School, community: Keep the momentum going

CEDAR GROVE — Nearly 100 people across more than 10 focus groups have identified the characteristics they’d like to see in the next Cedar Grove-Belgium School District leader.

Most of the traits can be boiled down to one priority: Don’t ruin a good thing.

One of the three elements of a successful candidate from the Illinois-based recruitment firm Hazard Young Attea Associates leadership profile report is “Have a track record of authentic leadership and continue to build on the good things happening in the school district.”

Although Supt. Chad Brakke is leaving this summer, the rest of the district’s leadership is steady. Principals at all levels have been in place for years. A referendum was approved in 2022 with none on the horizon. The district ranks No. 5 on the state report card for K-12 districts. Parents and community members aren’t flooding School Board meetings with complaints, and board members get along.

The staff even noted that a leadership change could upset a well-run apple cart: “Change of superintendent may cause uneasiness because things are going so well here.”

HYA Associate Scott Winch on March 13 told the School Board that the district had 12 completed applications with one already accepting a job elsewhere. Three more applications were in process, bringing the total to 14.

“I think we have some good candidates for you so far,” Winch told the board, adding he anticipates receiving a total of 17 to 20 applications.

One of the new leader’s priorities will be the Rocket Academy, which was spearheaded by Brakke. The district’s new charter school that focuses on preparing students for the trades moves into a new building in fall courtesy of a local business leader and was the only program mentioned by name in a summary of the desired candidate profile, calling for the next leader to continue its implementation and progress.

Declining enrollment was marked as a challenge by the School Board and staff. The next superintendent will be tasked with increasing the customer base, recruiting students and families through a marketing plan.

Hiring another Brakke was preferred by multiple focus groups. The community called for a “clone of the current superintendent” and students called for “someone as personable as Mr. Brakke.” For instance, he often competed against students in cornhole and held an informal “Beat Brakke” challenge.

Matching the community’s “conservative” makeup is desired by multiple groups, and “Christian” was mentioned by the board.

On the other hand, the community wants the next leader not to be afraid to “go against the grain” and the staff calls for “not just a yes person” and to challenge the board and community “if it’s the right thing to do.”

Brakke left his Saukville Elementary School principal job to lead the Cedar Grove-Belgium School District in fall 2020 during a volatile time in education across the country. He started after schools closed in spring due to the pandemic. The district held in-person school that fall but wearing masks became a divisive issue. The following spring, under pressure from parents and community members to lift the requirement, the board, in front of a passionate sizable crowd, went against the administration’s recommendation to keep the mandate, lifting the rule with about a month of school left.

The district started a referendum process before Brakke arrived, and he took the reins and kept that plan going. Brakke also started developing the idea for Rocket Academy, meeting with business and technical school leaders across the area.

Brakke’s down-to-earth yet driven demeanor has helped work through challenging issues that sometimes bring out the worst in communities.

He wasn’t looking to leave, but Brakke’s wife received a promotion in September 2022 that requires her to work from her company’s office in a suburb of Minneapolis. Spending the work week in Minnesota and weekends in southeast Wisconsin became too much, Brakke said.

Brakke accepted a job as superintendent of the Baldwin-Woodville School District, a 30-minute drive from his wife’s office.

HYA will present the board with candidates on April 1. Interviews will be held April 3 and 4. Select candidates will spend a day in the school district on April 8, and final interviews will be done on April 9.