A greenhouse going up at Arrow Park is one step on a journey that will lead to Rome.  Students, parents and staff from the TAGOS Leadership Academy are building the greenhouse near the school, which is housed in one of the Arrow Park buildings formerly owned by Parker Pen off North Parker Drive.

When I talk with groups of teachers about project-based learning, audiences typically divide along predictable lines. There are the pioneers who have been teaching with the project approach for years and wouldn’t consider going back to more traditional instruction. There are those eager to give projects a try but not quite sure how to begin.

Educators are learning about a new program this week at the Northwoods Community Secondary School in Rhinelander. About 80 teachers from around the state are participating in an important workshop.

Its long-term future as a school may be in doubt, but Northwoods Community Secondary School (NCSS) is doing its best to solidify its place in the state’s charter school movement.

Michael J. Sheridan, Speaker of the Wisconsin State Assembly and Representative for the 44th Assembly District, visited TAGOS Leadership Academy in Janesville on Friday, March 27th. Also on the visit were Timothy Cullen, former State Senator from the Janesville area and a current School Board Member, and Dr. Karen Schulte, Janesville’s new School District Superintendent. Al Lindau, Dean of Students at TAGOS, led the tour.

Students at a Janesville charter school have an idea about what causes school shootings and other violence among kids their age.  They've taken that knowledge and used it to produce a public service announcement being shown during Charter Communications cable TV programs.
 

Janesville public schools are good, school officials will tell you. But over the past few months, those officials have decided they should do something to make the schools a lot better.

Gabby Jass came to school this fall with a lot of attitude.  “I don’t wanna write,” teacher Al Lindau recalls her saying. “I don’t do math.”  Gabby’s classmate, 11th-grader Andrew Moronez, came to school with a past that would give any teacher pause.

Questions about the TAGOS Leadership Academy:

Q: What’s with that name?

A: TAGOS stands for Tailoring Academics to Guide our Students