Superintendent’s Corner

By Rick Parks

In the School District of Marathon City, our commitment to celebrating the achievement of our students and staff has always been important. As we approach the completion of another successful school year, it is with pride that we reflect on the accomplishments correlated to our district’s dedication and excellence.

One of the primary channels through which we share this information to our community is our annual “Talking Points.” This document is shared with each of our municipalities and serves as a comprehensive overview of notable topics.

We highlight various areas of achievement, including academic excellence. This year our students have once again demonstrated their outstanding achievements: from the Academic Decathlon team’s impressive 35 year streak of representation at state competition to the great success of our Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) program, with 45 state qualifiers, 15 of whom will advance to National Competition in Orlando this summer.

Our NHS Chapter proudly inducted 18 new members. Our music programs saw good participation in Solo and Ensemble, with 34 band entries and 36 chorus entries. We commend our students and staff for the dedication and contributions.

Additionally, we highlight key initiatives in school improvement, supporting our commitment to academic excellence and student success. These achievements include 49 high school students earning a total of 344 college credits through the Early College Credit Program, and 109 students earning a total of 274 dual credits through the Wisconsin Technical College System. Furthermore, our extracurricular participation rates, with 76 percent in grades 5-8 and 64 percent of high school students involved, also supports the educational experience we strive to provide.

In recognizing the contributions of our teachers, we note the offering of our courses via distance education to other districts in Wisconsin. The financial impact to our district with the CWETN Distance Learning network over the past 12.5 years is revenue generation to Marathon of $287,000. Since 1999, through open enrollment our net financial gain has been $5,500,000.

These resources have been instrumental in addressing staffing needs and will continue to support our ongoing educational initiatives.

Looking ahead, our school board remains committed to planning and strategic decision- making as evidenced by managing our open enrollment spaces with limited openings in only three grade levels for next fall.

Rick Parks