VOTE NO ON APRIL 2 CONSTIUTIONAL AMMENDMENTS

 Below is a link provided by the League of Women Voters Regarding two amendments on the April 2 ballot:

At the very end under Other Resources is the Webinar with more information regarding legality and disrupting the balance of power among the three branches of government.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/14OTQ4-m94BQrs0j6twCiFTONc7QUtmwZxL2Eypy70uU/edit

CLICK LINK BELOW FOR SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATION

DUE MARCH 1, 2024

FAREA 2024 Scholarship Form Web Link

2024 Scholarship Information

Since 1988, more than $89,000 in scholarships has been awarded by the Fond du Lac Area Retired Education Association (FAREA) to deserving students who wish to pursue a career in the field of education. For 2024, FAREA is again offering scholarships to both public high school seniors and to university/college students.

Public high school seniors, residing in Fond du Lac County and who will be attending a university/college with a DPI accredited School of Education, are eligible for $500 scholarships (minimum).

Any university/college student not yet accepted into a DPI accredited School of Education is also eligible to apply for a $500 scholarship (minimum).

Scholarships will also be awarded to university/college students, who graduated from a Fond du Lac County public high school and who have been accepted into a DPI accredited School of

Education at the university/college they are attending, are eligible for a $750 scholarship (minimum).

High school applicants should provide:

oA completed 2024 FAREA application.

o A certified transcript of your high school grades and subjects taken.

o A copy of ACT or SAT test score results.

o Two letters of recommendation: one must be from the teacher of a class you attended; the second letter can be from a member of your community (suggestions: neighbor, family friend, employer, minister, youth worker) who is not related to you.

o A personal essay explaining a little about yourself, why you want to teach and why you should be given this scholarship.

College applicants should provide:

o A completed 2024 FAREA application.

o A certified transcript of your college courses and the grades earned.

o Copy of your letter of acceptance into the School of Education.

o Two letters of recommendation: one must be from the teacher of a class you attended in college; the second letter can be from a member of your community (suggestions: neighbor, family friend, employer, minister, youth worker) who is not related to you.

o A personal essay explaining a little about yourself, why you want to teach and why you should be given this scholarship.

Applications should be sent to:

Jan Soyk, FAREA Scholarship Co-Chair

N3540 Mitchell Road

Eden, WI 53019

Applications must be received by March 1, 2024.

Questions or to receive the application in PDF Format: 

Contact Jan Soyk, (bjsoyk@gmail.com) FAREA Scholarship Co-Chair

2024 FAREA Scholarship Application 

(Copy and paste the following into a word document and fill in your information or contact Jan Soyk for the forms in PDF Format.)

Name: Email:

Address: Phone:

High School/College you are presently attending:

Family Information

Father’s Name: Occupation:

Father’s Place of Employment:

Mother’s Name: Occupation:

Mother’s Place of Employment:

Please list the name and age of all siblings. If you have siblings, now attending or graduated from college, please indicate the name of the school and year of graduation.

Employment Information

List any paid employment you have had in the past three years.

Employer Job/Title Dates of Employment

School Activities

High School students: List all school activities you have participated in over the past three years.

College students: List all school activities you have participated in during your college year/s.

Activity Grade level Honors/Awards

Community Activities

High School students: List all community activities you have participated in over the

past three years.

College students: List all community activities you have participated in during your college year/s.

How has participation in these activities helped you?

Letters of Recommendation

Two letters of recommendation must accompany this form. One letter must be from a teacher whose class you have attended. A second letter should be from an employer, or other community member who can comment on your worthiness for this scholarship. Do not have a relative write a letter of recommendation.

Future Plans

University/College you will be or are currently attending:

As an educator, what grade level do you wish to teach?

As an educator, what subject/s do you wish to teach?

Financial Information

Estimated cost of attending the school of your choice next year:

1. Tuition and Fees:

2. Room and Board:

3. Books:

4. Other:

Total:

Estimated Resources available for next year:

1. Personal Savings:

2. Anticipated Summer Earnings:

3. Anticipated School Year Earnings:

4. Contributions from parents:

5. Scholarships/Grants already received:

Please explain your financial need. How do you plan to finance your education? Are there extenuating circumstances (for example; illness, disabilities, job loss) that may affect your ability to pay for college?

