2025 Summer Learning Symposium

*WASB staff are confirming several session descriptions and speakers. Check back soon to see the full list of breakout sessions.

8:15 a.m. – Registration and Continental Breakfast
Prairie Ballroom

9:00 a.m. – Welcome
Expo 4

9:05 a.m. – Legislative Update
Expo 4

Stay up to date on the latest educational legislation and its impact on school districts. This session will provide an overview of recent changes and how they affect funding, operations, and district planning.
Chris Kulow, WASB Director of Government Relations

10:15 a.m. – Breakout Sessions

From Crisis to Comeback: The Power of Community Advocacy
Expo 3A

In November 2024, the Mauston School Board approved a consideration to dissolve the district. In April 2025, the community passed a $7 million operational referendum to keep the schools alive. What turned this potential financial failure around? Why did the community respond after two failed referendums? What role did grassroots advocacy play? Join this session to learn about harnessing community power to overcome challenges and drive sustainable success.
Joel Heesch, School District of Mauston Superintendent

Strategic Succession Planning: Building Sustainable Leadership for the Future
Expo 3B

This session will provide school board members and district leaders with strategies for successful succession planning. Participants will explore how to proactively identify and prepare future leaders to ensure seamless transitions and organizational stability. Through deliberate planning and leadership development, districts can build a strong leadership pipeline—reducing the risks of urgent, unplanned changes and sustaining district success over time.
WASB Consultants – Bruce Quinton, Randy Guttenberg and Pat Mans

11:30 a.m. – Keynote
Expo 4

Leading Together for Student Success
Join Dr. Phil Gore as he explores how school boards can build trust, strengthen teams, develop clear priorities and have the most important conversations—with student achievement at the center of it all. Drawing from his experience as a board member, governance researcher and respected voice within several state school boards associations, Phil shares real-world strategies for better teamwork, smarter evaluations and leadership that amplifies student voice.
Phil Gore, Idaho School Boards Association Chief Learning Officer

12:30 p.m. – Lunch
Prairie Ballroom

1:30 p.m. – Breakout Sessions

Rural Schools Panel: Challenges and Opportunities
Expo 3B 

Rural schools face unique challenges, such as declining enrollment, limited resources, and faculty retention. This panel will explore strategies like consolidation options, referendum advocacy and community engagement. Participating districts will share how they overcame challenges to enhance educational opportunities and student achievement. Case studies from rural districts will be shared.
Moderator: Ben Niehaus, WASB Director of Member Services

2:45 p.m. – Breakout Sessions

School Finance 101 and Financial Benchmarking
Expo 3A

School boards make critical financial decisions, within multi-million dollar budgets and operations, that impact school children and constituents. Being accountable to these internal and external stakeholders is a key component of effective leadership and governance. This session will introduce and provide an overview of the key components of the nine-part WASB Finance 101 Series, along with introducing you to recommended financial benchmarks board members and their leadership team should strive to meet.
Roger Price, WASB Consultant; Ben Niehaus, WASB Director of Member Services

Social Media and Youth Mental Health
Expo 3B

This session will cover the pros and cons of social media and digital connections for youth. Resources and tips for maintaining youth mental health online and offline will also be provided.
Linda Hall, Office of Children’s Mental Health Director

*WASB staff are confirming several session descriptions and speakers. Check back soon to see the full list of breakout sessions.

8:15 a.m. – Registration and Continental Breakfast
Prairie Ballroom

9:00 a.m. – Breakout Sessions

Empowering School Communities: Watch Stakeholder-Driven Planning in Action
Expo 3A

Discover how the Wisconsin Association of School Boards’ Stakeholder-Driven Strategic Planning Framework helps districts turn community voice into focused action. In this session, presenters will walk you through the five-phase process that builds trust, strengthens alignment, and results in a plan your community will support. Learn how engaging students, staff, families, and community members leads to strategic goals that guide real decisions—not just sit on a shelf. See how one district used this framework to reimagine its future—and how your district can too.
WASB Consultants – Patti Vickman and Cheryl Stinski; Ryan Peterson, The School District of Manawa District Administrator

Panel: ‘You’ve Just Been Chosen to Be Your Board’s President. Now What?’
Expo 3B

A panel of Wisconsin school board presidents will discuss the responsibilities and challenges of the role. Panelists from various districts will share their experiences, insights and strategies for effective leadership in a session designed to benefit new, veteran and aspiring board presidents alike. The session will provide time for a Q&A and an exchange of ideas.
Moderator: Jim Bouché, Wausau School Board Member and WASB Region 5 Director

10:15 a.m. – Breakout Sessions

Academic Accountability and Progress Monitoring
Expo 3A

Explore how making data-driven decisions can drive academic improvements by focusing on key assessments, metrics and terminology. This session will emphasize how districts can set realistic academic goals based on student data and develop strategies for continuous improvement. Learn how to turn data into actionable insights for achieving educational success.
WASB Consultants – George Steffen, Cheryl Gullicksrud and Kelly Thompson

Bridging the Gap: Communication that Connects
Expo 3B

Is your community spread out—not just geographically, but also across communication platforms? With local media outlets becoming less common and people getting information from a variety of sources, communicating with an entire school district can feel challenging. You’re not alone. Join us for an insightful session focused on how schools can bridge this communication gap and effectively engage with community members. No matter the size and demographic of your district, this session will explore creative strategies for conveying your message and practical tools to build strong, meaningful relationships with your community.
Sarah O’Donnell, Stevens Point Area Public School District Director of Communications and WSPRA Board M; Joëlle Doye, Mineral Point Unified School District Communications Director and WSPRA Board Member

Calling All Board Presidents
Expo 4

Just as superintendents, business officials and other administrators benefit from peer groups at the state and local levels, school board presidents can improve by building a working group as we navigate our own challenges and opportunities in our respective districts. Join us for this opportunity to have an initial, collective conversation. Be inspired to return home and continue similar conversations with your peers in neighboring districts.

11:30 a.m. – Breakout Sessions
Expo 3A and Expo 3B

Leading With Efficacy: Board President Roles and Responsibilities
Expo 3B

The board chair has a legal and ethical responsibility— to their colleagues and those the board represents—to run effective, transparent meetings that consider multiple viewpoints prior to reaching consensus. This session will provide an overview of the board president’s statutory responsibilities and offer best practices in how to lead with efficacy.
George Steffen, WASB Consultant; Jenn Diaz, WASB Staff Counsel

12:30 p.m. – Lunch
Prairie Ballroom

1:30 p.m. – Closing Session

The Essential Components of Parliamentary Procedure
Expo 3B

In hopes of conducting school board meetings efficiently, many school boards establish procedural rules or make policy statements that they will follow certain parliamentary rules, such as those established by Robert’s Rules of Order. This session will examine many of the parliamentary issues that arise before, during or after school board meetings, such as motions and amendments, voting and other common parliamentary issues that school boards “need to know,” offering suggestions for ways that school boards should appropriately address these issues.
Scott Mikesh, WASB Staff Counsel