Access Board Meetings Online: Community members can stay informed by watching every board meeting on our YouTube channel, MCPASD TV. In the recap below, we have provided timestamps for the various sections of the meeting. These will help you follow along and jump directly to the parts of the video that interest you the most.
2:10 – A Cardinal’s Journey Award Recognition: Curious Mindset
Superintendent Dr. Dana Monogue honored three MCPASD students who are part of the first recognition awards for A Cardinal’s Journey. The Board and Dr. Monogue will honor students who have been nominated by MCPASD staff members once a month for embodying a specific Cardinal Mindset (Curious, Accountable, Community-Oriented, and Self-Aware) or Cardinal Foundation (Communication, Collaboration, Critical Thinking and Problem Solving, and Adaptability). These are the essential skills and attitudes within A Cardinal’s Journey that students will develop during their time in MCPASD.
The Oct. 13, 2025, meeting honored students who embody the Curious mindset: Sincere Dantzler (Middleton High School), Katya Maeder (Middleton High School), and Xander Cree (Park Elementary School). Silas Marshall (Park Elementary School) also received an award for embodying “Curious” and will be recognized at the Oct. 27 Board meeting.
Dr. Monogue shared the kind messages that staff members included in each student’s nomination and congratulated all of the students on their hard work.
21:45 – Superintendent’s Report
In her Superintendent’s Report, Dr. Monogue congratulated the athletes and coaches involved in Middleton High School’s Adapted Sports League program, which supports high school students with disabilities. The program began its second season in October, starting with the first indoor soccer home game on Oct. 8. The athletes will also play floor hockey in the winter and wiffle ball in the spring.
Dr. Monogue also expressed gratitude for the staff members involved in the planning, preparation, and facilitation of the District’s Professional Development (PD) Day on Oct. 13. MCPASD is proud to offer monthly PD Days to support staff with additional learning opportunities and training activities. Topics covered during this PD Day included early literacy as well as academic and career planning.
22:20 – Approval of International Trip to Toronto, Canada, in 2026
The Board approved an international trip to Toronto, Canada, in early 2026 for Middleton High School’s Model UN Club. Participants will attend the University of Toronto Model United Nations (UTMUN) conference. The club votes every fall on which conferences they would like to participate in and members chose the UTMUN conference based on a positive experience attending a previous UTMUN conference. Model UN conferences teach students about a wide range of global and social issues and allow them to gain valuable experience in areas like debate, negotiation, and diplomacy.
23:24 – MCPASD Education Foundation Update
MCPASD Education Foundation Executive Director Amber Kiggens-Leifheit and Foundation members shared an annual update with the Board.
The Foundation provides funding for teacher grants for innovative education projects; provides funding for students for essential items including food, personal hygiene items, and clothing; and supports student scholarships to remove barriers and increase student access to post-secondary education and career pathways.
During the 2024-25 school year, the Foundation:
Awarded $14,505 in grants
Provided 7,742 meals through the Weekend Food Program
Supported 300 families with personal hygiene items through the Caring Closet
Provided $4,000 in financial support to students experiencing homelessness
In the last five years, the Foundation has awarded $475,000 in scholarships to 406 students, and has provided funding for other items like elementary school murals, outdoor spaces for recreational activities and athletics, teaching degrees for staff, band instruments, drivers education, and more.
The annual report reinforces the Foundation’s dedication and commitment to student success through experiences inside and outside of the classroom as well as continued education opportunities.
Dr. Monogue and the Board also expressed their gratitude to Kiggens-Leifheit for her service and commitment, ahead of her retirement from the Foundation on Oct. 17.
30:23 – Annual Comprehensive Staffing Report
Director of Employee Services Dr. Barb Buffington and Talent Recruitment and Retention Coordinator Sherry Smith shared the District’s annual Comprehensive Staffing Report with the Board.
The team successfully onboarded 101 new team members (87 full-time and 14 part-time) this year while making progress in both the diversity and bilingual capabilities of staff. There are currently 1,167 staff members (1,080 full-time and 87 part-time).
596 staff members have 0-10 years of experience.
280 staff members have 11-20 years of experience.
174 staff members have 21-30 years of experience.
46 staff members have 31 or more years of experience.
Of note, the percentage of staff members who are people of color – more than 14% – and the percentage of staff members who are bilingual – more than 8% – both increased between 2022 and 2025. Women comprise 73% of the District’s workforce.
MCPASD hosted open interview events in April and May of 2025 to recruit certified educators and support personnel as well as the third annual Drive a Bus event in October 2025. These highly successful events attracted more than 50 certified teaching applicants, nearly 40 support staff candidates, and multiple applications for open bus driver positions. The support staff wage schedule and job classifications are also on the District website. Successful retention efforts include salary market adjustments, climate and culture surveys, HR listening sessions, and the Grow Your Own Program.
Retention rates were higher for certified staff than for support staff. Buffington and Smith acknowledged the ongoing challenges with support staff turnover. Exit survey data shows that staff who leave the District primarily left because of new career opportunities, with a variety of other reasons including relocation, personal needs, and furthering their education. As of Oct. 8, 2025, 12 support staff and 7 certified staff vacancies are posted, an increase from the 6 support staff and 2 certified staff vacancies at the same time last year. As of Oct. 1, 2025, substitute fill rates are averaging at 94%, an increase from the rate of 78% at the same time last year.
35 practicum and student teachers are placed in MCPASD schools this fall. Student teachers are also viewed as potential recruits; five MCPASD educators hired this year were former student teachers in our schools.
