Why DCE?

Our goal is to ensure our students have the skill set to begin the next stage of their life in the “right place” — be it a job, the military, a technical college or four-year university. To develop those skills, we help students discover what their talents are, locate where their interests lie, determine what career paths suit their goals and provide them with hands-on educational opportunities across the academic, extracurricular and real world spectrum.

We monitor and assess each individual to be certain he or she is sufficiently challenged, and utilize universal screening tools to:

• Discover students who may benefit from more challenging academic options
• Determine what assistance and intervention programs best suit a student’s needs
• Identify students who may benefit from behavioral and mental health supports
   

By providing students the freedom to choose where they learn, we enable them to choose how they learn. We have spaces for students who concentrate best when they’re mobile; secluded spots for those who prefer solitude; comfortable lounge areas for animated collaboration. 

Our flexible learning spaces:

• Empower students with the opportunity to choose a space where they learn and work best 
• Provide comfortable group arrangements that foster a sense of community and creativity
• Improve student engagement, outcomes and collaboration 

We also recognize that learning is developmental — a student’s knowledge of subject matter and their ability to master specific skills is a product of time, practice and opportunity. Thus, we have adopted a Standards Based Grading model that documents a student’s progression toward mastering a series of standards. Instructors develop personalized learning plans for each student that track where students “are” on the path to learning and help teachers adjust instruction to each child’s learning style. 

Students drive the pace of their learning. If a student shows early mastery of skills and concepts, they concentrate on more challenging work. Students who struggle aren’t penalized for needing more time to learn — they receive instructional support until they demonstrate proficiency.

Each of our instructors and students is provided with an important educational tool — an iPad — that affords us the same opportunities for growth and learning as someone living in New York, Chicago or San Francisco. This educational tool:

• Accelerates learning by allowing students to learn anytime, anywhere
• Removes socio-economic barriers by ensuring every student has access to educational tools and resources
• Provides individualized textbooks, materials and apps that allow students to progress at their own rate using learning tools that best suit them
• Offers students access to global experts and thought leaders
• Improves collaboration with a more diverse set of peers
• Allows students to showcase what they’ve learned in a format they’re most comfortable with
• Helps students develop critical technology skills

“Providing learners with flexible learning spaces enables students to make choices and decisions based on their needs. It teaches them responsibility and problem solving because they must think about where to sit, why to sit there and who to sit near. I don’t make decisions for students that they should be making on their own. This philosophy spirals throughout our student led classroom. Not everyone needs to learn the same thing at the same time — just like not everyone needs to sit at a table or a desk to complete learning. This empowers them to make decisions — a much-needed skill in life.” — Tammy Fischer, Instructor

Research indicates STEAM skills and jobs in STEAM fields present today’s students with the best pathway to the future. The beauty of our STEAM learning environment is that it prepares students by developing the very skills employers are looking for in the 21st century: critical thinking, investigation, creativity, problem-solving, determination, collaboration and communication. It is an environment that treats students as creators, innovators, makers and entrepreneurs and encourages them to make a positive impact on the world around them.

It’s no secret that youth often struggle deciding who they want to become and how they plan to get there. If no one in their family has attended college, enlisted in the military or started their own business — it can be difficult for them to see themselves breaking new ground. We help them find a way. 

Students in grades 6 – 12 create customized digital Academic and Career Plans that change from year-to-year based on their changing interests and personal experiences.

Strong partnerships with business leaders, chambers of commerce, entrepreneurs and the community provide our students with the opportunity to apply what they’ve learned and “test the waters” to see if their chosen path is a good fit. 

