Welcome everybody to midday magazine for this Wednesday, July 31st, 2024.
You have your host James J. Mailoff here welcoming into the studio our friends.
We have super intended to the Wisconsin-Rapis public school system Ronald Rasmussen.
Good to see you, Ron.
Good to see you James.
Thanks for being here.
Thanks for being here.
And we want to thank, of course, a Mead Elementary School principal, Emma Amber Abelby
within us.
Amber is good to see you again.
Good to see you too.
Thanks for the time you two.
We appreciate you right out the gate.
Gotta tell you appreciate the work that you two do in our schools and our community.
We appreciate it so very, very much and I hate to make it work during the summer.
I'm so sorry to be doing that for you.
But I appreciate Ron bringing Amber in every day I come to work.
I go past Mead.
And I have been racking my brain trying to think, is there anything in grade school?
Any class I didn't finish?
Did I get my state's capitals right?
Is there any way I can enroll that Mead?
I have found there is not.
So I'm just going to live vicariously through the kids over there and everything because
they've got a really cool playground going on over there.
We're going to start right there if you don't mind Amber with the new playground being
built over at Mead Elementary.
Yeah, absolutely.
Yeah.
Well, it all started a while back.
We had the opportunity through the legacy grant to try to expand our playground definitely.
You didn't upgrade and been good a couple decades old.
So we needed some things and also just the idea of an accessible playground is near and
dear to my heart.
I actually have my own daughters in a wheelchair and we spent a lot of time in her younger
years trying to travel around Wisconsin trying to find things that she could access.
So trying to bring more accessible facilities to Wisconsin Rapids is great.
Many people know over at Woodside, Cross Town.
We have a new beautiful facility also provided by a legacy grant and other very, very great
community partners providing those resources.
But we definitely needed something over on the west side too because I had the privilege
of being able to travel all around and try to find these things for my family, but not
all families have that.
And so being able to have something that is accessible over here on the west side, we
don't have anything that is for people who are wheelchairs or have other physical limitations.
And so we wanted to upgrade the playground not just for our students, but for all community
members.
And because a lot of our families and surrounding community uses the need playground outside
of school hours.
And so we wanted to look into some things that would really kind of enhance for everybody
that lives over here.
It's great to finally have something like this.
I want to focus on that.
And certainly appreciative of these grants and of the work that went into them because
it's not as if you just get the money and then roll with it.
As you mentioned, you had to do some research, had to look around for some of these things.
And I really can't thank you enough for sharing the story as well, the personalness of this.
I don't think that this is something that hits home with enough people, but hopefully
we'll more and more we talk about it.
And if I can, as a bit of a side benefit to this, another silver lining to this, it is
great first and foremost for people like your daughter in those situations.
But one of the things that I've realized more and more about school and being a teacher,
I say with quotes, is I taught actors and writers and stuff.
And it's not nearly the same thing as what you guys do.
But I'd never thought about how empathy plays such a huge part in the school process.
Absolutely.
And the idea of kids getting to see more of this and getting to see more and understanding
maybe even a little bit more of what it is like to be in that situation is so integral
with this too.
It's a wonderful added bonus to this being able to have these new playgrounds.
Absolutely.
We'll even just something as simple as, you know, woodchips are ADA approved where supposedly
you're supposed to be able to push a wheelchair across.
But anyone who's tried to push a wheelchair even a stroller across a patch of woodchips,
it's not easy to do.
So that's why with this new playground, we are going to move forward with the poor and
play, you know, to be able to have that rubber playground to have, you know, number one,
it's safer and to, it just allows for more accessibility for people of all ability levels.
I can still hear my youngest making fun of me as I try to push your stroller through
woodchips.
That's so funny.
You mentioned hell.
It's got goosebumps when you said that.
It's a great point.
It's a great detail to this.
And again, I don't think a lot of people that aren't in this situation like yourself would
realize those things.
So it's all more integral of why it's great.
It's time to have this and it's great to, we are going to have it.
