Wisconsin

Wisconsin public schools facing retention challenges

Published

10 months ago

March 4, 2025

Wisconsin public schools facing retention challenges

EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (WEAU) – Wisconsin’s education force is in dire need of support, according to Wisconsin State Superintendent Dr. Jill Underly. A report released this week highlights challenges facing the K-12 system.

“We are losing our best and brightest educators at an alarming rate in this state,” Underly said.

The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction released a report on the state’s education workforce, which highlights a need to address retention. It states only 55% of new Wisconsin teachers will stay in the industry after seven years. Only around 18% stayed in the same district. In special education, only around 46% of teachers stay in the industry.

“Let me be blunt, nearly half of the new teachers in Wisconsin leave the state or the profession entirely after just seven years and in special education, the situation is even more dire,” Underly said.

“Special Education is one of those positions that really takes the right person,” Brandon Wick, the HR manager with the Eau Claire Area School District, said. “We have an amazing group across our district for special education but that’s certainly an area that our special education team and leadership is really focusing on with teacher retention.”

Wick said retention is a priority in ECASD.

“We’re always looking to retain and recruit our best teachers and that’s really the lifeblood of our organization,” Wick said.

While the DPI report said staff retention is an issue across the state, locally Wick said at ECASD there’s an 8-10% turnover each year, including retirements.

“One of the things that we’ve done with our compensation plan is typically at about every six years, there’s a retention bump that’s built into our certified scheduled,” Wick said. “So we actually have that of trying to be proactive and make sure we have nice steps for our staff.”

But, the challenges with staffing in Wisconsin’s public schools are far from over. Underly said the schools need more assistance.

“It’s a crisis for our students, our families, our schools and our communities and we must do something now,” Underly said. “Our schools are telling us they need help with fewer teachers. The ones who stay on are stretched thinner and thinner, trying to meet the growing needs of every student. That is a recipe for educator burnout.”

“We want to keep the staff that come here and make sure that they retire here too,” Wick said.

Dr. Underly is running for re-election for the state superintendent seat. She is running against Brittany Kinser, a former special education teacher and elementary school principal.

Source link

Click to comment

Wisconsin

Wisconsin to get part of $149M settlement with Mercedes over emissions

Published

5 hours ago

December 26, 2025

Press Room

Wisconsin to get part of 9M settlement with Mercedes over emissions

Wisconsin will get $630,854 as part of a $149.6 million settlement with Mercedes-Benz Group AG to resolve long-running claims the German automaker sold vehicles equipped with illegal emissions defeat devices.

Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul said in a statement Dec. 21 the state had joined a coalition of 48 states and Puerto Rico that sued Mercedes. The coalition accused the company of using the devices to make vehicles appear to comply with emissions tests when they actually broke emissions standards while they were on the road.

“Deceiving the public about vehicle emissions is unfair to consumers and harmful to the environment,” Kaul said in the statement. “This settlement brings accountability and relief for consumers.”

Mercedes allegedly sold over 211,000 diesel vehicles from 2008-2016 that contained devices designed to skirt the emissions standards, Kaul said. The settlement extends to the estimated 39,565 U.S. vehicles that had not been repaired or permanently removed from the road by August 2023, he said.

The automaker said in a statement the deal puts an end to its legal issues in the United States over the Dieselgate emissions scandal that was uncovered at Volkswagen in September 2015.

Under the settlement, Mercedes must pay $149.6 million and provide $2,000 payments to eligible owners and lessees whose vehicles received required emissions repairs. Mercedes also agreed to adopt a series of actions to prevent future misconduct and comply with oversight requirements.

As part of the settlement, Mercedes will send an approved notice to eligible owners and lessees of eligible vehicles with information on steps they can take to receive the available relief.

The companies must also comply with reporting requirements, reform their practices, and refrain from any further unfair or deceptive marketing or sale of diesel vehicles, including misrepresentations regarding emissions and compliance, Kaul said.

Chris Ramirez covers courts for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. He can be reached at caramirez@usatodayco.com.

Source link

Wisconsin

Slippery roads expected Friday morning across Northeast Wisconsin

Published

17 hours ago

December 26, 2025

Press Room

Slippery roads expected Friday morning across Northeast Wisconsin

(WLUK) – Hazardous weathermaker is expected to impact holiday travel plans Christmas night into Friday morning, with a second round expected on Sunday. The forecast calls for definite icing by Friday morning. A Winter Weather Advisory has been issued for much of Northeast Wisconsin through 9 AM Friday.

Plan for freezing rain (icing) for most locations north and west of the Fox Valley. Areas including the Fox Valley and east can expect to see a mix of freezing rain and rain. Oconto County, Door County, and areas further north will see a mix of snow and sleet at times. Much of the precipitation will clear up by mid-morning Friday when the Winter Weather Advisories expire. However, we cannot rule out the possibility of freezing drizzle Friday afternoon.

No doubt, ice accumulations will take place, especially by Friday morning. Roughly a tenth of an inch of ice accumulations around HWY 29 and north, with a glaze of ice, south. These ice accumulations will likely lead to significant travel delays, including air travel. If you have travel plans Friday, it is best to avoid travel Friday morning. Travel conditions will be better by Friday afternoon, but not completely perfect.

A second weathermaker system is expected Saturday night through Monday. An arctic cold front is expected to sweep through the region Saturday, bringing colder and windy weather conditions, in addition to a wintry mix.

Precipitation will start off with light rain Saturday night, eventually falling as a mix with freezing rain early Sunday morning. Later in the day Sunday, precipitation will start to fall as snow with gusty northwest winds around 30 mph. Even gustier winds are expected by Monday.

The wintry mix Sunday will also lead to poor travel conditions for the region, including icy roadways and blowing and drifting snow.

Stay informed and safe during severe weather. Use our live interactive radar tools with custom overlays and alerts on Fox11online.com and our FOX 11 Weather App. Severe weather notifications on our app can be set to your specific location, even while traveling.

Have a great weather photo or video? We’d love you to share it! Upload it here, via our Chime In page.

Source link

Wisconsin

Wisconsin football hires new cornerbacks coach

Published

1 day ago

December 25, 2025

Press Room

Wisconsin football hires new cornerbacks coach

Wisconsin head coach Luke Fickell made a notable change to his coaching staff this week, hiring Robert Steeples as the new cornerbacks coach and moving Paul Haynes to secondary coach.

Steeples spent the last two seasons as a defensive analyst at Iowa State. He’s been in the coaching ranks since 2016. After a brief NFL career, the former Memphis cornerback took the head coaching role at De Smet Jesuit High School (2016-20). He then jumped to the NFL level in 2021, joining the Minnesota Vikings as an assistant special teams coach. Steeples finally coached cornerbacks at LSU from 2022-23, before the latest move to Iowa State.

The new assistant will look to help improve a Wisconsin secondary corps that ranked No. 63 nationally in pass defense in 2025, allowing 218.3 yards per game. He will likely usher in turnover at his cornerback position, with Geimere Latimer set to enter the transfer portal and Ricardo Hallman likely off to the NFL.

Contact/Follow @TheBadgersWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin Badgers news, notes and opinion

Source link