Charter School to hold parent info meeting

By MITCH MAERSCH

Ozaukee Press staff

Cedar Grove-Belgium High School is hosting an informational meeting about the Rocket Academy for parents from area school districts at 6 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 3.

The district’s new charter school plans to open its doors to juniors and seniors in fall 2023.

Students would complete high school coursework while working toward industry certifications at the same time.

Programming will focus on computer numerical controlled machining, welding, heating, ventilation and air conditioning and maintenance technician skills.

The meeting is at the high school study hall, room 102.

For more information, email academy Director David Friend at dfriend@cgbrockets.com or call him at (920) 668-8686, ext. 537.

The idea for the school developed after Supt. Chad Brakke joined the district in fall 2020. He talked to educators and industry leaders and heard the need for workers in the trades.

When the district started examining its facilities in preparation for a referendum, Brakke said he wanted to “reimagine” the district’s technical education space.

Brakke had been principal of Saukville Elementary School, and a Port Washington High School tech ed teacher told him Charter Steel had been asking for a welding academy to train its employees.

Brakke thought that was a good idea, and he contacted Lakeshore Technical College about offering high school students college credit.

Brakke talked to other industry professionals and developed a plan to create a charter school that would teach teens the trades and feed the need for employees in those fields while also serving as a regional training center for companies from Sheboygan to Milwaukee.

Meetings about logistics, funding, governance and how to start a charter school followed.

The district was also going through referendum planning that eventually led to residents approving $21.5 million in upgrades last spring. Tech ed improvements were included, but nothing like the plans for the Rocket Academy.

A group of supporters from industry and higher education was brought together to create the academy’s governance board — the school board that leads the academy — with officials being appointed this year.

Mike Dietrich, vice president of ATS-LAB Midwest, which provides science and technical education materials, is the board president.

The vice president is Jonathan Feld, vice president of enrollment management for Lakeland University.

Shelia Schetter, dean of advanced manufacturing, agriculture and engineering at Lakeshore Technical College, is the secretary and treasurer.

Brakke and District Director of Business Services Tera Rogers remain on the board as non-voting members since they work for the school district.

Friend, who had taught agriculture at Kiel High School since 1997, was hired as the school’s director in July.

Friend holds a master’s degree in business administration from Milwaukee School of Engineering and a master’s degree in agriculture and consumer science and a bachelor’s degree in agriculture and agriculture education, both from West Virginia University.

He has received awards for Teacher of the Year, Mentor of the Year and Program of the Year from the Wisconsin Association of Agricultural Educators, Teacher of the Year from the Wisconsin Farm Bureau and in 2020 received a Kohl Fellowship.

Friend also has a K-12 administrative license.

While the academy received an $800,000 noncompetitive federal grant allowing it to hire a director, it did not get a competitive Workforce Innovation Grant for about $2 million in two rounds of awards.

The $800,000 is not allowed to be used to secure a facility, so the academy is looking for one or more places to house its programs. A building would need to be at least 10,000 square feet and ideally have office and workspace.

A meeting in September that area industry leaders were invited to drew more than 30 people who support the school’s concept.

Students graduating from the academy would have a Lakeshore Technical College certificate, apprenticeship experience and a work ethic proficiency certificate. Some would even earn technical diplomas.

Friend said he has visited similar technical high schools across the state for ideas to bring back to Cedar Grove. He said the academy is unique.

“There’s not a school in the state that does this,” he said. “It’s a new model. It’s a leap. We feel it’s a worthwhile leap.”

A couple of building options have since opened, but they are still in the works. The former Wester Electric building in Belgium was deemed ideal, but a tenant is renting it and won’t be out in time for the school to start. Constructing a new building near it on the same lot is also an option, as is building on vacant land in Cedar Grove that is slated to be developed.

Friend said the academy is working with Bray Architects, the company doing the district’s referendum designs, on a conceptual drawing and price estimate for a new building on that lot.

The last resort, he said, is to house the academy in a couple of classrooms at the high school for a year of preparation and online learning and possibly use LTC for hands-on training until a permanent space is secured.

The next Governance Board meeting is at 3 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 8, at Belgium Village Hall when the academy policies are slated to be discussed.