Amber, do you mind explaining like some of the other things that are going to be a part
of the playground area?
Yeah, absolutely.
Well, so initially we, you know, I had applied for that grant just to kind of see, hey, is
this something we can even make float?
So it kind of bounced back and I was told we can go on to the next phase, which was great,
basically meaning give us a bigger picture of what you're looking for.
So obviously a dilemma research looked into some more things kind of formed a little committee
of the meat staff.
But then I also found out that the city also was applying for grant as well because they
wanted to enhance the splash pad area.
So it was kind of this wonderful coincidence that we now have this dual project going
on at the same time.
So in addition to some of the playground features, which I'll talk about here in just a minute,
we also are going to have where the old meat pool area was, some new pickable courts that
are going to be going in.
So we've got several new pickable courts going in from the city side in addition to another
little playground area by the splash pad.
So there's that piece for the public to be able to utilize and also obviously students,
you know, during the school day for gym purposes, PE purposes, those types of things to enhance
our PE program.
But in addition to that, you know, we really thought with our school committee, what is it
our students need?
So lots of kids love to play basketball at meat.
We have a lot of after hours kids coming to play basketball at meat.
Anyone who's been to meat in the last 10 years knows our basketball courts aren't really
basketball courts.
We have a few sad hoops, right?
And so we knew we needed to upgrade that.
We also know there isn't a lot of outdoor basketball courts in rapids in general.
So one thing that we knew we wanted to do is make sure we had a full court basketball
court.
So that was something that we made sure to add in.
So that will go in between.
We have a big playground for older students, three, five, and a smaller playground for younger
students, K2, and then that larger basketball court in the middle.
So it'll be two full regulation size hoops and then smaller ones for the littles that
will kind of go half court across.
And so that'll be obviously during the school day, only accessible to students.
But then outside of school hours, committee members can come in and they can utilize that.
Journalistically, shouldn't mention I love basketball, I love playing basketball.
I love hearing this.
And it's interesting.
You brought that up about one of the things my friends and I used to love to do is going
to different elementary, different schools to play, to shoot on the hoops there because
there were no public ones really we could go to.
Maybe if you're lucky, you can get it right to the Y or something, but otherwise if it
wasn't a walking distance, you weren't playing hoops that day.
Shout out to Robinson Park, love Robinson Park, but the concrete of the hoops, this
is an ankle turn away like it was every I cannot tell you how many times my ankles turned
on those who it's it's great to have some of these things certainly first and foremost
for the kids and that and that.
But it is great to have these and we're seeing more and more of this in town where it's
not just accessible or good for just one group, but it's accessible and good for multiple
groups.
I think that that's a unique thing that our town is doing and really insightful, I think.
It goes in multiple levels.
The Mead Elementary Playground is not the only one going up either or Hasmina is up.
We've got a nice thing going on over at Rams as well.
Right.
And so what happened was the legacy foundation came back and said, hey, we love your
idea.
You know, we love that you're partnering with the city.
We also know we just did Woodside's Playground, now Meads Playground, Grant also asked for
some things.
Pitch the Early Learning Center asked for some things.
They said, you know, we would love to support these, but we also don't want to be every
single year saying, okay, here's another playground, here's another playground, here's
another playground.
What they did is they said, we would rather you guys kind of put your heads together, come
up with a larger proposal that takes all of our playgrounds kind of puts it together
and says, okay, how can we upgrade all of the WRPS playgrounds kind of in one pretty package
and kind of put all that together.
So that's why you're seeing some work done at all these little places and I know Ron
can probably speak a little bit more to the timeline, but that's why you're seeing
some things at Rams Mead, Grant and then the Pitch the Early Learning Center this year
and the next summer I think the rest of the playgrounds are going to be touched.
Another topic that you guys know better than I do, but I know that one of the things
that the data shows is that with recess or with, after school activities, kids tend to
be better learners.
They have these things that free up their brain and their fun activities and then when
they do get to the schooling or science or math or some of these things, they are that
much more in tune with them.
