On the Road

State Superintendent Elizabeth Burmaster visited Lake Superior Primary School in Ashland on April 30. She heard musical performances by the Ashland High School Jazz Combo and the Madrigal Group, read to Diana Lesneski's second-grade students, and toured the school.

That evening, she delivered the keynote address for the UW Founders' Day event, sponsored by the Chequamegon Bay Area Alumni Club of UW-Madison, held at the Ashland Elks Lodge. In addition to Burmaster's address, the evening included introductions of area students who have received UW-Madison scholarships for 2007, the Badger of the Year presentation, and a special appearance of the Northland College Lumberjack Chorus.

On May 1, Burmaster attended an assembly in the Cameron Elementary School gym for the All Children Exercising Simultaneously (ACES) Program. While visiting the district she walked with elementary students to kick off the ACES program and heard musical performances by the Cameron middle and high school music groups.

In a surprise visit to the Weyerhaeuser Area School District on May 1, Burmaster presented a plaque to District Administrator Barbara Lorkowski at a special school assembly in her honor. The plaque recognized Lorkowski for her "29 years of leadership and commitment to the education community of Weyerhaeuser and the state of Wisconsin." Lorkowski, who was on lunchroom duty at the time of Burmaster's arrival, is retiring.

Burmaster got an update on Washington Middle School's 1-to-1 Laptop Program when she visited the Kenosha school May 3. Earlier this year, Washington's sixth-grade students joined their seventh- and eighth-grade peers in having a laptop computer to use in school and at home. Washington Middle School is the first school in Wisconsin that provides a laptop for each student.

On May 4, Burmaster attended the 43rd Annual Wisconsin Mathematics, Engineering, and Science Talent Search Honors Day luncheon and awards ceremony at UW-Madison's Van Vleck Hall.

Today, Burmaster will give opening remarks for the Adolescent Literacy Summit, sponsored by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction and the Alliance for Excellent Education with support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York and Great Lakes West Comprehensive Assistance Center. The summit is being held at the Monona Terrace Community and Convention Center in Madison. It will build connections among the many groups and individuals working in Wisconsin and neighboring states to improve the teaching of reading and writing in the state's middle and high schools. Additional information about the summit will be available in the next issue of SEAchange.

For more information about SEAchange, contact: John Johnson at (608) 266-1098.

Last updated on 5/7/2007