Question: According to the DOJ Office of School Safety’s (OSS) website, “Wis. Stat §118.07 Annual School Submissions” are required of all private schools. Is this something new? What about the plans that I’ve already been submitting? Answer: The name of schools’ yearly submissions to the OSS has changed from “2017 WI Act 143 Requirements” to “Wis. Stat §118.07 [...]
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Current Events
A library of WCRIS weekly E-letters that keeps you updated on issues of concern to private schools
Free COVID Resources
December 01, 2022
Testing For free COVID testing services and supplies, enroll your school in the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) K-12 School Testing Program. Supplies from the program can be used to test students and staff. And starting Dec. 5, schools can also include family members of students and staff. Many private and charter schools already participate [...]
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Marketing Your School: List Open Seats Online
December 01, 2022
Struggling with how to fill those two empty desks in fifth grade? At a Council for American Private Education (CAPE) summit, education marketing gurus recommended featuring the number of available seats in each grade on your school’s website. It may feel strange, but experts point out that there’s nothing like “scarcity coupled with a deadline to make a thing [...]
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Next Week: Navigating the SNSP
December 01, 2022
Spots are filling up for our “Navigating the Special Needs Scholarship Program” webinar on Wednesday, Dec., 7 at 1:30 p.m. New and veteran SNSP schools will learn: how to prepare for the program so as to maintain the integrity of their schools’ mission and values; about working with challenging SNSP students; and, the importance of [...]
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WCRIS Stands Up for Private Schools
December 01, 2022
WCRIS sent a letter to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), ahead of a meeting with EPA officials this week about proposed water quality regulations, which could greatly affect schools and daycares that use a private well. The letter urges the EPA to keep private schools in mind when considering laborious water management regulations that could fall on [...]
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January 1 School Safety Submission Looming
November 22, 2022
Your school’s annual safety submission is due to the Wisconsin Department of Justice Office of School Safety (OSS) on January 1. This is required of all private schools, regardless of your participation in the choice programs or past receipt of school safety grants. You can find more information on what’s required here. To submit your documents to the [...]
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WCRIS Schools: Blessings to Be Thankful For
November 22, 2022
Wayland Academy, a WCRIS member from the Wisconsin Association of Independent Schools (WAIS), is bettering students’ lives with the help of a $1 million state grant. They plan to use the funds for tutoring, life skills development, mental health and wellness workshops and more. Beaver Dam’s Wayland Academy is a boarding school that enrolls one-third [...]
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Free SNSP Webinar
November 22, 2022
Join WCRIS for “Navigating the Special Needs Scholarship Program” on Wednesday, December 7 at 1:30 p.m. Our webinar will feature attorneys from the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty who will share how to effectively prepare your school for the program; address the program’s unique challenges; and structure your parent agreement so you can navigate unusual situations [...]
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Happy Thanksgiving!
November 22, 2022
The WCRIS office will be open on Wednesday, November 23, and then reopen on Monday, November 28, after the holiday. WCRIS wishes you and your school community a happy and safe Thanksgiving. The WCRIS staff and board are especially grateful for our members this Thanksgiving season. Our society’s culture is quickly dimming, but your schools [...]
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Governor Asks Students to Decorate Capitol Tree
November 17, 2022
Students are invited by Gov. Evers to create ornaments for the Capitol’s Christmas tree themed “Wisconsin Waters.” He made the annual request in a letter to educators and students and noted that the theme highlights our state’s many freshwater lakes, rivers, streams and wetlands. Ornaments must be sent to the Capitol by Nov. 22 to be hung [...]
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