After ten weeks and two missed deadlines, the district responded to our formal complaint. They found no policy violations or staff misconduct, but acknowledged four areas requiring further investigation and have assigned a new administrator to lead a deeper review.

Our 43-page complaint, signed by 150 families, documented two and a half years of concerns about safety, staff turnover, retaliation, and leadership. A finding of no policy violations does not mean those concerns were unfounded; it means the district reviewed them against its own internal standards. Legal Services is still actively investigating a separate set of items from the complaint for potential policy violations. We have asked the district to clarify the relationship between those two reviews. Full exchange between our group and district leadership here.

The district has asked Dr. Keona Jones, their new Senior Executive Director of Schools and Learning, to lead the deeper review. Dr. Jones joined MMSD in December after serving as assistant state superintendent at the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, where she oversaw statewide educational accountability. While we requested an independent review, we are cautiously optimistic.  Dr. Jones appears to be a credible reviewer and we hope she approaches this work with an independent eye.  If you are a parent of a current or recent Van Hise student, you can share your experiences with her on April 6 or 7th in a virtual one on one.  Email vanhiseparents@gmail.com and we will get you the details. 

We also want you to know that while this process has been playing out, we continue to receive reports that conditions inside the building are getting worse, not better. We have questions to district leadership about how to file those. We will keep this community informed as the district's review progresses and will be honest about whether it produces real change.