School year starts Sept. 1 with new PWHS athletic director, Saukville principal and even more SMART Boards

The Port Washington-Saukville School District will start classes next week with two new administrators and a host of technology upgrades.

Ready to greet students will be Thad Gabrielse, Port Washington High School’s new athletic director and dean of students, and Chad Brakke, principal of Saukville Elementary School.

Although the new administrators have been on the job since July, their work will begin in earnest on Wednesday, Sept. 1, when summer vacation ends for most students in Ozaukee County.

Gabrielse, the former athletic director at Howards Grove High School, replaces Activities Director Jeff Mastin in a restructured position at the high school. In addition to overseeing all athletic activities, he will also share responsibility for student supervision and discipline.

Responsibility for non-athletic extracurricular activities has been shifted to Assistant Principal David Bernander.

At Saukville Elementary School, Brakke, a former assistant principal at Rice Lake High School, has replaced longtime principal Kathy Tubbs.

Tubbs left her job after 11 years in Saukville to return to teaching. She will be a first-grade teacher at Dunwiddie Elementary School in Port Washington.

“This is really an exciting opportunity for me because Port Washington-Saukville is an outstanding district and Saukville Elementary is a great school,” Brakke said. “One of the things that has really stood out for me is the number of really positive comments I have heard in the community about the school district. That’s not necessarily the case in other districts.”

Brakke, 39, his wife and two children, who will attend Lincoln Elementary School and Thomas Jefferson Middle School, recently moved to Port Washington.

In addition to new faces, students will find new technology in their schools. The district purchased and installed 33 more SMART Boards in elementary schools, as well as at the middle and high school, this summer.

The devices, which are favorites among students and teachers, project a computer’s video output on a large interactive whiteboard.

The district used part of the $186,000 it received as a settlement in a class-action lawsuit against software giant Microsoft to pay for the boards. Parent group donations also helped fund the purchases.

“Now almost all elementary school classrooms have SMART Boards, so we continue to make huge steps in the area of technology,” Supt. Michael Weber said.

The district also recently launched a new Parent Resources section of its Web site that allows parents to read the curriculum for all subjects and grade levels to gain a better understanding of what is expected of their children.

The district’s Web site address is www.pwssd.k12.wi.us.