Superintendent Gerlach to attend November Cottage Grove PTO meeting

Just an update. Mr. Gerlach has confirmed that he will join us at the next Cottage Grove PTO meeting on November 8th.

More on Teacher Contracts

It has come to my attention that the following letter has been sent to parents of Senior Students:

Dear MG Senior Parents:

You may be aware that the Monona Grove Education Association (MGEA) is “working the contract” as a result of an unsettled contract.

At the September 8, 2010, Monona Grove Board of Education meeting, the MGEA presented a petition to the School Board stating that they will not be writing letters of recommendation requested by students for college applications.

It is the district’s position that writing letters of recommendation for students’ college applications is a required professional responsibility. I recently notified the teaching staff of my expectations of providing such letters at a student’s request.

If your child is denied a letter of recommendation, either verbally or in writing, beginning October 1, 2010, please contact me or high school principal, Dr. Paul Brost. Please keep these communications regarding this issue between you as parents and district administration. I find it very disheartening that students are placed in the middle of this difficult situation and would like to minimize their involvement.

Please contact me if you have any questions or concerns.

Respectfully,

Craig Gerlach, Superintendent

In response to a letter from MGEA

I am writing to let the people of our school district know that, despite MGEA's decision to work the contract, the Cottage Grove PTO (Parent Teacher Organization) will continue to work towards raising money for our schools and supporting our children. Now, more than ever, parents and our community at large need to band together to give our children the best educational experience possible. While I did receive a letter from MGEA indicating that they are encouraging their membership not to participate in the PTO Fall Festival on October 2, we will remain focused on our mission and use this event to raise as much money as we can to put SMART Boards in our schools, as well as providing the many other services that we offer both teachers and students.

Our goals will not change. Our focus will remain on providing valuable and much needed resources to our children.

Cottage Grove PTO Fall Festival

The Cottage Grove PTO is gearing up for it's annual Fall Festival on October 2. The Festival will once again be held at Taylor Prairie from 10 am - 4 pm and will include a lot of family fun! There will be games, food, a silent auction and, back by popular demand - a raffle. There will also be a Silly String Corral where kids and teachers will be able to have a good-natured silly string fight! The Monona Grove football players will be running a football toss game and the Monona Grove Pom Squad will be painting faces from 12-3. The EMS team will also be on sight to do some community education! New this year will be themed baskets created by each classroom. These baskets will be available at the Fall Festival, so be sure to come on over and check them out!!

This year, the Cottage Grove PTO will continue it's campaign to raise money for Smart Boards. Please mark your calendars and join us for this fantastic event!! See you then!!

Cottage Grove Kid's Park

If you haven't heard, the Cottage Grove Kid's Park is participating in the Pepsi Refresh Project. While the original contest ended on July 31st, the Cottage Grove Kid's Park was given one more month to rally enough votes for the big $25,000 prize. Here is the information on how to vote:

1. ) Sign up to get daily reminders through the Cottage Grove Kids Park Facebook page: http://bit.ly/Join-CG-Park-on-FB

2. ) Text 100296 to Pepsi (73774)

3. ) Vote online at http://www.refresheverything.com/cgkidspark
*iphone users can search "cottage grove" at http://www.refresheverything.com

-- Vote once by using your Facebook account
-- (then sign out), then by signing in with multiple email accounts

You can easily vote 2 to 4 times a day (Every Day).

Hopefully, you can help make a difference. To get the grant, the submitted project must finish in the top 10, so keep voting!!!!

It's Salsa Time!

So, I asked my 10 year old son whether or not I should enter the Salsa Contest that the Cottage Grove Kid's Park is sponsoring on August 15th. He looked at me kind of funny and said, "Well, what kind of salsa? You're not going to dance, are you?" Isn't he just the funny one....

Well, I am going to enter the contest with my oh-so-awesome salsa (n. A spicy sauce of chopped, usually uncooked vegetables or fruit, especially tomatoes, onions, and chili peppers, used as a condiment) so stop on by and check it out! The event will be on August 15th from 12:00 pm to 3:00 pm at Fireman's Park. Tasting kits, which include chips, each salsa entered in the contest and a ballot, will be available for $5. Enjoy some great local recipes and help raise money for the Cottage Grove Kid's Park. This is clearly a win-win folks!!

