NEWS

Newsweek ranks Wausau EGL Academy No. 34 in the nation

Keith Uhlig
USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin

Andrew Borski, a junior (kneeling) and James Shutts, a freshman, try out rubber-band-powered, balsa-wood planes they made as part of a history of flight lesson. Their Wausau charter school was named by Newsweek as the best high school in Wisconsin.

WAUSAU – A Wausau charter school that focuses on math and science and employs mixture of learning strategies is the 34th best high school in the country, according to Newsweek magazine.

The Wausau Engineering and Global Leadership Academy, which opened its doors in the fall of 2010, was the top Wisconsin school to make Newsweek's Top High School Rankings. There were 17 schools from Wisconsin to make the list of the top 500 schools, and EGL was one of two in the top 50. Another charter school, the Waukesha Engineering Preparatory Academy, was ranked 48.

An advisory panel of five educational experts used a variety of data and factors in making their determinations, including graduation rates, scores on college entrance exams and whether economically-disadvantaged students performed on par with more affluent peers. The Newsweek High School Rankings are meant to serve "as a guide to identifying where students from different backgrounds thrive and get the best preparation for college," according the the Newsweek website.

The top-level ranking by a national publication is "pretty cool," said Nolan Jome, 14, a freshman at the school. "To be 34th in the country, it's pretty nice, actually."

EGL Principal Tim Fetting, who as a technical education teacher at Wausau West High School was involved in the development planning for EGL from the beginning, said the credit for the high ranking goes to the students of the school.

"Obviously I'm definitely proud of our students," Fetting said. "It's really their accomplishment."

When planning for the new EGL charter school, educators wanted to create a place that used hands-on learning techniques, incorporated technology and online education but also used time-honored, teacher-led instruction. Subjects are taught on their own, but also blended together. Students move at their own pace, but also need to learn in an atmosphere of high expectations and discipline.

They are required to do volunteer work, to complete larger capstone projects their junior and senior years and also complete internships in order to graduate.

"We did a lot of initial planning and work (before EGL opened)," Fetting said. "The planning team traveled around the state and around the country, touring other charter schools. We picked up what we liked and discarded what we didn't."

Not every student can be successful at the EGL, Fetting said.

"Those who do the best are curious and self-motivated," he said.

Students like the fact that they have a great deal of independence when it comes to their educations, and they can decide on the focus of their studies.

"I think being able to learn what we want to learn at our pace, and project-learning based learning (makes EGL special), said TaylorMae Ippolito, 16, a junior. "We learn better because we aren't being forced to learn what they (teachers) want us to learn."

The heart of EGL success, though, is basic relationship building between teachers and students, said Kevin Krieg, an EGL English teacher who, like Fetting, was part of the school's development.

"What really makes us different is the capacity to build very tangible connections and relationships with our students, so that we can guide and assist them into pursuing their own interests, managing their time effectively and addressing the causes of their human issues such as personal problems or motivations."

Those relationships are deepened because teachers are with the students throughout the day, no matter what grade the students are in. In this way, EGL is not cutting edge, but akin to the one-room schoolhouse of the past.

Meanwhile, students say they want to see the success of the school grow.

"As far as making the Newsweek list, I think it encourages us to do even more. Now that we're out there, we have more eyes on us," said Declan DeMille, 16, a junior. "People are looking to us as sort of an example. So I think it's really important that we just keep working even harder."

Keith Uhlig can be reached at 715-845-0651. Find him on Twitter as @UhligK.