Personal Essay:

Please attach an essay of about 500 words. Tell us about yourself. Why do you want to be a teacher? Why should you be given this scholarship?

Signature of Applicant

Signature of Parent if applicant is under 18

**High School Applicants: Include an official transcript of your coursework, ACT/SAT test scores, and two letters of recommendation with this application.

**University Applicants: Include an official transcript of your college courses and grades earned, a copy of your letter of acceptance into the School of Education, and two letters of recommendation with this application.

Up Date on the Lawsuit seeking to end Wisconsin’s Taxpayer-Funded Vouchers

The following link from SPECTRUM NEWS 1   

NOVEMBER 16, 2023

https://spectrumnews1.com/wi/milwaukee/news/2023/11/16/gov--evers--robin-vos--supreme-court--voucher-lawsuit

What You Need To Know

• Democratic Gov. Tony Evers' administration and political opponent Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos are in the rare position of taking the same side in a lawsuit seeking to end Wisconsin's taxpayer-funded voucher school system, telling the Wisconsin Supreme Court that it should not take the case


• Vos and Department of Administration Secretary Kathy Blumenfeld, who was appointed by Evers, told the court in separate filings this week that the case should start at the circuit court level


• The third defendant, Department of Public Instruction Secretary Jill Underly, took no position


• Democratic opponents of the voucher program took a different position from Evers and asked the state Supreme Court to take the case directly

UpNorthNews

https://upnorthnewswi.com/2023/11/14/wisconsin-supreme-court-weighs-fast-tracking-a-lawsuit-to-end-private-school-vouchers/

Breaking the Chain: Decoupling School Choice Funding in Wisconsin

 Lawmakers are considering: Decoupling choice spending from public school spending. Click on the links below for a better explaination of the complicated school funding formula.

https://will-law.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Decoupling.pdf

https://will-law.org/breaking-the-chain-decoupling-school-choice-funding-in-wisconsin/

Wisconsin Public School Advocates Applaud Lawsuit Against Vouchers

Public Education Network joins advocates for students across the state in applauding the lawsuit filed yesterday challenging the public funding for Wisconsin private school vouchers and independent charters—a failed “experiment” that is bad for both taxpayers and students.

The suit challenges Wisconsin’s school funding structure in four key areas:

1. The non-public use of public funds that go to voucher schools;

2. The unfairness of the tax system in diverting local school districts’ funds to private

schools, thereby overburdening property taxpayers to fund public schools;

3. The lack of oversight over private voucher schools by the Department of Public

Instruction, despite the schools’ receipt of public funds; and

4. The arbitrary and insufficient limits placed on school districts’ revenue.

Dr. Julie Underwood, lead plaintiff on the suit and Dean Emerita of the UW-Madison School of Education, said: “The voucher and independent schools have been draining resources from Wisconsin’s public schools for too long. We believe these programs are unconstitutional and hope the Wisconsin Supreme Court ends them now.”

Heather DuBois Bourenane, executive director of Wisconsin Public Education Network, said: “Children in public schools have paid the price for decades as the resources they so desperately need have been siphoned off to an unaccountable private system that plays by its own set of rules. Just this year, public schools received yet another cut relative to inflation, while voucher schools received massive increases in public dollars. Advocates and watchdogs have long been shining a light on the negative impacts of privatization on our students and our communities, and the number one question we hear is: ‘how is this legal?’ It’s long past time to hold the state accountable for meeting its constitutional obligation to students attending public schools.”

Wisconsin will watch closely as this long-overdue challenge moves forward, with hope that we can finally deliver the accountability and protections under the law that all Wisconsin students deserve.

Wisconsin Public Education Network is a nonpartisan grassroots coalition supporting strong public schools that provide equal opportunity for all students to thrive.The Network is a project of the Wisconsin Alliance for Excellent Schools (WAES), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. 