See you on the 15th!!

The Little Engine That Could....

The Cottage Grove PTO has a goal. We want to put SMART Boards in our classrooms. Today, we came a little closer to our goal. I had the extreme pleasure of dropping off two checks today - one for Taylor Prairie and one for Cottage Grove School. Needless to say, I was received whole-heartedly by both schools. It was definitely the highlight of my day!

We are well on our way to our goal, but we have far to go. And just how do we plan on raising the money? A big part of it will be our annual Fall Festival. This year, the Festival will be held at Taylor Prairie on October 2 from 10-4. Mark your calendars!! If you want to be a part of this, feel free to contact me at cgrovepto@gmail.com. We will need a lot of people to help us make this happen, but I know we can do it! So join in the fun and help us attain our goal!!

America the Beautiful

And it really, truly is. I have seen a lot of this great country and the common word for each trip was beautiful. The blues of the oceans, the majesty of the mountains, the wide openness of the prairies, the colors of the deserts and the stunning glaciers of Alaska. Everywhere you go, there is much to be found. And we are free to explore it. Free to speak what we think and worship. We are so incredibly blessed to live here in this America where the promise of a new day and the ability to pursue happiness is alive and well. God Bless America!!!

Enjoy this holiday, my friends. And remember the many, many people who gave all they had to make this dream a reality!! I only hope that we can capture the passion and dedication that they had to forge our own way and honor the sacrifices that they made.

Ahhh...summer vacation!

My family and I took off almost immediately after school let out and headed east to Niagara Falls. It was exceptional. There is just something about millions of gallons of water pouring over a cliff that is inspiring. We thoroughly enjoyed our time away and I feel very blessed to have had the time with my family.

And now, back to reality. Much to my dismay, the budget woes have not been solved...I was hoping....

Unfortunately, contract negotiations have not progressed and arbitration looms on the horizon. I am afraid that this does not bode well for our district or our pocket books. The union is asking for a raise and I am told that the 2% raise that the district offered has been rejected. Is anyone else thinking that you can't get blood from a stone?

It has also come to my attention that several teachers attended a white privilege conference in La Crosse. Obviously, with the racial tensions that this district has been experiencing, a plan and goals need to be established. No child should ever feel afraid to come to school. That is just unacceptable. However, I have heard negative rumors about this conference. Whether or not they are true remains to be seen, but I certainly hope that the conference does not advocate the idea of "dumbing down" education to one set of students in order to bring up the scores of a different set of students under the guise of "closing the minority gap". That hardly seems like an admirable practice. I was not able to learn very much from the WPC website, but I will keep looking. If anyone out there has any factual information about this conference, I would be happy to hear it.

And now...the evening calls. What a gorgeous day it has been. Time to relax and enjoy it!

The Lessons We Learn From Our Children

I picked my son up from school on the big last day and decided to get there a little early because I knew the parking lot would be congested. It was a happy decision because I got there in time to see a video put together by the staff. The video showed many photos of the kids and staff throughout the year, marking highlights, holidays, parties, projects and every day learning and was set to music. There was nothing but smiling faces. No where was there any indication that there was trouble in our district. There were no photos of angry parents at School Board meetings. No stacks of paper reviewing budget cut recommendations. There were no contract negotiations. No where on the video was the grade configuation study or overcrowding statements or anything that gave even a hint that trouble was brewing. And then it hit me. While we were storming and fighting and arguing and pointing fingers and attacking each other in the paper and in blogs, our children were carrying on with the business of learning.

Well done. We should all learn the lesson.

3rd graders go international

The world became a much smaller place at Cottage Grove School today. The entire 3rd grade class took part in an international fair and it was amazing. Each classroom had 5 or 6 countries and groups of 4 or 5 kids worked on each country. My son Tyler, in Ms. Melde's class, presented the country of Morocco. Other countries that I saw were Cambodia, Costa Rica, Canada and South Korea and I was so impressed by the amount of work that these children put into their reports. They had large trifold presentation posters with varied information from climate to population to customs. Many groups presented different foods, music and national costumes. I ventured off to other classrooms and visited Germany, England and Sweden, just to mention a few. It was a very cultural morning. Way to go 3rd graders!!!

