Hudson High School students in Retail Management – Raider Store and Service Management – Common Ground completed the National Retail Federation RISE Up course and exam. 17 Raider Store and 16 Common Grounds students successfully completed the exam to earn the industry-recognized credentials that provides foundational employability skills.
At the Board of Education, January 13, 2025 meeting, members took action to have an Operational Referendum put on the April 1, 2025 ballot. The Board is asking the community to support a $5 million NON-Recurring levy override for six years starting with the 2025-2026 school year.
The Board of Education deliberated on whether to go to referendum, should they ask for a recurring or non-recurring referendum, and if they they chose a non-recurring referendum, how long should the levy override extend.
Feedback from the recent Community Conversation on Budget Challenges, showed that 83.9% of the respondents thought the Board should pursue an Operation Referendum in April.
In November, the community voted down an Operational Referendum for a $5 million recurring levy override. A recurring referendum has no cut-off point. Some community members were uncomfortable with extending the $5 million forever versus a non-recurring referendum with a specific end date.
Why is the School District asking for an Operational Referendum?
The Board of Education has begun conversations on how they can best ensure our students continue to have, and our staff is able to provide, a quality learning experience. On January 7, 2025, the Hudson School District is asking the community to give their feedback on potential budget cuts, including the impact of closing one or two elementary schools, and the community’s support for an operational referendum that would allow the School District to exceed the revenue cap.
Learn more at: https://hudsonraiders.org/budget-planning/
Winners of Star Grants from the Education Foundation were recognized at a ceremony at Hudson High School, among those recognized were, front from left, Melissa Gruenes, Samantha Thrane, Karla Willaby, Sarah Cook and Amy Anderson; back from left, Foundation Board President John Kromer, Heather Fey, Lisa Dumont, Amanda Fedor, Dan Weiland and Foundation Board member Scott Snyder.
The Education Foundation of Hudson awarded Star Grants for innovative classroom projects and curriculum training. The foundation awarded nine grants totaling $20,929.21 for project involving educators at the Hudson School District, St. Patrick School and Trinity Academy.
Foundation Board President John Kromer, and other board members, presented the awards during ceremonies at Hudson High School December 5th. Kromer told recipients that the foundation and community are proud of the educators’ efforts to bring innovative ideas to the classrooms of local schools.
Grants
The foundation is funded by private donations, mostly coming from local and area businesses, individuals and foundations. Star Grants offer financial support for projects that would not typically be funded in the normal budgeting process. The foundation, founded in 1990, is a private organization established to strengthen community participation in all local schools and inspire both teachers and students. With these recent grants, the foundation has funded just over $2,120,000 in local education projects and awards since the organization’s inception.
In addition to Kromer, current foundation board members are Lynn Krueger, Dr. Ron Bernth, Jodell Krause, Doug Stohlberg, Heidi Gilbert, and Scott Snyder. Steven Keller is the organization’s volunteer executive director.
Learn more at: https://hudsonraiders.org/educationfoundation/
The Hudson School District received an “Exceeds Expectations” rating from the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) on the state School Report Card. The Hudson School District’s score places the District in the 90th percentile when compared to districts across the state.
As part of the state accountability system, DPI produces report cards for every public school and district in Wisconsin. In addition to our School District rating, all eight Hudson schools earned the “Meets Expectations, Exceeds Expectations, or Significantly Exceeds Expectations” rating.
Each School Report Card Provides a Score in the Following Priority Area:
The School District continually reviews and revises its curriculum and instruction to ensure we address areas for student growth. Time is taken to understand where there are successes and build on those successes to improve academic achievement for all students.
The School Report Cards are just one tool of many the School District uses to assess student progress.
The Report Cards provide course and program participation information for grades 9-12 for public schools and districts. (The data for program participation at Hudson High School was reported incorrectly. Although this inaccuracy does not impact any of the scores, we are working with DPI to fix the data).
Most of the data reported comes from statewide assessments: Forward exam in grades 4-8, Aspire in grades 9 and 10, and ACT in 11th grade.
We are proud of the students and staff that have worked hard to have all of our schools exceed or significantly exceed expectations.
Click on the following link to learn more about Wisconsin School Report Cards: https://dpi.wi.gov/accountability/report-cards
October 6-12 is Wisconsin School Board Week. School board service carries a significant amount of responsibility, and Hudson has a fantastic group of dedicated leaders in our district.