So as far as this being just for fun or anything it is and it's great things for kids and they
deserve that.
Because this kind of like a almost sneaky teaching them something at the same time kind
of layer to this that is impactful and I don't think a lot of people think of these things
often enough, but these playground equipment, all these things going on throughout town,
this is an investment in our future.
This is an investment in the greatest thing we can invest in and any of us can invest
in and in children and youth.
It's great to be able to see.
I'm curious, Ron, when we talk about timelines with the, first off with the, the, the
Mead playground, will that be up and ready, do we think before the school year construction
is always a question mark, I understand, but as of yesterday, when we had our last updated
meeting, updating meeting, that was the plan.
I know it's been a very rainy, unusually rainy summer, but the plan right now is still
to be on track.
Our school open house is August 30th, so the goal has always been to be completely
done and ready to roll by our, our open house on August 30th, and for sure done by our
first day of school on September 3rd, so students can enjoy it at their first recess.
So, so far right now, we are on track, barring any, you know, complications, you know,
the one thing we asked from the community is just to enjoy it right now from far away
and just kind of drive by, because the more that we can kind of stay off the equipment
now, the better, just for safety of everybody else, but also just to allow the equipment
to be put in properly and installed properly, so if we can just kind of stay away for a
few more weeks, I know it's enticing and it looks great and wonderful, but the more we
can kind of give it some space, the quicker we can get it installed correctly and get
the inspections in and all of that by the end of August.
Boy, tell me about it, it is just so enticing.
It really is.
It really is.
Yeah, me seeing the yellow and blue just draws your attention really to it.
It really does.
It really does.
But appreciate that.
I do want to send a note to the construction workers out there doing really good work.
I see them out there five, five, thirty in the morning already getting going and everything
and they're doing some great work over there.
We appreciate them.
Yeah, really it's our hope, I think, in all our school sites they have them open by the
first day of school.
Right now, Ramses on track, Grants on track, Meeds on track, might have a slight delay at
pitch, but we think we'll be pretty good there as well.
So those are the four school sites we're looking at to accomplish this summer and then
as Amber alluded to earlier, the remaining elementary schools for next summer, because
there's a lot of work to be done so we could not do it all this summer.
We didn't want to start projects this summer and get them half done.
So we decided, all right, we're going to concentrate on these sites, get them finished
before the school year starts, and then we'll concentrate on the other school sites
for a while.
I mean, half a slide is not fun.
It's not.
No, no, no.
No.
It all serious this run.
You talk about next year and other projects.
Do we have a blueprint at all or an outline of what schools might be getting some work done
or just we know that we're going to be working on other schools next summer.
It's primarily the remaining elementary schools that we're not touching.
We'll all be part of the process for the next summer.
We really wanted to provide opportunities.
We are really a community-based school district with our elementary schools.
And we really want to provide those opportunities for all our neighborhood children to have
a up-to-date, modern play area next to their living arrangements.
So it's really important for students to have that walking distance.
We know students who walk to school, you know, if you talk about physical activity,
walking to school, fire at recess.
Those are all important.
They fire the brain neurons a little faster for students.
So we want to have those abilities for students, have something to do after the school day.
And during the summer when they just want to hang out with their friends.
Yes.
And get a break from that screen time.
Yeah.
We're speaking with Superintendent Ron Rasmussen along with Mead Elementary School principal
Amber Applebee.
And I know that we are all a little removed from grade school and recess and everything.
But it is so invigorating and so charging to see, to talk about this even.
It's kind of fun.
And one of the things that I think that stands out to about this is the, again, the legacy
grant.
And the work that was put into not only getting the data for that, but Amber, the time
that you guys put into this, how much time was going into the build-up to this, to even
getting to the point of, before we even got shovels in the ground?
Yes.
Oh gosh.
Well, I think, you know, there's always the dreaming phase, right?
Where you go through and you kind of go in your head of what is it that I want this
to look like?
