Editor’s note: The following information was provided by the Whitewater Unified School District.

The Wisconsin Association of School Boards has designated October 3-9 as Wisconsin School Board Week as a
time to build awareness and understanding of the vital function an elected school board plays in our communities.
Whitewater Unified School District is joining all public school districts across the state to celebrate Wisconsin School Board Week to honor local school board members for their commitment to Whitewater and its children.

“It takes strong schools to build a strong community, and these men and women devote countless hours to making
sure our schools are helping every student, every day, in a unified way,” Dr. Caroline Pate-Hefty said.
Dr. Pate-Hefty said the key work of school boards is to raise student achievement by:
● Creating a vision for what the community wants the school district to be and for making student achievement
the top priority
● Establishing standards for what students will be expected to learn and be able to do
● Ensuring progress is measured to be sure the district’s goals are achieved and students are learning at
expected levels
● Being accountable for their decisions and actions by continually tracking and reporting results
● Forming partnerships with others in the community to solve common problems
● Focusing attention on the need for continuous improvement by questioning, refining and revising issues
related to student achievement
“School board members give the Whitewater citizens a voice in education decision making. Even though we make a
special effort to show our appreciation in October, their contribution is a year-round commitment.”

The members serving our district and their years of service as follows:
Casey Judd, President – 12th year
Thayer Coburn, Vice President – 11th year
Steve Ryan, Clerk – 11th year
Jim Stewart, Treasurer – 27th year
Jennifer Kienbaum – 3rd year
Larry Kachel – 1st year
Maryann Zimmerman – 1st year