Hello Arrowhead Community,
On July 19th, members of the Arrowhead School Board joined members of the administration on a full-day tour of four area high schools: Cedarburg, Germantown, Hamilton and Oconomowoc. The goals for the day included:
Learn how facilities in other schools affect the student learning experiences
Evaluate comparable facilities - Entrances, Theater, Pool, Fieldhouse, Classrooms
Determine value of dollar for facility impact
Evaluate our competition for resident and open enrollment students
On September 22, the Arrowhead School Board was led on a comprehensive facility tour of Arrowhead High School. The primary goals for the morning: to understand the highlights and shortcomings of our school infrastructure and to learn how our facility "measures up" to those schools visited two months earlier.
I will not attempt to provide a specific, point-by-point compare and contrast of our school to others. Suffice it to say, however, contrast was the predominant theme of these experiences. Further, the contrast does not paint Arrowhead in a superior light - but rather, confirms the overdue and necessary investment that must be made in our aging and failing facilities.
Our experience at Cedarburg put perspective on what a $30 million referendum infusion can bring to a school facility: a new safe and efficient drop-off area into a new safety-enhanced entrance, approximately 20 new state-of-the-art and 18 updated classrooms (with all classrooms but 6 boasting natural light), a new 650 seat commons/cafeteria, a new/doubled STEAM area, and a new health room, office space and cafe/staff lounge. These changes were made to a school that proudly houses a top tier swimming pool, a 600 seat auditorium and a fieldhouse.
Our tour of Germantown illustrated the impact of an $84 million referendum: a new performing arts center, a new pool, a new Technology and Innovation Center and a new fieldhouse.
Tour participants were proudly led through Hamilton High School, where we took in the state-of-the-art school safety measures that had been installed, unique learning spaces and classroom design, and their beautiful pool and theater. The significance of four referendums since 2000, totaling nearly $80 million, was not lost on those visiting the school.
Lastly, our group toured Oconomowoc, where recent investments were visible in newly remodeled and unique learning spaces, a newly designed entrance and administrative office, a library, a theater and "branding" enhancements for school culture. These facility updates are evidence of the improvements made possible through four referendums since 2000, which added $153 million in funding to Oconomowoc High School.
The School Board tour of AHS was enlightening. In the months ahead, tours of AHS will be offered; every member of our community is encouraged to participate. Our incredible Tech-Ed Department, the "famous" basketball locker rooms, and the Mullett Ice Rink are top-notch - only made possible by the exceptional generosity of local philanthropists. The dichotomy could not be greater between these parts of our facilities and the antiquated science/chemistry labs, the many windowless and cramped classroom spaces, the outmoded and unaccommodating commons and cafeteria space, the inefficient and unsuitable roadway through campus/drop off areas, the obsolete technology throughout the school, the outdated and unaccommodating theater, the failing pool and the receptacle that has collected water from a leaky roof for nine years, amongst others.
Our community has always placed a high value on academic and co-curricular achievement and is proud of the successful outcomes arising from our high school. Recently, US News and World Report released their 2023-24 rankings of the best high schools across the nation: https://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/wisconsin/districts/arrowhead-uhs-school-district/arrowhead-high-school-21619 Indeed, our ranking again suggests there is much for the Arrowhead community - and for our community at large - to be proud of!
To retain its value, however, Arrowhead will require investment from the community. Prudent investment must address the critical issues of our declining and outmoded facilities - and must accompany a commitment to the community that funds will not be utilized extravagantly or inappropriately.
Will the community be up to the ask?
Kim Schubert
School Board President
