School District of Beloit Shows Growth and Exceeds State Average in Work-Based Learning Opportunities for Students

Beloit, WI., November 15, 2022 – The School District of Beloit is grateful to our staff, families, and students that worked collectively to get us through the pandemic. We learned the importance of educating the whole child - academic, social and emotional needs, including wellness and nutrition.

“We understand that to improve academic outcomes, we must support the instructional and social, emotional, and behavioral needs of each and every student,” said Melissa Beavers, Executive Director of Pupil Services.

The initial state report card findings show that the District has moved one step closer to our goal of meeting/exceeding expectations identified in the 2022-2025 Strategic Plan.

“I am firmly committed to student academic achievement and will bring the resources and leadership to support continued growth in the School District of Beloit,” said Superintendent Dr. Garrison. “In education we are always improving; it is about continuous improvement. My goal is to ensure all students have equal opportunities to be academically successful.”

Our District went from “fails to meet expectations” to “meets few expectations.” This is mainly due to our increase in overall student growth. This priority area measures year-to-year student progress on statewide tests. “We can identify that there is still work to be done in closing opportunity gaps in academic outcomes across groups; however, our special education students, English Learners, and African American students have demonstrated equal or greater growth this past year in comparison to the overall averages,” shared Theresa Morateck, Executive Director of Teaching, Learning & Equity.

“In our intentional work towards improving overall student outcomes for all of our students, we know that there is a big hill to climb, and by believing in each other and our students, we can get there together,” said Garrison.

Morateck agrees, “the continuous collaborative work between school leaders, cross-departmental staff, the Board of Education, the BEA, and community partners to build stronger systems and structures will enable us to continue moving forward positively.”

“As we lean into ensuring that we have high-quality materials and instructional practices across our District, we are both excited that we have turned a corner but very mindful of the challenging work ahead,” Beavers added. “We are committed to working with our students and families as they come to us to provide them equitable opportunities to grow and meet or exceed grade level expectations.”

Morateck expressed that the District will remain focused on improving achievement in all academic areas for all students, specifically in literacy and mathematics.

The District outpaced the state in providing work-based learning opportunities for our students with 9.8% of our students participating in these opportunities compared to 3.4% across the state.

“I attribute the success of our work-based learning opportunities for our students to our Career and Technical Department (CTE), along with our Academy Model,” said Deb Prowse, Career Academy Coach at Beloit Memorial High School. “Our partnerships with business and community leaders create opportunities and an environment where our students can learn, thrive, and gain valuable work experience. We are appreciative of everyone who is working with us for the current and future success of our students. We expect our student participation to grow even more this year, because of our supportive partners.”

Garrison added, “It is important for the District to continue to share the successes of our students and staff. Outpacing the State in work-based learning opportunities is one of many positive outcomes to celebrate.”

Source: School District of Beloit News Release