Brookfield/Elm Grove Monthly

By Lauren Anderson Freeman Staff WAUKESHA — The num- ber of Wisconsin high school students taking AP exams continues to climb, with an 8 percent increase in test-tak- ers from the previous year. In all, 41,398 Wisconsin juniors and seniors from both public and private schools took the AP exam in May, according to the Wis- consin Department of Public Instruction. They took a total of 70,007 exams, with 67 percent earning a score of three or higher (out of five), the threshold at which col- leges will often offer credit or advanced standing to incoming students. The nationwide rate of exams earning three or high- er scores was 58 percent. A total of 2.5 million students took an AP exam, a 6 percent increase from the prior year. The trend toward increased AP exam partici- pation can be seen locally. Dana Monogue, the Elm- brook School District's assis- tant superintendent for cur- riculum and instruction, said the district continues to spread the message that every student can benefit from taking an AP course. Among the skills students gain are perseverance, good study habits, reading, writ- ing and time management, Monogue said. "The research and evi- dence is clear, that just par- ticipating in the course and going through the exam pro- cess really does benefit stu- dents in their post-sec- ondary pursuits," Monogue said. Elmbrook's high schools' AP participation has trend- ed upward in recent years, with 870 students taking a total of 1,750 exams in 2014- 15. AVID encouragement Meanwhile, initiatives like the Advancement Via Indi- vidual Determination pro- gram — which aims to close achievement gaps and pre- pare students for college and other post-secondary paths — also encourage more stu- dents to take AP courses. AVID has been offered at Brookfield East and was launched at Brookfield Cen- tral this year. Wisconsin saw increases in participation across most racial and ethnic student groups, with students of color comprising 13.7 per- cent of those taking AP exams. But disparities among groups are apparent. Among the 1,335 black stu- dents who took AP exams in 2015, 29.2 percent registered a score of three or above. Of the state's 1,958 Hispanic stu- dents — those who identify as Mexican American, Puer- to Rican or "other Hispanic" — to take AP exams, 53 per- cent earned a three or better. For the 34,266 white students taking 57,846 exams, 69.4 per- cent posted a 3+ score. "Achievement gaps are not inevitable," State Superin- tendent Tony Evers said in a statement. "It takes a con- scious effort. We must build the relationships within our schools and across our com- munities to support all stu- dents' academic achieve- ment." SAT scores The College Board also released Wisconsin's SAT scores for the relatively small number of 2015 gradu- ates who took the college entrance exam. From the class of 2015, 2,277 public and private school students, about 3.6 percent, took the test. Outperforming the nation- al average, Wisconsin gradu- ates had mean scores of 591 for critical reading, 605 for math and 575 for writing. Of the state's SAT test-takers, 77.5 percent earned College and Career Readiness bench- mark scores of 500 for each of the tests. Achieving a benchmark score indicates a 65 percent probability of a student earning a grade point aver- age of B- or higher in his or her first year at a four-year college. Nationally, 1.7 million stu- dents took the SAT, earning mean scores of 495 for criti- cal reading, 511 for math, and 484 for writing. Most of the state's gradu- ates, about 73 percent, take the ACT. The average com- posite score for the class of 2015 was 22.2, placing Wis- consin second among ACT- taking states. Email: landerson@conleynet.com Globe From Page 1 It's common for families to change districts when their students would otherwise be mak- ing a school transition — between elemen- tary and middle school, for example. But the Elmbrook district this year has seen students entering at all grade levels, including the final high school years, Thompson said. About half of Elmbrook's new students are in grades 1-12, while the other half are new kindergartners or new to the district's inau- gural four-year-old preschool program at Dixon Elementary. Eda Esilaba and Albert Outa recently moved to the area with their two elementary school-aged boys from Nairobi, Kenya, for his new position at Elmbrook Church. Esilaba said the family moved into a house near the Brookfield church and was pleased to find out it's just minutes away from Swanson Elemen- tary. With her two boys — first-grader Seo and third-grader Bulamu — now a few weeks into school, Esilaba said they have adjusted to the new setting and have made friends. "The kids love it, they absolutely love it," she said. "The other kids have reached out to them." Bulamu echoed those sentiments on Tues- day as he walked down Swanson's hallway with a light step and smile on his face. Asked how he felt about school, he replied enthusi- astically, "It's fun." Esilaba noted the significant differences between the educational environment in Nairobi — where a lecture-based format is the norm — and Brookfield, where student interaction with teachers is encouraged, she said. ELL services The district has increased English lan- guage learner services slightly to meet the increased demand, but Thompson noted many of the international students are com- ing from families with strong English skills. It underscores the difference between urban districts, which typically see more migrant families coming in compared to Elmbrook, where the families tend to move for profes- sional purposes. Still, Swanson Elementary — which has seen the biggest enrollment bump — has added a part-time ELL teacher this year to accommodate the growth. Of the 90 new stu- dents who enrolled since school ended in June, eight of the families come from outside the U.S, including India, Finland and Kenya. This year, about 14 percent of the school's students receive ELL services, compared with about 12 percent in recent years. That figure stands out compared to the dis- trictwide rate of about 4 percent over the past five years. With several rental property options near- by, Swanson is positioned to bring in families who come to the area temporarily for work. Word-of-mouth endorsements also encour- age those families to relocate near the school, Principal Kori Hartman said. She said welcoming new students from dif- ferent backgrounds — whether linguistic, cultural, geographic or otherwise — pro- vides opportunities to put the school's "PEACE" mantra ("promoting peace, empa- thy, and compassion everywhere") into prac- tice. "We teach and celebrate differences in all kinds of ways," Hartman said. Email: landerson@conleynet.com Page 4 • Freeman Brookfield & Elm Grove OCTOBER 2015 14835 W Lisbon Rd Brookfield, WI 53005 • 262-373-0490 We are open 7 days a week from 10am -9pm, including Sun. and Holidays. BEER LEINEKUGEL Harvest Patch Shandy Oktoberfest 12pk. Bottles $ 12 29 HEINEKEN 18 Pack Bottles $ 16 99 SOUTHERN TIER Pumpkin 22oz. Bottles $ 5 99 WASATCH Black O Lantern Pumpkin Stout $ 6 99 6pk. NEW GLARUS Spotted Cow $ 7 99 6pk. $ 14 99 12pk. TOPPLING GOLIATH Golden Nugget IPA Rover Truck Pseudosue $ 8 49 4pk. DOGFISH HEAD! 2 Punkin Ale $ 7 99 4pk. WINE CONUNDRUM White Wine $ 15 99 750 ml. YELLOWTAIL Wine $ 4 99 750 ml. $ 9 99 1.5 Lt. 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Ad Sponsored by UnitedWayGMWC.org Suzanne Kelley 2015 United Way of Greater Milwaukee & Waukesha County Co-chair President of the Waukesha County Business Alliance UnitedWayGMWC.org 246008001 The FREEMAN Waukesha County's Daily Newspaper Education Reporter Lauren Anderson To subscribe, call 262-542-2500 or go online at: gmtoday.com/subscribe about news in our schools. from Lauren Learn about news in our schools. from Lauren Learn Wisconsin AP exam participation still rising State's graduates outperform nation on SAT In case you missed it The rising cost of textbooks: For Lauren Anderson's recent story on the rising cost of textbooks and the burden it's placed on students, visit GM Today at http://bit.ly/1JFKpw0 FOCUS ON EDUCATION More tests and more test-takers The number of AP test-takers and the number of exams taken has steadily increased in Wisconsin over the last several years. Source: Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction Swanson School third-grader Bulamu Esilaba walks through the school's halls recently. Charles Auer, Freeman Staff

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