Fall and holiday events, facilities, volunteering and more: Kiel schools administrator shares the latest

The last couple of weeks have been exciting for so many reasons! Our staff and students have given our community so much to celebrate.

The day-to-day work of our staff and students is top-notch. However, we have a number of areas of growth, and we will never rest until all of our students are proficient or advanced in all areas, feel great about their learning experience, are provided with all possible opportunities to find success and are presented with the pathway of their choice as they go through our schools. We are doing so many things to try to achieve this lofty goal.

If you would like to see all the specifics regarding this data and how we, as a school district, are trying to constantly improve, please view the school board meeting from Nov. 15 on our YouTube channel, which is called “Kiel Broadcast Network.” Our director of teaching and learning, as well as our building principals, will do a fantastic job breaking down our data and pointing out the areas that are strengths and those areas that need improvement, along with how we will work to improve.

Speaking of academics, we are once again inducting a number of students into the National Honor Society at Kiel High School. Acceptance into this prestigious group is measured by academic achievement, character and community service. The students who will be inducted Nov. 20 exemplify all three of these areas and make our entire community proud. Join us at 6:30 p.m. in the Performing Arts Center!

Speaking of featuring students, over the last few years, we have featured nearly every grade level of students and staff at our board meetings and will continue to do so. Throughout the rest of this year at our school board meetings, we will be featuring our Between the Lakes Virtual Academy and Kiel eSchool students and staff, our Boys & Girls Club programming and staff, as well as our Full Circle Care programming and staff. On Dec. 20 at our school board meeting (5:30 p.m. in the high school library), we will be presenting an overview of all of the course offerings, co-curricular opportunities and other opportunities that are available to our students that have been built over time, so parents, students and the community are well aware of the many pathways our students can choose from. It will be evident we are a district that does a very nice job of balancing our offerings between two- and four-year colleges, tech schools, direct entry into the workforce, supporting those who choose the military, etc.

We were also blown away by “Mamma Mia,” the musical that was on display in early November. The shows either sold out or were near capacity; compliments to all of the students and staff who worked so hard to bring us this amazing performance and thank you, once again, to our community for approving this tremendous space a few years ago. The Performing Arts Center is used all year long and is a space all of us can be proud of. If you would like a tour of the Performing Arts Center or any of our facilities, I am happy to provide one! The shows concluded with standing ovations by nearly 600 people, which is to say they were “moved” by the performances.

Speaking of our facilities, a group of 27 people continue to meet to discuss the state of our current facilities. This group was put together by the school board to advise the board on how to move forward with the current facilities we have. A facilities study was conducted over the last year or so, and it revealed we have a number of areas in our district that need attention. All residents should have received a postcard inviting them to be part of this group back in late summer, which is how this group was formed. Thank you to those who have volunteered their time to be part of this group. We will continue to provide updates as we move along, and all information and documents can be found on our website (kiel.k12.wi.us) by clicking the “community” tab and “facility assessment/master planning.”

Speaking of volunteering, if you are interested in being part of the Kiel for Kids program (where community members volunteer in classrooms that match their strength areas, such as tech ed, Spanish, reading with our youngest learners, etc.), or the Big Brothers/Big Sisters program, or the Boys & Girls Club, or the Robotics program, etc., please email me at bebert@kiel.k12.wi.us and we will match you up with one of these outstanding programs. In fact, if you have any strength, hobby or interest you are willing to share, email me and we will connect you to the right school, program or person in our schools.

Our staff and students also did a tremendous job recognizing our local veterans on Veterans Day Nov. 10 and will do so again on Nov. 17. Our students sang songs, played music and performed speeches, all in honor of those who keep us safe every day and provide us the freedom to live freely. In our school district, we will continue to teach our students the importance of recognizing the sacrifices so many have made to protect our freedoms. We also shared our livestream link with the community so all businesses and places of gathering could play the program for their residents, including senior care centers, recreation centers and the community center. Thank you to all who helped make this day a success.

As we move along through the winter months, I am sure the students in the Kiel Area School District will continue to thrive both in academic and co-curricular activities.

We will have many high school clubs participating in competitions: Math, Forensics, Robotics, Ice Fishing, etc. Winter sports teams such as wrestling, basketball, dance and swimming continue to exemplify what Kiel is all about: determination, hard work, sportsmanship and success.

I have the privilege to attend many co-curricular events and I am proud to say I frequently see our students helping up their opponents, shaking hands after a hard-fought match and cheering on their teammates. We continue to support our students in all of their efforts, and they continue to make us proud!

We should be proud of all of our fall athletic teams, including both the boys’ and girls’ cross country teams making it to “state” and finishing seventh (boys) and ninth (girls), respectively, as well as the football team finishing with an 8-3 record, including a trip to the second round of the playoffs; volleyball and swimming also found success in a variety of ways and thrilled us throughout the season. To view all of our events you are able to attend, visit kiel.k12.wi.us and click the “district” tab and click the community/district activities calendar.

Our middle school students also have the chance to participate in a number of exciting programs that challenge their minds, including Makerspace STEM team challenges, Chess Club, Art Club, PI Girls (robotics for girls) and SWAT Boys (students working to advance technology). Our elementary school was recently able to start a robotics program that features at least nine teams that compete against other programs around the area and has students as young as 4 years old participating. Thank you to our partners at Lakeshore First Robotics for their support.

More Kiel schools: ’23 graduating class, summer school and what’s ahead in the Kiel district

Looking ahead, we continue to finalize our updated strategic plan. With this strategic plan, all staff members will play a role, and this work will be built into our professional development time over the course of the next few years. The updated plan includes four major areas that will be the centerpieces of what we look to enhance: academic success, culture and climate, facilities and finances, and community engagement. A while back, we went to a variety of town hall meetings, talked to a number of students and staff, and sent out a survey to gather feedback. We took this information and found common themes. We then created committees to bring to life the enhancements we want to see. The school board also completed its own vision statements related to the pillars of the strategic plan. If you would like to view our strategic plan, go to kiel.k12.wi.us and click on “district” and “strategic plan.”

Also, during this holiday season, our school district offers so many opportunities for our community to be entertained at our upcoming school concerts. Whether choral or band related, we have many concerts coming up. Please view the calendar on our website to see when these concerts will be held.

As you can see, the district has many positive events and activities going on each and every day. We welcome and encourage everyone to join us and continue celebrating the exceptional work of our staff and students. We have so much to be proud of already, and our future looks bright.

During this holiday season, let’s say “thank you” to a teacher, police officer, military veteran, etc., attend co-curricular events and support the talented students in our community, ask “what can I do for my community to make it better?” and continue to focus on the positives. Imagine how far we could go as a community if this were our collective commitment and mindset.

Whether you are walking through our elementary school classrooms, attending a middle or high school event, or volunteering your time in our community, it is easy to see that every day is a great day to be a Raider!

Dr. Brad Ebert is the district administrator for the Kiel Area School District. Follow the district on X (formerly Twitter): @Kielareaschools.

This article originally appeared on Manitowoc Herald Times Reporter: Kiel schools administrator Brad Ebert on events, facilities, academics