Madison, WI – April 3, 2009 -- 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.

Speaker Sheridan commented on his visit. “TAGOS Leadership Academy is recognized as an outstanding public school, for the difference it makes in the lives of at-risk youths,” said Sheridan. “And, I know it has made a positive impact in my community. I enjoyed learning more during my time at the school.”

Lindau is working very hard to take best practices from TAGOS and ensuring they can be applied to other public schools in the broader community. “TAGOS has seen many visitors in the past 2 years,” Lindau explained. “As a result, the interest in Project Based Learning (PBL)education is on the increase. Traditional schools are increasingly interested in adopting Project Based Learning practices into their traditional structures, either a portion of their school day or a summer school program."

“As a leading PBL Lab School, TAGOS Leadership Academy is committed to model best practices in PBL development both as stand alone charter schools as well as infusion into traditional schools. Our growth and development mission is working to ensure that all learners may have the opportunity to ‘try on’ the PBL learning approach,” Lindau continued. “The best charter schools in this country take the role of developing innovative, outside-the-box educational practices with the end result being to infuse those practices into traditional educational settings to meet the needs of all learners.”

TAGOS Leadership Academy provides students with opportunities to learn and grow in a project-based, supportive, and safe environment. The Academy aims to educate the “whole child,” so that he or she may meet his or her fullest potential and become a successful thinker, learner, and leader. More information on TAGOS is at www.tagosleadershipacademy.org; (608) 290-0468.