And, you know, I had my own personal things of like what an accessible playground would
need.
But then sitting down with my committee that I arranged it of teachers of, you know, the
K-5 span.
And so I could get perspectives from teachers of all different age levels and then, you
know, getting some special teachers in there as well.
But then we sat down and looked at lots and lots of books and things just kind of thinking
what do we want for our students really keeping in mind?
Those motor skills, you know, being able to get kids, getting some big movements in,
but also, you know, kind of being able to do certain things, just even something as simple
as spinning, different things like that helps kids center and kind of get themselves back
into a learning-ready brain.
But then also thinking of how we can get some partner play and how to interact and get
some of that more social interaction in place as well.
So there was a lot of different thought processes that went into what we were picking, obviously
safety being number one, and then from there we kind of built the vision that we brought
forward then to the final proposal, yes, and so on.
Yeah.
Yeah.
It's one of the things I admire most about leadership, people that know that they don't
know everything or they don't see everything.
What's for sure.
And we'll enable to be able to have the realization of that.
It may seem like obvious to some, but we all know in today's day and age, that is not
always the case.
It's very, really cool to hear you bringing in multiple different people and getting these
different perspectives and different angles on things.
I really admire that, and I think it's that much more exciting to think about these
play-guards, not only what's being built right now, but what is to come.
That's really, again, just very excited for the kids, very excited for the possibilities
of what this is for our community.
It's great to hear.
I appreciate the work that you put into this so much, Amber, and appreciate the time
putting up on my questions and all that as you always do.
Yeah, not one of my favorite parts about this is our third grade writing curriculum last
year asked for a persuasive opinion type piece, and I asked the teachers, I said, have
them write about what they want the playground.
If I'm going to make some changes to the playground, what would that look like?
So the third graders went through and they wrote up these things, and I came in the classroom
and they read it to me.
They didn't know what I was working on this in the background.
So they were writing all this stuff up, so I'm so excited for them to come back to school
and this coming year, and I can be like, look at what you guys did.
You convinced me, and we made all these changes, and I'm just excited for them to see
you know, the impact that they had then, too.
Well, they put their stakeholder piece into that, too.
And there's another thing that I hadn't thought of until we're talking about it here and
everything, but how good it feels for a kid to know that they were heard.
Right.
You know, that goes, there's no words for something like that.
So you're so right, that is going to be a really cool thing to see on their faces, and
I'm envious of you now when it comes to this.
You mentioned the start of the school year and at your open house, this August 30th.
Are you looking forward to that?
Got some things getting ready to be lined up for that?
Yeah, absolutely.
We invite families to sign up to come in and to be able to meet their teachers.
They'll find out probably the week prior by signing on to our new Skyward system, to
be cumulative, to be able to learn about who their teachers will be, and they can sign
up for a time to come in and meet their teachers.
And then we'll have more of an official kind of grand opening for the playground probably
later in the end of September, so I'm really looking forward to it.
You're going to have to come back, let us know how it, during the school year, let us
know how it's going in everything, Amber.
We always appreciate getting the chance to talk with you, and thank you again for everything
you're doing.
Appreciate you.
Ron, before we get going here, it's the first time you've been able to join us as a new
superintendent.
I want to congratulate you about that.
Thank you.
And thank you for what you're doing, and putting your hat even in the ring, I've mentioned
this to you before when we interview when you're running for the position.
I'm curious, how is it going?
How are you feeling in the spot?
Are you getting your kind of footing in everything?
Well, yeah, the first month has been absolutely awesome.
Obviously, being part of the community here in Wisconsin wrap is for the last 12 years.
It's a little easier to transition.
You know individuals, you know organizations, you know community members, and obviously
being part of the school district, you know some of the internal processes that you work
through as you begin through the school year.
Superintendent Brorn was absolutely phenomenal in the transition from May and June, meeting
with me and sharing his insights on the operation of the district, but yeah, it's been a first
great month.
It's great to hear.
