Daily Archives: September 15, 2017

Sammie the Service Dog to Work at a La Crosse elementary school

Stand Up for Public Ed,

Sammie

WXOW.com: A La Crosse school is one of the first in the area to have a specialized dog to assist students.

As you know, service dogs are used in everything from search and rescue to pushing the button of an elevator for someone with a disability.

At Northwoods Elementary students are quick to pay attention to the man at the front of the room and his dog. Scott Dewey is from Retrieving Freedom, a service dog training program. Many of his canines, like Max, work with veterans with PTSD.

“These dogs do nightmare interruption.  They help get you into public.  They actually sit in front of you, behind you and not guard you but they work to give you a buffer zone,” said Dewey.

Dewey also trained Sammie.

“She can help kids that are having bad days  and help mitigate melt downs and assist with transition zones,” said Dewey.

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Menomonie High School launches successful online summer phy ed class

Stand Up for Public Ed,

The Dunn County News: The school board learned of an online physical education course that was offered to Menomonie High School students for the first time this summer.

The course was created and run by Matt Riley, physical education teacher and coach, who explained at Monday’s meeting that participation in the course lays groundwork for a lifetime of physical fitness and teaches students to take responsibility for their health.

In addition to the physical benefits, the course taught students about self-discipline, goal setting, stress management and teamwork.

All students who participated in the 10-week course were required to wear a Polar fitness watch which tracked their activity, heart rate and amount of calories burned. The online portal allowed students to track their activity and include which type of activity they were doing.

“The class really allowed students who wanted to take it to open up their schedule more so they can have more opportunities during the school year,” Riley said.

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Madison School District and Madison College partner for S.T.E.M. academy

Stand Up for Public Ed,

MadisonThe Cap Times: A partnership between the Madison Metropolitan School District and Madison College seeks to increase the number of girls and students of color who pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and math.

The Early College S.T.E.M. Academy is set to start next fall. The initial pilot will recruit a total of 25 juniors and seniors from Madison East and La Follette high schools.

The program will expand to up to 200 students across MMSD and find its home at the new MATC south campus by the 2019-2020 school year. The program will be free for MMSD students.

Students accepted into the program for the 2018-2019 school year will take classes at MATC’s Truax campus. Although the program targets girls and students of color, all MMSD students are eligible to apply.

Participating students will earn college credit and have the opportunity to receive their associate’s degree by the end of their senior year. MMSD will start recruiting for the academy this fall. The district said it would release applications for the academy this fall, with a December deadline. MMSD will interview students in January and inform students of their admission status in February 2018.

At Monday’s Madison School Board meeting, some board members feared that the current admission requirements — a minimum 2.5 GPA, 90 percent attendance rate and meeting all course requirements in ninth and 10th grade — would turn away many of the students the program aims to serve.

“What happens if you have a student who is brilliant in S.T.E.M. but happens to be homeless or caring for a sick relative and does not have a 90 percent attendance rate?” board member Nicki Vander Meulen said. “I don’t want to necessarily leave them out solely based on that.”

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