Once again, the Standing Committees are...

Business Services
Chair: Susan Manning
Susan Fox
Lionel Norton
Kathy Thomas (MN)
Jeff Simpson (CG)

Policy
Chair: Lionel Norton
Jessica Ace
Susan Manning
Beth Bingham (MN)
Sharon Henes (CG)

Curriculum
Chair: Peter Sobol
Jason McCutchin
Jill List
Andrew Bridell (MN)
Jim Foley (CG)

I applied for 2 committees, but did not get appointed. This was not a surprise to me. It was interesting to see that the Board President is serving on Business Services. I didn't think that was normally done. Interesting to see three of the four officers on that committee, also.

I hope that these committees will be effective and create efficiency on the board. That would involve a level of trust, though. I don't think that this board has that.

District loses Mary Ellen Van Valin

Unfortunately, our district is set to lose one of it's most valuable administrators. Mary Ellen Van Valin, Director of Business Services, has tendered her resignation effective at the end of the school year. For the entire article in the Herald Independent, please see http://heraldindependentonline.com/main.asp?SectionID=2&SubSectionID=21&ArticleID=1755

I talked to Mr. Gerlach and this spot will be a difficult position to fill, considering the specialized certification that is needed. In addition several other districts are looking to hire a person for the same position.

I believe that the loss of Mary Ellen is a symptom of a larger problem that this district has. The question is, how much longer will we let it continue?

The Alternate School

The School Board will vote on the location of the Alternate School at it's next meeting on May 26 (7pm at the District Office). They will choose to either locate the school of 25 high school students to either Nichols where it would be self contained or to Winnequah where the school would share space with 3rd-5th graders.

I just have to wonder what Monona residents are thinking of this? I heard many people stand up and say that they did not want the smallest children of Maywood (pre-K through 2) mixing with the older children of Winnequah (3-5 graders next year). That would put the age ranges of children at 4 years old to 11 years old. Now we are talking about putting 8 year olds with 18 year olds? Haven't parents already said that they don't like this scenario? Is the Board not listening? Or is there something that I am missing?

For the entire story in the Herald Independent, please see http://heraldindependentonline.com/main.asp?SectionID=2&SubSectionID=21&ArticleID=1738

A word about posting....

I have decided to make this blog an anonymous free zone. I just got a comment that was not productive from an anonymous commenter. I don't think that will get us anywhere. If you want to say something, then you will have to put your name to it.

Now, I will challenge the poster who posted earlier tonight to repost your comment.

Oh, those Standing Committees....

I got an email today from Susan Fox and she requested that I take down my posting of the Standing Committees until after the Board Meeting on May 26th. Apparently, someone saw my posting this morning and called Ms. Fox to alert her to this. I had no idea that this posting was so controversial when I did it, as I received the email with the committee assignments directly from Ms. Fox. Therefore, in an effort to oblige her, I am accomodating her request. I will repost the assignments after the meeting.

The Power of the Volunteer

Holy smokes. I just got an interesting email. One of our parent volunteers here at the Cottage Grove PTO added up all the money that this organization has given to our schools in the past three years. The number is staggering...just shy of $120,000. ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY THOUSAND DOLLARS!!!! My jaw is still hanging open. I am so humbled by the amazing generosity that parents offer our schools - whether it is making a dessert for teacher conferences, working a shift at the Fall Festival or chairing a committee...COTTAGE GROVE PTO ROCKS!!!! Go parents GO!!

Talent Shows and Teacher Cuts and Standing Committees...Oh My!!

I have taken a break from the blogosphere for a while, but I am back with a renewed committment. I am sure you are all sighing a breath of relief....

Last Friday night we attended the Glacial Drumlin Talent Show. Our daughter Samantha performed two acts - a solo singing act and a musical skit with a friend. We were so proud of her, and all of the kids who had the courage to get up in front of not only parents and teachers but the most critical of audiences, their peers. Kudos to all the talented kids at Glacial Drumlin School! Of course, the added bonus was seeing the Gerlachs join in the fun, bravely engaging in a dance contest and the timeless Saltine Cracker/whistling challenge. We are fortunate to have such upbeat and good sporting people in our district!

