To support the district in evaluating student learning, the district established Milestones for College Success in the 2015-16 school year. The Milestones are research-based and aligned with research findings associated with post-secondary success. MTSD Milestones 2 and 3 measure student achievement in reading and mathematics as determined through the NWEA MAP assessment administered in grades 1-8. Milestone 2 measures the percentage of students that scored at or above the 66th percentile in reading and Milestone 3 measures the percentage of students that scored at or above the 70th percentile in mathematics. A review of this past winter’s NWEA MAP testing results provides promising results and insight that we have been eager to gain since the statewide school closure in March 2020.  

We are pleased to see that student learning growth in MTSD has remained strong during the pandemic. Through the strong support of parents and guardians at home, careful planning and adjustments by educators to manage both on campus and distance learning options for families, and the aid of the monthly early release days in which our teachers have time to collaboratively develop plans to provide support and enrichment for our students, our students continue to progress as we navigate the public health crisis. 

In case you missed it earlier this month, we recently released Referendum Project renderings of the exteriors for each of our six schools, plus Range Line Community Center. On each school page, you will find more detailed information about the areas of work at each building including where renovations and additions will occur. These preliminary plans represent months of collaboration between our construction and design partners, feedback from MTSD families and staff members, and support from residents of Mequon and Thiensville. We are looking forward to the next phase of the referendum project as we build to meet the needs of our community. We anticipate a groundbreaking and construction to begin in April 2021.

The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) recently released a new public dashboard of Wisconsin internet speeds by school district and categorized by internet provider. You can use this dashboard to see speed test data for your district over a 30-,60-, and 90-day period as of the date you select at the top of the page. Families are still able to help add to this data by conduction speed tests on their home internet access across devices.

This speed testing initiative will continue for another six weeks. Help make sure our community is included in this collection by testing your home internet speeds using M-Lab’s speed test.

Internet connection quality is a priority to make sure Wisconsin students can equitably participate in online and blended learning. This data will give the Governor’s Task Force on Broadband Access and other broadband task force groups the information they need to target improvements where internet performance is poor.