The following press release was issued November 5, 2015, by the Wisconsin Association of School District Administrators. Reprinted here for What’s Right readers by permission of Jon Bales, Executive Director, Wisconsin Association of School District Administrators. In providing permission to reprint, Executive Director Bales offered the following statement from his office:
To know Pat is to be inspired by her for her passion and her vision for ensuring positive outcomes for all students. I think she represents the best in executive leadership. She is able to gather a diverse group of people around a table to create a shared vision and motivate action to serve the needs of students and the community as a whole. Pat is a tremendous role model for servant leadership.
The Wisconsin Association of School District Administrators is pleased to announce the selection of Dr. Patricia Deklotz as Wisconsin’s 2016 Superintendent of the Year.
Dr. Deklotz has served for 10 years as the superintendent for the Kettle Moraine School District (KMSD), a high performing K-12 district serving 4,200 students in Southeast Wisconsin.
Under Deklotz’s leadership, KMSD has embraced the school board’s charge to transform schools to better and more efficiently meet the needs of all students.
In addition to its four elementary schools, middle school and high school, KMSD has created three instrumentality charter high schools, one multiage project-based elementary charter school, and a project-based, interdisciplinary multiage middle school house. These learning environments serve to inform the district’s work in competency-based education.
KMSD recently renovated all six of its school buildings and has implemented a robust technology infrastructure. This work was supported by the community’s passage of a $49.6 million bond referendum in April 2014.
While it is recognized on a national level for its work to personalize learning for students, KMSD is also personalizing learning for staff. Deeper learning and micro-credentialing provide a foundation for the redefinition of educator compensation and the development of career pathways for KMSD educators.
The KMSD school board voted unanimously to nominate Dr. Deklotz as Superintendent of the Year. In their nomination, Board President Gary Vose discussed the “extraordinary leadership”she has provided.
“Pat has always been motivated by what is in the best interests of our students,” Vose said. “Her demonstrated leadership of being committed to the right motives, with unquestioned integrity, has created success for the Kettle Moraine School District.”
Vose said Deklotz has encouraged staff members to innovate and has inspired the community to support its schools, all with the goal of helping students be successful, “not only in academics, but in life after Kettle Moraine.”
Deklotz said she is deeply honored and humbled to receive the recognition. “This honor is a reflection of the amazing work of our school board and our educators. I am very proud of our team and the personalized learning opportunities we provide students.”
She also credited the support of Kettle Moraine parents and community members for the district’s success. “Our culture of continuous improvement and innovation allow us to cultivate academic excellence, citizenship and personal development for all students,” Deklotz said.
Taking a non-traditional route, Dr. Deklotz worked 20 years in financial software development and with non-profit organizations prior to becoming a teacher in 1996. She earned her Bachelor’s, Master’s, and Doctorate degrees by doing homework aside her children. Prior to being employed as a Kettle Moraine educator, Deklotz served as a parent volunteer and for five years on the school board.
Currently Deklotz serves on the State’s Coordinating Council for Educator Effectiveness, Waukesha County Technical College Board, GPS Education Partners Board and the President’s Advisory Council for Carroll University. She is chair of the Cooperative Service Agency #1 Superintendent’s PAC; co-chair of Southeast Wisconsin Schools Alliance, vice-chair for the Waukesha County Technical College, and president of the GPS Education Partners, a nonprofit provider of youth apprenticeships. She is also an active member of the business and civic organizations serving the ten municipalities that comprise the Kettle Moraine School District.
Deklotz resides in Delafield with her husband, Joe. They are the proud parents of three children and enjoy time with their five grandchildren.
About the Superintendent of the Year Award
Since its inception twenty-nine years ago, the Superintendent of the Year program has become widely acknowledged as the most prestigious honor a school system leader can attain. Applicants are measured against criteria such as successfully meeting the needs of students; personal and organizational communication; professionalism; participation in local community activities; and an understanding of regional, national, and international issues. This award pays tribute to the talent and vision of the men and women who lead our nation’s public schools.
Dr. Deklotz will be representing Wisconsin in the National Superintendent of the Year Program, which is sponsored by the American Association of School Administrators (AASA), VALIC and Aramark, at AASA’s National Conference on Education in Phoenix in February. The Wisconsin Association of School District Administrators will be presenting the 2016 Wisconsin Superintendent of the Year award to Dr. Deklotz at the joint WASB/WASDA /WASBO Convention in Milwaukee in January.
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The following press release was issued November 5, 2015, by the Wisconsin Association of School District Administrators. Reprinted here for What’s Right readers by permission of Jon Bales, Executive Director, Wisconsin Association of School District Administrators.
Discover more about Dr. Deklotz and Kettle Moraine School District at http://www.kmsd.edu.
Filed under: How to Lead…, Our Partners Tagged: Deklotz, Kettle Moraine School District, Superintendent of the Year, WASDA, Wisconsin Association of School District Administrators 
