The public has voiced concerns about the Manitowoc Public School District, and the Interim Superintendent is addressing those concerns.
During Monday’s Open Mic program on WOMT, a listener texted in calling the School Board and Superintendent “out of control”.
Superintendent Jim Feil was shown the message, and he said that when he came to the District, he had to take a look at two areas, academics, and school culture, or student behavior.
“Those happen to be two challenging areas,” he explained. “So when I came in I looked in terms of how are we doing.”
He said generally, it is not going great, with only 25% of students reading at grade level and a lack of a code of conduct.
That being said, academically, the fault is not on the teachers.
“This is a curriculum issue,” he reiterated. “It’s important to understand this because if you don’t equip people with the right tools and resources, you are not going to get the results you like.”
Feil did admit there are some issues in the MPSD, but he prefers to look at it in a positive light.
“Yes, we have some challenges, but I would rather say we’ve got some opportunities,” he said. “We’ve got the best teachers and administrators. I would match them against anybody in the state.”
Feil went on to explain that changes are being made to the curriculum to help address both sides of the issue.
The District is adopting a new reading curriculum and has introduced a code of conduct, which was cultivated by staff, teachers, and parents of students over the summer.
