Wisconsin Charter Schools Yearbook - School Management Services

Portage
Community School
District
Tim Peterson
117 West Franklin
Portage, WI 53901
(608) 745-1409
petersont@portage.k12.wi.us
Grade Levels: 09-12
Victoria Rydberg
191 East Slifer Street
Portage, WI 53901
(608) 742-3764
rydbergv@portage.k12.wi.us
Grade Levels: 07-08
Racine Unified
School District
Lori Sue Pelk
2340 Mohr Avenue
Racine, WI 53405
(262) 664-6153
lpelk@racine.k12.wi.us
Grade Levels: 06-08
Charles Poches
904 De Witt St
(608) 742-4879
www.portage.k12.wi.us
• Portage, WI 53901-1726
Est. 1999 Portage Academy of Achievement
The Portage Academy of Achievement serves at-risk high school students in
grades 9-12. Some of the targeted students have already dropped out of
school and may be failing in local traditional preparation programs. The
district had no alternative or at-risk programming before the establishment of
this charter school.
The charter school is characterized by alternative methods of continued
learning in an atmosphere that is sensitive and suited to the development of
students' intellectual, physical, and social capabilities. Students succeed in an
environment where they feel as though they belong and where they learn to
build partnerships with peers and teachers.
The charter school provides instruction by three primary means: first, by
direct instruction; second, through the integration of technology into the
curriculum; and third, through work experience. Students develop a
customized and innovative approach to their learning program, thereby
developing more positive attitudes toward self, school, and society. The
school's ultimate goal is for students to graduate, to learn to live responsibly
in the community, and to achieve economic self-sufficiency.
Est. 2002 River Crossing Environmental Charter School
The Portage Community School District, located in the City of Portage in
both Columbia and Marquette counties, started the River Crossing
Environmental Charter School to better meet the unique needs of individual
learners in grades 7-8. The school has successfully created an alternative
beyond the traditional school setting, allowing the district to construct
programs that are individually tailored to meet a variety of learner needs and
providing the community with the type of citizenry it may be proud of.
Students receive instruction in the core academic subject areas at the
charter school; however, the entire instructional delivery is designed to be
thematically based in environmental sciences and emphasizes
interdisciplinary integration of subject matter, problem- and issue-based
learning strategies, constructivist approaches, and self-directed learning. In
addition, the curriculum is highly integrated with technology applications.
Students are intrigued by the “school without walls” philosophy essential to
the charter design.
Jack Parker
2220 Northwestern Ave
(262) 635-5600
www.racine.k12.wi.us
• Racine, WI 53404-2597
Est. 2000 McKinley Middle Charter School
The McKinley Middle Charter School (MMCS), a public sixth through
eighth grade school within the Racine Unified School District, is an innercity
school with a population of approximately 900 students and 80 staff
members. The school was granted charter status according to Wisconsin
Charter School Law beginning in the 2000-2001 school year as an
instrumentality of the district. The main mission of MMCS is to integrate the
philosophy of systems thinking with the concept of sustainability to all of its
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