The preliminary teacher layoffs have been posted and the list is long. The Budget Crisis now has names and faces. It sounds like there will be some call backs, but it is not yet clear who those teachers will be. I have heard - and this is not confirmed, just what I have heard - that Jill Jensen and Kris Tudor will be retained, but it is not clear in what capacity. All rumor, of course. When I hear of accurate information, I will post it.

Standing Committees are back! Last year, the Board eliminated these long standing committees, made up of Board members and citizens by a vote of 5 to 1, with Peter Sobol voting against the elimination and Jill List not in attendance. Susan Fox, Jessica Ace, Lionel Norton, Jason McCutchin and Susan Manning voted for the elimination. I was at the meeting where this took place and I was dissappointed in the vote, so I am happy to see their return. If you are interested in applying for a committee, head to http://www.mononagrove.org/ to get the application. All submissions are due by May 15th, so if you are interested, the clock is ticking!

Racial Tension in the Monona School District

Last night I sat in on the School Board meeting and listened to Charlie Ellis plead with the Board to take action on the abuses that some of the students in this District are dealing with at the hand of other students. I was in absolute awe as I listened to him speak about a student throwing a half stick of dynamite on another student's porch "just for fun". My stomach lurched as he told the tale of a young girl being cornered in a parking lot and how it has traumatized her. Racial slurs; threats of bodily harm; students wandering around armed... This is unacceptable and I hope that the Board takes swift action to impose a no tolerance policy of this behavior. These activities all fall under the same umbrella - bullying - and it is unacceptable at our schools. The right a student has to feel safe at school is non-negotiable. Period.

Post-election ponderings.

Well, the fervor of the campaign is over and I have taken some time to reflect. While I am dissappointed with the outcome, I am not dissappointed in the race I ran. I appreciate all the help I received from so many amazing people. It is a bit humbling to have so many people support me! It was equally humbling to receive the many, many phone calls, emails and posts on Facebook telling me how they wished I would have won and, most importantly and inspiring - don't quit. And so I won't. The issues didn't die with the election and there is work to be done. There is work to be done.

Forward!!!

The Flyer Heard Round The World!!

Well, the blogosphere is buzzing today! Who knew a Get Out The Vote Flyer could cause such a commotion! And the Monona Rag! Jeesh!! I am the candidate not to vote for because I tout saving programming and teachers...bad candidate...bad! I am absolutely amazed at the time some people have on their hands to worry and fret over some of this stuff. I, personally, spent the better part of the morning and afternoon with my kids and enjoyed the sunshine - and left over chocolate from Easter. It was great.

We are nearing the last 24 hours of this campaign and I just wanted to say thank you for those of you who took the time to call me, email or meet with me. That has by far been the most rewarding part of my campaign. Win or lose tomorrow, I have learned even more about the people of this school district and that has been worth the journey! Talking about actual issues has been so worth while. Whether we agree or agree to disagree, getting to know each other and being able to get in each others shoes and see the view from the other side is a huge step in the right direction.

Now, time to wrap it up and get to the polls! Don't forget to vote tomorrow! If you don't vote, you have no right to complain!

See you at the polls!

And so the mudslinging commences....

I have tried so hard to run a clean campaign, but I am not sure how I can compete with the attacks that are being made. This morning I received a phone call from Susan Fox telling me that a Get Out The Vote flyer that was sent out by the PTO was against board policy. Hmmmm..... Doesn't the PTO govern itself? And how is a get out the vote flyer inappropriate? Do we not want people to vote? Another report I got today was that Susan Fox and Susan Manning implied that my literature was not to be dropped with Monona City Council candidate literature. Seriously? Threatening volunteers who are dropping information that they had best think about aligning themselves with a person from Cottage Grove? Is this the standard of conduct we expect from people? This is OK???? Turning a get out the vote flyer into a divisive tool that is used to suit their own purpose? Wow. Apparently the bridge building that is being claimed to be done is only lip service. Unbelieveable. Apparently some people will do anything...anything at all....

And the survey says....

Weigh in on your thoughts on the decision to delay the vote on consolidation last night.