Here is a link to the actual Petition: https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0606/5825/4063/files/2023-10-12_-_Petition_for_Original_Action.pdf?sourceid=&emci=00a8f21e-cb69-ee11-9937-00224832eb73&emdi=0908220e-cf69-ee11-9937-00224832eb73&ceid=2179910

WREA & FAREA CELEBRATE CENTENNIAL MEMBER - MARGARET SCHMITZ

WREA & FAREA CELEBRATE CENTENNIAL MEMBER - MARGARET SCHMITZ

         At age 106, Margaret still has fond memories of the many students and their families from her earliest years of teaching. Judi & Al Messner, Cheryl Kutcher and Betty Coerber recently visited her at the Francis Home. We all chatted about our teaching experiences. She recalls only good times in her classroom although later in this article are recollections of a few unusual events. 

Margaret was interviewed 8 years ago by Karl McCarty- Oakfield High School’s History Teacher  and Contributor  to “The Campbellsport News”. Following are excerpts from Karl’s article:

Margaret Kelroy grew up in the Town of Byron, attending Byron Village School, which is now the Byron Town Hall. Then onto Fond du Lac’s Roosevelt Junior High and Goodrich High School. 

She attended Oshkosh Normal School to attain her teaching degree and was the first in her class to be hired. Bringing her Father to the interview at the home of one the three school board members, who were all farmers, may have had a positive influence. 

Margaret taught at Woodside School in rural Eden from 1937 to 1942. During her tenure, future educators from Oshkosh Normal School and area schools came to observe her expertise. 

Margaret’s father and brother purchased a five passenger, two door sedan just in time for her to drive herself to school. This was not common as most teachers couldn’t afford a car.

As the weather cooled and snow with slippery roads was eminent, Margaret began boarding at the home of Frank & Blanche Smith located  “Right next door” to Woodside School. Rent was a dollar a day and she shared the bathroom with the Smiths.

While teaching students as they progressed through the grade levels, Margaret really got to know her charges and their parents. On the first day a younger student didn’t want his mother to leave, so she stayed the whole day. 

The only true infraction Margaret witnessed was a student testing out the sharpness of his new scissors. The bib overall strap of the student in front of young Mr. Scissorhands was no match. In the end the offender lost recess time and the mother of the bib wearer just chalked it up to “boys will be boys”!

Making the most of technology Margaret purchased a Philco transistor radio to provided supplemental education through “WHA School of the Air”. Instruction included singing, nature and story telling. A program called; “Let’s Draw” provided art lessons. The host of the show described what the kids were to create along with tips of art techniques. The best art work was sent to Madison for judging. One girl in her class had wonderful art skills and won several awards. Margaret was thankful for this student as she also volunteered to be the morning mouse trap checker. 

Warmth was provided by a coal-burning heater which was also used to heat an oven. Students brought scrubbed potatoes into which they carved their initials and by lunch time they were ready to eat. 

Because Margaret had access to a car she was able to supplement the set of encyclopedias and text books used in the classroom by driving to the Fond du Lac Public Library to borrow books for her students. 

Creature comforts included electricity (which wasn’t the norm), two outhouses and a make-shift sink with a pail of clean water from the neighbor’s well poured as needed through the sink and then into another pail underneath. Baseball and Red Rover took the place of playground equipment. Winter fun included a sledding hill and time to build a snowmen.

The attack on Pearl Harbor took place during Margaret’s last year at Woodside. Classes were held on five Saturdays in the Spring of 1942 to allow students an extra week to help with spring planting on the farm.

Margaret met her future husband watching baseball in the Village of Byron with her girlfriends. They were married in May of 1942. Teachers at the time couldn’t be married while teaching! Herbert and Margaret Schmitz raised their family on River Road in the Town of Byron. Margaret later attended Marian University to update her teaching license and taught 10 years at Oakfield’s Belle Reynolds School.

Think Spring Presentation by Chad Muche

Chad Muche of Stuart's Landscaping gave his "Think Spring" presentation at the January 9th General Membership Luncheon. Excellent tips were given on creating and maintaining a "Butterfly Garden". Monarch Butterflies along with many insects are in urgent need of assistance in procreation as pesticides and loss of habitat have caused a drastic decline in their population.