The January meeting of the School Board of the Fennimore Community School District started out with a presentation, followed by some refreshing, sweet drinks.
The students who work at the middle/high school’s Golden Canteen gave a brief presentation on what they do at the Canteen.
The IEP (Individualized Education Program) student workers explained to the board members, as well their parents and guardians, about how The Golden Canteen, located in Special Education Teacher Katie Koestler’s classroom, runs.
This marks the seventh school year the Golden Canteen has operated under Koestler’s direction.
The canteen, open every Tuesday and Friday afternoon, sells either Starry or lemonade which can have up to two flavors added to them.
As explained by the students, they each have rotating jobs they perform during their “shifts.” One person takes orders on an IPad and handles money exchange.
Other jobs include scooping ice, pouring the Starry or lemonade, and putting the flavors into the drinks.
They went on to say that through the Golden Canteen, they learn to work together as a group and how to treat their customers well.
They also have clean up jobs for after they are finished serving customers.
Mrs. Koestler, who is also assisted by Gina Kirschbaum, a paraprofessional, also explained that the students through this experience are “learning about having a job and to be a good worker,” while also emphasizing working together as a group.
Koestler went on to say they are very busy during their open times. Their biggest sales day was serving 75 drinks in 30 minutes.
On their non-Canteen days, the student stock and fill the vending machines in the school commons area.
She went on to say that “The Golden Canteen is the highlight of the week for our student workers, and for our customers. We are grateful for the opportunity to be able to learn these skills and share them with the school community.”
After the presentation, the students showed off their work skills by taking and preparing drink orders for everyone.
After the “treats,” it was back to school board business. Fennimore Middle/High School Principal Boone Tollefson touted the recent AP School Honor Roll bronze award recognition for the high school.
The AP School Honor Roll recognizes schools doing outstanding work to welcome students into AP courses and support them on the path to college success and the high school’s recognition was based off of the 2024-25 senior class.
The school received an overall bronze ranking in college culture, which is determined by the number of students in the graduating class taking at least one AP course before graduating.
Gold in college credit, which is determined by the percent of students in the graduating class earning an AP exam score of three or higher.
And another gold in college optimization, which is determined by the percent of students in the graduating class taking a total of five AP classes across their high school years, with at least one taken in 9th or 10th grade.
Fennimore School Board President Peter James, District Administrator Jane Wonderling, and board member Margaret Sprague gave a brief report on their recent trip to the Wisconsin State Education Convention.
James and Wonderling both stated the convention has many presentations on how school districts can “survive in this new landscape.”
James stated, “It’s very tough out there with lots of schools dealing with budget cuts and layoffs.” He and Wonderling went on to say that the community should be proud that the district is “doing things right” financially.
In other board business, the board accepted a donation of $925 from the Brechler-Lendosky Group raised from their “office challenges.”
Wonderling stated that the donated funds would be used toward families in need to offset food service bills.
Two hirings were also approved last Wednesday evening by the board, first being Lisa Bowers as food service director. Wonderling stated Bowers has previous experience running food services in hospitals and senior centers, as well as having dietary certifications.
Jim Kreul was hired as the junior varsity softball coach. Tollefson stated that Kreul had been a volunteer with the softball program for many years.
Lastly, the board adopted an “open enrollment space determination” for the 2026-2027 school year. Regular education is completely open, but due to factors such as teacher-student levels, there is either limited spaces or closed space for each grade, 4K-12, for special education students looking to open enroll in the district.
The next meeting of the School Board of Fennimore Community Schools is scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 18, at 6 p.m., in the cafeteria of Fennimore Elementary School.