Tonight's School Board Meeting

The Board will be making decisions on the budget, including the consolidation of Maywood and Winnequah, tonight at 7 pm in the Winnequah cafeteria. If you are interested in speaking to the issues or hearing what others have to say, please plan on attending.

Let the music play!

Tonight my family spent the evening at Glacial Drumlin to hear Samantha sing with the 6th grade choir. They did a great job, singing songs from France, Israel and Ireland. What an amazing gift we are able to give our children in this district - the gift of song. Nice job, sixth graders!!!

If you give a child a teacher....

All three candidates were present and accounted for at the Monona Cable Forum last night. With the impending vote on consolidation and budget cuts coming up on Wednesday, many of the questions centered on Maywood and priorities for budget cuts. While answering one of the questions, I stated, as I have before, that teachers and programming were my main budget priorities and that anything that affected that should be cut as a last resort. Imagine my amazement when I looked into the audience and saw a person shaking her head at me...did I say something wrong??? If teachers and programming are not what is most important to our district's budget, than how can we possibly hope to educate the children? I am still in awe over what I saw in the audience last night and have been trying to figure out how anyone could disagree with that statement.

Are you sure you still want to do this???

Oh, the timeless question. I have been asked it roughly 5000 times now in the past month. At Board meetings, in the school hallways, in the grocery stores...inquiring minds want to know. The "campaign trail", as it were, has been quite a trip for me. I have gotten to talk with people that I may not have had the opportunity to talk with...amazing! I have also gotten to hear about myself from other people...not so amazing. I walked into Glacial Drumlin School the other day and one of the the students cried out, "Aren't you Jennifer Pickel?" I smiled and said, "Yes, why do you ask?" He said, "Well, I have just seen you signs EVERYWHERE!!" I had to laugh. Some of my kids' younger friends ask me if I am running for president...hardly. "Going public" has been quite the experience!

So, to answer the question, yes. I still want to do this. There is just too much at stake not to.

Enjoy your day!

Jennifer

The proverbial cart before the horse....

Just a thought.... Before you decide to go ahead and make judgements about people, it would be a wise and prudent idea to actually speak with that person - or *gasp* MEET them - before you make your decision on who they are and what they support. It is incredibly easy to get in front of a computer and sermonize into cyber space, but until you actually speak to that person, you are merely spreading your thoughts, not facts.

3rd and Final Public Hearing

The Final Public Hearing for the Monona Grove School District's Proposed Budget is Saturday, February 20th at from 10 am - 12 pm at Winnequah. A tour of Winnequah is scheduled from 9am-10am.

If you have an opinion or a question and you would like the School Board to hear, please plan on attending this meeting.

What an opportunity! On Friday, I got the chance to meet Governor Doyle and State Superintendant Tony Evers during their visit to Glacial Drumlin School. Both men discussed how Wisconsin is planning an application to the Federal Program Race to the Top - the Monona Grove School District alone stands to gain nearly $200,000 if the state is successful. 97% of Wisconsin schools have joined the Governor in approving this application.

After the press conference, I got the opportunity to talk more with Tony Evers on the role of parents during the application process. He discussed his thoughts on a survey to get the input of parents and what they think is important for their kids' education.

Getting Back to Basics and Bridging our Communities

The Monona Grove School District has tough choices to make. Budget cuts face us not only this year, but most likely next year as well. Now is the time for this District to have a Board that can come together respectfully and selfelessly to do what is best for our District as a whole. I believe that I can offer that quality to the Board.

As a member of the Ad Hoc Committee to Study Grade Configuration I was give the unique opportunity to explore the intricacies of how our District operates. As a substitute teacher for the past 2 years, I am able to see on a daily basis the hard work and dedication of our teachers, staff and administrators. As the current Cottage Grove PTO President, I am able to see the passion and generosity of our parent volunteers who work tirelessly for the benefit of the children of this District. As a business owner, I know that my experience with budgeting and management will be an asset. I believe that all of this experience would be put to good use on our School Board.

As a parent of a 12 year old daughter and a 9 year old son, it is vital to me that their excellent education continues, not only for them, but for all the children of our District. With hard work and determination, we can make that happen. We all have a common goal - excellence in our schools. If I am elected, that will be my top priority.