Buffington and Smith shared that ways to increase retention of support staff include salary market adjustments, listening sessions, and competitive benefit packages. Their focus remains on providing exceptional educators and support staff, whose diversity and experience will continue to support our students in following A Cardinal’s Journey and becoming compassionate, future-ready individuals.
41:47 – Multilingual Services Evaluation Report
Director of Multilingual Services Mandi Sersch-Morstad, along with Bilingual Resource Teachers Rachel Gilbertson and Anna Penkert, shared the Multilingual Services Evaluation Report, which provides background on the District’s multilingual learners (MLs) and programs as well as key findings and action steps.
MLs are defined as individuals who:
Are ages 3-21
Are enrolled in or preparing to enroll in an elementary or secondary school
Come from an environment where a language other than English has had a significant impact on their level of English language proficiency
Have difficulties in speaking, reading, writing, or understanding English that may be sufficient to deny them the ability to meet challenging state academic standards, the ability to succeed in classrooms where the language of instruction is English, or the opportunity to fully participate in society
As of Oct. 3, 2025, 536 MLs were enrolled in MCPASD (including 11 pending students), an increase of 100 students from the 2018-19 school year. Spanish is the home language of 64% of our MLs, with the other most common home languages being Mandarin, Arabic, Telugu, and Russian. 56% of our MLs were born in the United States, with the other most common birth countries including Colombia, Venezuela, Mexico, and Nicaragua.
The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) uses ACCESS test data to measure how MLs are growing in their English language proficiency. Data between 2024 and 2025 showed that nearly 30% of MLs met or exceeded their score growth target and more than 12% achieved proficiency, while 22% needed additional support and 18% needed further support to exit the ML programs.
Multilingual programs in the District include English as a Second Language (ESL), which is supported by nearly 30 Bilingual Resource Teachers (BRTs) and bilingual paraeducators. 394 MLs are in ESL across grades K-12. Another program, Two-Way Immersion (TWI), is open to MLs and non-MLs in grades K-8, with the addition of high school to come in the 2026-27 school year. There are currently 15 TWI classroom teachers, with 142 MLs in the TWI program. Heritage Language Classes are also offered to students in grades 6-12 who are in the TWI program as well as heritage Spanish speakers. Many other staff District-wide support our multilingual students and families in a variety of ways.
Sersch-Morstad also shared key findings from the ML Program Evaluation from the Center for Applied Linguistics (CAL) during the 2024-25 school year, including:
Around 75% of students across programs achieved typical or high English language growth
ESL students in grades K-6 showed stronger performance than TWI students on English assessments
Steady progress in STAR Reading growth for ESL MLs in English and TWI MLs in Spanish.
Former ESL MLs also consistently demonstrated strong academic achievement on state assessments as well as STAR Reading, showing the long-term effectiveness of these programs.
The CAL evaluation acknowledged concerns and areas for improvement from the perspectives of students, families, and staff. Students and families expressed concerns of needing more bilingual support in content areas, feeling pressured to acquire English skills quickly, needing greater cultural and linguistic representation among staff and leadership, and school-wide cultural days during instructional hours. Staff also expressed the need for more ML-focused professional development and more collaboration time between classroom teachers and BRTs.
The CAL evaluation also noted areas of positivity, such as staff working in schools with TWI programs reporting higher satisfaction than staff in schools without TWI programs. Students especially valued the Latino Student Union at the middle schools and high school for community and support, while families expressed strong satisfaction with ESL and TWI instruction, as well as feeling welcome and valued.
Sersch-Morstad, Gilbertson, and Penkert also discussed the following action steps for the Multilingual Services Team to increase successful experiences for our MLs:
Assessment and Accountability: Updated TWI assessment framework, pilot of the Nexus AI tool to dive deeper into ML data and identify successes and improvement strategies, and ML data literacy work
Family and Student Engagement: Establishing regular TWI family newsletters, continuing the Seal of Biliteracy program to honor high levels of multilingualism, and multilingual student workshops with Madison College for high school students
Curriculum/Instruction/PD: Application of WIDA Language Development Standards into the literacy curriculum at Pope Farm Elementary School, biliteracy and bilingual Social Studies curriculum development for TWI grades 6-8, TWI expansion planning at Middleton High School, and more.
1:26:50 – Official Third Friday Enrollment
Assistant Superintendent of Operations Jerrud Rossing reviewed the District’s Third Friday Enrollment count. This annual count takes place on the third Friday of September in Wisconsin (Sept. 19, 2025); it’s critical in determining our District’s state funding and provides a closer look at our total student population.
Rossing shared the total District enrollment is 7,228 students (4K–12), which is an increase of 83 students from the Second Friday count taken in the 2024-25 school year. Rossing also reported that MCPASD has 270 open enrolled-in students this year, and saw a decrease in the amount of open enrolled-out students this year of 185, dropping by 12 from last year. This means MCPASD is still a positive netted school district in terms of open enrollment.
Official Third Friday Enrollment Count Breakdown for the 2025-26 School Year | |
Level | Enrollment |
Elementary (4K–4) | 2,608 |
Middle Schools (5–8) | 2,162 |
High Schools (9–12) | 2,458 |
Total (K–12) | 6,957 |
Total (4K–12) | 7,228 |
The Third Friday Enrollment count is crucial because it has a direct impact on our funding, helps guide program and resource planning for the year ahead, and helps determine student-to-teacher ratios.
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