New District Administrator

Getting Started

• Check out the DPI page geared toward every District Administrator and independent charter school (ICS) administrator that includes helpful links, additional info, communications, and resources.
• Subscribe to DPI email lists and discussion groups to receive important updates, reminders, and other information.
• Review recent biweekly communications to school districts and email chrono to district administrators.

Educator Licensing

The Bureau of Educator Licensing focuses on the continuum of educator development in addition to other priority areas, such as attracting people to the profession and preparing them, license acquisition, evaluation, and professional development.

From the Bureau of Educator Licensing page, you can view background check requirements, apply for a license, check on a license's status, and more. On the Wisconsin Education Workforce Initiative page and the related pages in its menu, you can find educator preparation programs, educator effectiveness resources, and more.

Title I/ESSER Funding

• The Title I and School Support Team, part of the DPI's Division for Student and School Success, provides statewide leadership and technical assistance for several federal and state programs supporting schools that serve low-income students, schools federally identified for support and improvement, and particular groups of students whose living situations create educational challenges.
• Title I administers many grants, including the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Grant Program. The ESSER I Grant Program, part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, provides funds to help LEAs respond to changes in student needs due to COVID-19 (CARES Act, Section 18003). Visit the ESSER page to learn more about the ESSER grant process and opportunities.

Special Education

• Special Education resources at DPI aid administrators in providing education to students protected under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). To see who is IDEA-eligible, visit the IDEA Eligibility page. For more information and resources for IDEA-eligible students, visit the Special Education page. The Information for Educators page also contains assistance.
• For special education data collection guidelines, visit the Compliance Data page.

Office of Educational Accountability - OEA

• The Office of Educational Accountability (OEA) Accountability page reviews school performance to meet state and federal accountability measures. To differentiate between state and federal accountability systems, review the Accountability Crosswalk. The state accountability system is administered through School Report Cards, which rates school and district performance outcomes. The federal accountability system is required by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) and ranks performance to identify the lowest performing schools and student groups for support.
• The Wisconsin Student Assessment System (WSAS) tests student knowledge and application through multiple assessments. For state testing information, regulations, and timelines, visit the Assessment in Wisconsin webpage.

Academic Standards

• Wisconsin Academic Standards specify what students should know and be able to do in the classroom. They serve as goals for teaching and learning. In Wisconsin, all state standards serve as a model. Locally elected school boards adopt academic standards in each subject area to best serve their local community.
• Wisconsin’s Guiding Principles for Teaching and Learning inform the design and implementation of all academic standards. All educational initiatives are guided and impacted by attitudes or principles for teaching and learning.

Wisconsin Information System for Educators - WISE

The Wisconsin Information System for Education (WISE) is a collection of tools used for data collection, ID generation, and improving educational outcomes for Wisconsin students. 

Watch the Introduction to WISE video for a short overview of WISE systems.

Visit the WISEsecure Application: An App for DSAs and App Administrators webpage to learn how to manage users' access to WISE applications.

School Finance Services - SFS

• The School Financial Services team provides information and support to district administrators and fiscal staff, CESA/CCDEB administrators, legislators, public interest groups, taxpayers, researchers and media. For more information, visit the SFS webpage.

Bureau of Education Options - BEO

• The Bureau of Education Options (BEO) provides technical assistance to school districts, schools, families, and the public in the areas of public school open enrollment, private schools, the Private School Choice Programs, Special Needs Scholarship Program, charter schools, and home-based private education (homeschooling). For more information, visit the Bureau of Education Options webpage.
• All superintendents are given access to OPAL (open enrollment student database), HOMER, (homeschooling database), TOS (transfer of service) and AUM (application user management system). District staff members who need access to OPAL, HOMER, and TOS must be authorized by the superintendent in AUM. DPI cannot add or delete users for these systems. Credentials for AUM will be provided to new superintendents by DPI’s open enrollment staff. Use these credentials for AUM, OPAL, HOMER, and TOS. These credentials are different from those you use to log in to WISEhome.

If you are a new district administrator and need access to OPAL, HOMER, TOS, and AUM, please contact DPI’s open enrollment team.

School Nutrition

• The School Nutrition team provides nutrition information and program guidance to sponsors of the National School Lunch Program, School Breakfast Program, Special Milk Program, Wisconsin School Day Milk Program, Afterschool Snack Program and the USDA Foods Program. For more information, visit the School Nutrition Programs webpage.

Important Deadlines

• There are two reporting deadlines for student information within WISEdata/WISEdash, one in December and another in May. The WISEdata Annual Tasks Checklist reviews these deadlines and their reporting requirements. To keep track of these important dates and other events, use the WISE Events Calendar.
• Additionally, there are two pupil count dates, one in September and one in January. Membership and reporting information can be found on the School Financial Services webpage.
  • Reporting accurate data before these deadlines is extremely important for federal reporting, public reporting, accountability report cards, and some funding determinations. Use the following webpages to prepare for each snapshot:
    • The Snapshot Preparation Guidance page for timing, data requirements and the most current snapshot training materials.
• Grant deadlines vary and are typically due August through October. More information can be found on the WISEgrants webpage.

Further Help and Resources

• Webpage for District Administrators
• WISE Help
• DPI General Contact Form