Wisconsin Charter Schools Yearbook - School Management Services

(414) 475-1600
principal@woodlands-school.org
Grade Levels: K4-08
Ronn Johnson
1350 West North Avenue
Milwaukee, WI 53205
(414) 374-9400
rjohnson.ns@ymcamke.org
Grade Levels: K4-08
Milwaukee, serves the richly diverse racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic
populations of the city of Milwaukee.
Students, teachers, and parents share the responsibility for learning at
Woodlands. The school’s core curriculum consists of language arts,
mathematics, hands-on science, and social studies. Students are grouped in
multi-age classrooms with an average of 20 students, one teacher, and one
teaching assistant. Learning is driven by students’ curiosity and is focused
through a project-based interdisciplinary approach, with students sometimes
working independently and other times on cooperative learning projects with
partners or in small groups. Students in all grades take specialty classes in
music, art, physical education, library studies, and French language, which
are also integrated into the core curriculum to deepen the educational
experience. A Time for Living curriculum allows teachers and students to
focus on their rights and responsibilities to one another, the community, and
the world. It includes student service projects with disadvantaged populations
in the community.
Student learning assessment focuses on teacher-written evaluations,
student-designed portfolios, and standardized tests that measure progress
toward academic goals and mastery of local and Wisconsin standards.
Parents are closely involved in all dimensions of the school. Each family
makes a commitment of 20 hours of voluntary service upon enrollment.
In addition to its formal curriculum, Woodlands provides a before- and
after-school extension program for children to engage in supervised
structured play or to complete homework in a supportive environment; an
after-school enrichment program with on-site private music and voice lessons
and group classes in art, dance, wellness, and forensics; and an after-school
sports program in soccer and basketball.
Est. 2002 YMCA Young Leaders Academy
The north side YMCA Young Leaders Academy is located at 1350 West
North Avenue (corner of North and Teutonia Avenues) in the heart of
Milwaukee’s central city. The school serves 450 children in grades K-8. It
offers wraparound services such as before- and after-school programs, youth
sports, and youth development programs in the adjacent YMCA.
The mission of the YMCA Young Leaders Academy is to open the portals
of opportunity for children and adults in the Milwaukee community through
excellence in public education. The school’s educational vision is to provide
a curriculum that integrates leadership development with traditional
academics to prepare students to be well-informed, participating members of
society.
The academy’s educational goal is to prepare students to be creative,
intuitive, and analytical thinkers. The school empowers students to learn by
fostering their development as independent thinkers. Proven methods are
used to increase student performance including small class sizes, a longer
school day and year, use of technology, a rigorous morning curriculum
devoted to the basics, and keeping teachers with the same students for two or
three years.
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