“It takes strong schools to build a strong community, and these men and women devote countless hours to making sure our schools are helping every child learn at a higher level,”
Superintendent Nick Ouellette, PhD, said. “School board members give the citizens of Hudson a voice in education decision-making. Even though we make a special effort to show our appreciation in October, their contribution is a year-round commitment.”
Thank you to the Hudson school board for their hard work and leadership! The members serving our district and their years of service are as follows:
Jamie Johnson was elected to the Board of Education in April 2013.
His current term expires in April 2025.
Bob Baumann was elected to the Board of Education in April 2018.
His current term expires in April 2027.
Kate Garza was elected to the Board of Education in April 2021.
Her term expires in April 2027.
Molly Powers was elected to the Board of Education in April 2021.
Her term expires in April 2027.
Rob Brown was elected to the Board of Education in 2015.
His term expires in April 2025.
Lynn Robson was appointed to the Board of Education in December 2023.
She previously served on the Board of Education from 2008 until 2018.
Her term expires in April 2025.
Megan Rozowski was elected to the Board of Education in April 2023.
Her term expires in April 2026.
To learn more about the Hudson School Board and its members, click here.
The Board of Education held their Annual Meeting on September 9, 2024.
Superintendent Dr. Ouellette addressed the community highlighting the state-of-the Hudson School District. Click here to view Dr. Ouellette’s presentation.
Chief Financial and Operations Officer Bonnie Stegmann presented the 2024-2025 budget for approval.
Dr. Nick Ouellette, Superintendent of the Hudson School District, was elected to a three-year term on the executive committee of AASA, the National School Superintendent Association.
Founded in 1865, AASA serves as the nation’s premier organization for public school district leadership, representing thousands of school system leaders throughout the United States.
The 22-member committee, elected by the AASA governing board, represents each region of the country. The committee meets quarterly and conducts the ongoing business of the organization.
“Having experience in a variety of district sizes and settings throughout my career provides me with a great understanding of the many challenges facing districts around our region,” said Dr. Ouellette. “Fostering deep relationships with public school leaders has provided me with a true understanding of what others are going through and increases my ability to offer support.”
Dr. Ouellette served as Wisconsin Association of School District Administrators (WASDA) President from 2022 to 2023, and has served on their Board of Directors since 2016. He has been a passionate AASA Governing Board member since 2018.
The countdown to back to school is here! Here’s what you need to know to start the 2024-2025 school year.
First Day of School
School Supply Lists
The Sharing Tree provides free school supplies and backpacks to families in the Hudson School District. Click here to learn more.
Meet the Teacher and Orientation Nights
Picture Day
School Breakfast & Lunch
Hudson School District Ranks in Top 10% of All Wisconsin K-12 Schools
The Hudson School District received good news on the Wisconsin School State Report Card and from the US News & World Report school rankings. The District attained the “Exceeds Expectations” rating from the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI). The District’s overall report card rating places Hudson in the top 10% of all K-12 districts in Wisconsin. Additionally, this is the highest school district rating in CESA 11 and in the Big Rivers athletic conference.
Hudson had the highest School Report Card score in comparison to neighboring school districts.
The Hudson School District also learned two Hudson elementary schools rank in the top 20 elementary schools in Wisconsin on the US News and World Report’s annual school ranking. Houlton Elementary School ranked 7th and North Hudson Elementary School ranked 20th. There are over 1,200 public elementary schools in the state.
Hudson High School ranked 44th out of 514 Wisconsin high schools. In a review of neighboring high school district rankings, Hudson is the only area high school ranked in the top fifty. Hudson also performed well in comparison to Minneapolis/St. Paul metropolitan area high schools with a #25 ranking.
The US News and World Report’s ranking is widely regarded as a benchmark for assessing the quality of education across the nation. The Hudson School District rankings are a testament to its continuous dedication to providing a high-quality learning environment for its students.
Key highlights contributing to the Hudson School District’s success include:
Superintendent Nick Ouellette expressed gratitude for the hard work and dedication of the District’s educators, staff, students, and the entire community. “Our School Report Card and the US News & World Report recognition is a result of the collective efforts of our exceptional staff, supportive families, and engaged students. We are very proud of this achievement and remain committed to providing the best education in the region and the state.”
###