“It’s become an annual thing we get to celebrate,” Fennimore Middle/High School Principal Boone Tollefson stated while referring to the school’s 39th out of 549 Wisconsin high schools ranking according to U.S. News and World Report’s Best High School at September's meeting of the Fennimore Community School Board.
In addition, Tollefson also stated the high school was ranked #1 out of the 31 high schools in the CESA 3 district.
“We’ve been in the top 50 (high schools) every year for a while,” Tollefson stated. “It’s a testament to our teachers, staff, and administration.”
Some of the factors that played a part in the high school’s ranking include:
•57 percent of students took at least one AP exam
•31 percent of students passed at least one AP exam
•50th in the state in State Assessment Proficiency
•30th in the state in State Assessment Performance
“I’m floored by how busy our students are,” Tollefson went on to say. “We focus on the right things and what our students need.”
Summer school recap
Kelly Ahnen, Library Media Specialist at Fennimore Elementary School, gave a recap of this past summer’s 12 week summer school program.
It was an interesting summer school session this year, as Ahnen explained, with the district buildings being unavailable due to the district buildings remodeling project that went on over the summer.
“We had to make some pivots,” Ahnen stated. “But everyone worked together and it went smoothly.”
During her slide show presentation to the board, Ahnen pointed out that even with the unavailability of the district buildings, there were 828,380 minutes of summer school this year, up from last year’s 535,510.
Ahnen thanked the city for the use of the Memorial Building, pool, and ball diamonds for activities, as well the Dwight T. Parker Public Library and The Lemon Door for the kids’ reading programs.
They also used the Evolve Dance Studio in Fennimore, as well as Shine Power in Boscobel for dance and some gymnastics.
In addition to the local outdoor activities, such as swimming lessons, bowling, disc golf, tee ball, etc., summer school had an “Outdoor Adventure” program, with field trips to the Dane County Zoo, Kohl Center and Camp Randall, Devil’s Lake, and the Maquoketa Caves State Park to name a few.
Ahnen many times during her presentation to the board thanked all the staff this summer for all they did in an unusual summer school. “I had at least five other school districts contact me asking how we pulled it off,” Ahnen went on to say. At the end of her presentation, Ahnen and the staff was given a round of applause by the board.
Other business
Fennimore School District Administrator Jane Wonderling stated that Nov. 13 would be the tentative date for open houses at the high school and elementary school.
“We want to the thank the community for the referendum approval, support, and give a chance to see the work and improvements done at the two buildings. We couldn’t have done it without everyone involved during those 15 weeks,” Wonderling stated.
Two resignations were approved by the board, the first one, a temporary one. Shane Kieler gave a one-year resignation as an assistant forensics coach.
The board also approved Dalton Friederick’s resignation as a custodian. Friederick’s last day was Sept. 23.
Quite a few donations were also approved during the Sept. 24 meeting:
•$250 donation from the Fennimore Lions Club for school supplies
•MidWestOne donated school supplies
•Community First donated food for staff
•Janet Bender donated $500 for school supplies and stuffed backpacks
•People’s State Bank donated school supplies
•Dennis and Sarah Lendosky donated a stair stepper for the new fitness center located in the high school;
•$1,259.02 donation from the John Michel Memorial for two additional wireless units with microphones to support the music and drama programs at the Fennimore Middle and High School;
•Al Stelpflug and his staff donated their time for the pork chop dinner to support the Washington D.C. trip
Wonderling and Tollefson also stated that the recent sold out “Drive Thru Pork Chop Dinner” raised $6,000 toward the annual 7th grade Washington D.C. field trip.
Two hirings were also approved including Claire Yanna as a school nurse. Yanna was previously employed at the River Ridge School District. Tracy Millin was also approved as a night maintenance/custodian at the middle/high school.
The board also approved a contract with Grant County Health Services to assist in maintaining state reporting, as well as assistance in compliancy and consulting.
Lastly, the board approved the bid from Jim’s Building for the replacement of the bus garage roof.
The 2025 Annual Fennimore Community School Board Meeting will begin at 6 p.m., followed by the regular monthly board meeting, on Wednesday, Oct. 29 in the cafeteria of Fennimore Elementary School.