When we first talked about you, when you were talking with you, when you were running,
we asked about goals and some of those things.
In a short amount of time that you've been in this, have those goals kind of just enhanced
or have you added on to those?
Yeah, obviously the district has a strategic plan that really guides our work, which they
approved in February of this year, in which we regularly review and move forth.
Obviously, student achievement is our main focus.
We want to provide opportunities for students to have success after high school, after they're
done with their educational system, be it military workforce, go to career college, two
year or four year, to provide those options for them.
In our district, we provide so many of those options for students to explore their passions,
what they want to do.
So obviously, that's one of the folks.
Another major focus moving forth is just community engagement.
It's important for us to be part of our community.
The playground project is an excellent example of that, without the work of the city, without
the legacy foundation.
We know tax dollars are limited, we know dollars are limited overall in the community.
So anytime we can enhance our partnerships with other organizations, it just benefits
everyone.
The city could have done their own project, we could have done our own project.
That's not beneficial for our stakeholders, our taxpayers within our community or our
children.
That's the importance of that community engagement being involved.
I've been in the parades here in town, in the Blossom Fesperade, the Vesper days parade.
Those are important things to be part of, and to see our youth of our community also
enjoying their summer.
So looking working with them, and then just working with our team, developing our staff
moving forward, we're almost fully staffed for the upcoming school year.
We just have a few more hires left within the district, but just to see that excitement
of new people coming into the educational profession just rejuvenates you moving forward.
I can hear it in your voice.
That's really cool to hear.
That's great to hear.
You actually answered one of my last question already.
I was curious, we get into these industries because of a passion, because of a love.
It's not to become Rockefellers or anything like that, but it is important to note too,
I think that teaching education can be a lot of fun and now it's so rewarding.
Are you enjoying the position so far, are you having fun, are you?
Yeah.
Education, I think, is a relationship building, and kids make you excited.
They make you want to want to be involved in what you do, and that's actually one of the
fears of moving to the super tendency is you remove yourself more and more from that
daily classroom aspect.
So one of my goals for the year is just my regular involvement being in the classroom,
stopping and visiting teachers, being on playgrounds with kids.
Last week, the fire department did a pop-up splash pad over at Woodside, and it was phenomenal
to stop in to see the kids running through the water.
And then when I got over there, it was probably about 12 kids in the water, but the playground
was packed with students and families, and so that excitement just to see in our area
that we have a little control over, and that's another partnership with the fire department
opening up our facility.
And the next pop-up splash pad is going to be at Lincoln on August 7th for those of you
planning ahead.
So that excitement is there as well, and moving forth.
It's great to hear, man.
I'm looking forward to talk with you more and more throughout the school year, really
throughout your tenure, but I'm really looking forward to it.
Amber, appreciate the time again.
Thank you so much.
If people have follow-up questions, we'd like to reach out to you in no more about some
of the things we talked about, or maybe even the open house coming up, how can they get
in touch with you?
Absolutely.
Well, they can always contact me.
Our office opens up again on August 12th, so number over there, 715, 424, 6777, excuse
me.
But then also my email and everything is all available on the WRPS website.
And run hub for you.
Yeah, so I just want to add in all our elementary open houses for the school district are on August
30th.
So as parents are looking at what opportunities are available for their elementary school,
so they'll all be, I think most will be beginning around 3pm on that day, and they'll be receiving
that information from their building students.
It's great.
No, thank you for that.
Yeah.
And yeah, reach out to me over at Central Office.
If anybody has any questions, 715, 424, 6701.
Keep in mind you can also find out more at the city's web, the community's website,
Wisconsin Rapids Public Schools website, wwwrps.org, wwwrps.org.
Thank you again, both for what you're doing for our community and all the work you put
into it.
We appreciate you.
Thanks, James.
And we want to thank Pam Hilke, as well, for the great scheduling she does week in
a week out.
Appreciate you, Pam.
And well, a more midday magazine for you here at WFHR where we are locally grown radio.