• Area business and community leaders share real-world experiences with students 
• Two dedicated staff members help students acquire internship, job shadowing, apprenticeship and volunteer opportunities 
• Students tour businesses throughout the state to explore options
• Career and Technical Student Organizations build leadership and employability skills
• High school courses provide hands-on learning that replicates 21st century business, technology, agriscience, advanced manufacturing, engineering, health and automotive environments

“Our community needs to leverage the talents of our students. Their ability to adapt technology to their needs, to present information in an engaging manner, to share their knowledge — it’s an untapped resource for our business community. These students may be young, but they have a level of expertise that can serve our business community. They can teach our business leaders how to harness technology in a way we haven’t thought of before.” Wausau Region Chamber of Commerce CEO Dave Eckmann

There is great value in community service as it teaches students the importance of being a responsible citizen. We are fortunate to have exceptional support from our community members, businesses and organizations. Our students have responded in kind with acts of generosity, empathy and service. These initiatives are successful because our students are passionate about helping others; our staff and teachers are equally passionate about guiding them; and our community is incredibly generous in supporting these countless student-led opportunities to do some good in the world.

The skills students need to be successful are often developed beyond the classroom — on the playing field, within the community, at a competition, or on the stage. 

We are home to more than 90 extracurricular clubs. Our athletic teams and individuals routinely earn top honors across the state — from soccer and rugby, to tennis and curling. We have a robust Performing Arts department whose musicals and dramatic plays have earned several Tommy Awards. And the student-led gaming event — EVERCON — has grown to be one of the largest in the Midwest.

We integrate important life skills — financial literacy, health/wellness/mindfulness — into our curriculum to ensure students are empowered to make life choices that position them for success. And we work tirelessly to address mental health issues with Adverse Childhood Experiences staff training and participation in community initiatives and roundtable discussions. We also are a member of the Marathon County School-based Counseling Consortium Program, offering students on-site access to professional therapists. 

As part of our life skills training, students receive separate grades for respect, responsibility and productivity.

Our curriculum is designed to help students prepare for a 21st-century career, balance professional and personal responsibilities, and be prepared — at any point in their post-secondary life — to be a successful learner on the job or while attending a two- or four-year college or university. No single metric can determine where a student is along that path. 

Instead, our Portrait of a Graduate program relies on a diverse array of research-based criteria — the breadth and depth of coursework, extracurricular activities, standardized test scores, grades, third-party certifications, work-based learning experiences, community service, and the ability to demonstrate soft skills within and beyond the classroom — to help students set academic goals based on their personal and professional aspirations, and assess their progress toward those goals.

To prepare our students for the 21st century, we adapt our curriculum and instructional strategies to match the pace of technology and the needs of the workplace. We encourage our students and teachers to take risks — to try new things, develop innovative means of instruction and embrace diverse learning and presentation methods.

Our district is willing to push boundaries and seek innovative means of breaking down barriers that are holding back the next generation. We are early adopters who are leading educational transformation that will benefit our students and our world — and we take great pride in that. 

Join us as we build a path to the future.

• The only district in the region to offer an Advanced Learner/Challenge Magnet Program for intellectually gifted elementary school students
• 18 (and counting) Advanced Placement (AP) courses 
• 36 (and counting) Dual Enrollment (DE) courses
• 90% of students earned college credit through AP/DE courses
• 95% of AP Calculus BC students earned college credit
• 626 students took an AP exam with 66% scoring 3 or higher
• 108 DCE Grads earned 138 Industry Recognized Credentials in the class of 2023
• 55 students (and counting) participating in youth apprenticeships
• An Advanced Placement course for freshmen (and we’re only one of a handful of schools in the state to offer it)
• Honors (laude), grade advancement, independent study and advanced coursework options at university and technical colleges
• 16 Career Clusters integrated across an inclusive STEAM culture 
• Two National Blue Ribbon Schools (Hatley Elementary and Mountain Bay Elementary)
• Wisconsin gold-level DECA chapter for 30+ years with four gold-level student-based enterprises
• Herb Kohl Educational Foundation Inc. winners include: 2 Principal Leadership Awardees, 8 Teacher Fellowships, 3 Student Initiative Awardees, and 26 Student Excellence Scholars 
• ONE of FOURTEEN districts chosen to participate in Washington, D.C. educational thought leader roundtable discussion 
• District selected to participate in AASA Learning 2025: Student-Centered, Equity-Focused Education Consortium 
• Participation in invite-only AASA Digital Consortium in Silicon Valley