Port school is one of the best

Dunwiddie Elementary School in Port Washington was recognized this week as one of the highest-performing schools in Wisconsin.

In an announcement on Monday, the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction named Dunwiddie a Blue Ribbon School — one of eight across the state to receive the honor this year.

“This recognition is a tremendous honor for Dunwiddie Elementary School and a reflection of the exceptional work taking place in its classrooms every day,” Port Washington-Saukville School Supt. Michael McMahon said. “Our students, teachers, support staff and school leadership have demonstrated an unwavering commitment to academic excellence. This achievement is a testament to their hard work, dedication and belief in the potential of every student.”

The Blue Ribbon designation is based on student scores on standardized assessments such as the Wisconsin Forward  Exam, which factor heavily into the report cards the Department of Public Instruction issues for schools and districts throughout the state annually. 

Blue Ribbon honors are awarded in two categories — high-performing schools and gap-closing schools, which are those that have narrowed performance disparities between subgroups of students and the general student body. Dunwiddie Elementary is a high-performing Blue Ribbon School.

Dunwiddie has been a leader in the district in academic achievement in recent years. On the 2024-25 state report card, it earned an overall score of 89.6, the highest of the district’s five schools and the only one that fell into the highest category of significantly exceeds expectations. 

Although school districts have received their 2025-26 report cards, they will not be publicly released until Nov. 17. When asked if the Blue Ribbon designation for Dunwiddie Elementary School was a sign of high marks on the district’s latest report card, McMahon said, “It’s a pretty good indication. We’re very excited about the release of our report card.”

Elyse Voskuil, who was principal of Dunwiddie Elementary School until transferring this school year to Lincoln Elementary School, credits Dunwiddie’s success to its staff.

“Really this is testament to the determination and high expectations of the staff, as well as the district’s focus on consistency in the classroom and collaboration throughout the district,” she said.

Voskuil was a math specialist at Lincoln Elementary School when she was tapped  in August 2023 to lead Dunwiddie after that school’s principal resigned just two weeks before classes began.

She returned to Lincoln Elementary School in July, this time as principal, and  Jared Kiesow was hired to lead Dunwiddie.

“This has been a bit of a homecoming for me,” Voskuil said of returning to Lincoln. “It’s great that I know so many of the systems here already and that I can bring what I learned at Dunwiddie here.

“Now we have to get Lincoln a Blue Ribbon.”

The honor for Dunwiddie Elementary School comes at a time when all three of the district’s elementary schools are showing academic progress, so when State Supt. Jill Underly called McMahon last week to tell him one of the district’s elementary schools was a Blue Ribbon school, he didn’t know which one she was referring to.

“I had to pause and guess which school she was talking about because all of them are high-achieving,” he said. “What makes this recognition especially meaningful is that the success we are celebrating at Dunwiddie is part of something even bigger. We are seeing outstanding student achievement and growth across all three of our elementary schools.”

Dunwiddie Elementary is the second school in the district to be named a Blue Ribbon School. In 1998, Thomas Jefferson Middle School was named a National Blue Ribbon School after an exhaustive application and evaluation process. 

The U.S. Department of Education ended the National Blue Ribbon Schools Program in 2025. This is DPI’s second year of naming Wisconsin Blue Ribbon Schools.