLEY: 4
• SAUK PRAIRIE: 2
• WESTON: 0
• WISCONSIN DELLS: 2

ROCK COUNTY

• BELOIT SCHOOL DISTRICT: 47
• BELOIT TURNER: 36
• CLINTON COMMUNITY: 2
• EDGERTON: 6
• EVANSVILLE COMMUNITY: 7
• JANESVILLE: 3
• MILTON: 4
• PARKVIEW: 1

DANE COUNTY:

• BELLEVILLE: 2
• CAMBRIDGE: 1
• DEERFIELD: 1
• MARSHALL: 1
• MCFARLAND: 0
• STOUGHTON AREA: 0
• WISCONSIN HEIGHTS: 0
• MADISON METROPOLITAN: 0
• MIDDLETON CROSS-PLAINS: 12
• DE FOREST AREA: 5
• MOUNT HOREB: 0
• OREGON: 0
• VERONA AREA: 55
• WAUNAKEE COMMUNITY: 1
• SUN PRAIRIE: 20
• MONONA GROVE: 4

COLUMBIA COUNTY:

• CAMBRIA-FRIESLAND: 3
• COLUMBUS: 75
• FALL RIVER: 0
• PORTAGE: 0
• POYNETTE: 0
• PARDEEVILLE AREA: 0
• LODI: 1
• RIO COMMUNITY: 0
• WISCONSIN DELLS: 2

clarification: In an original version of this story, it was stated that 85 McFarland School District students were retained in the 2020-21 school year, in accordance with DPI data. This has been revised to show that zero students were held back at brick and mortar schools in McFarland, as the 85 students retained were all from the virtual schools (Insight and WIVA) affiliated with the district, according to Aaron Tarnutzer, the District Administrator for the McFarland School District.

Copyright 2022 WMTV. All rights reserved.