Dropout and Graduation Rates in Nicolet

See Nicolet's most recent graduation and drop-out rates, and how they compare to the rest of the state and surrounding districts.

Graduation rates in Nicolet are above the state average, with nearly all the 12th grade students enrolled in 2011-12 receiving a diploma, according to data from the state Department of Public Instruction. Statewide in 2011-12, 88.6 percent of enrolled high school seniors received diplomas, and 5.5 percent of students dropped out of school.  That year at Nicolet, 91.7 percent of the 297 enrolled high school students received diplomas, according to DPI data, and 13 students dropped out. By comparison, in Shorewood, the graduation rate was 96.1 percent, with 1 student dropping out. Whitefish Bay had a graduation rate of 97.6 percent, and 1 student who dropped out. Search above to see information about graduation rates in Nicolet and other …

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Syrup Sweetens Nicolet's Environmental Classes

High school students are taught how syrup is produced at a new environmental education center under construction in the woods behind the school.

Casual observers may mistake the nearly-finished building behind Nicolet High School as some kind of athletic storage shed.  A shed it is not. Nor is it a shanty, shelter, or shack. It’s Nicolet’s new Outdoor Environmental Center. The 30-foot by 40-foot center is designed to be an outdoor classroom facility, including a lesson in how to make syrup by tapping the nearby sugar maples and boiling it in the school's new maple syrup evaporator. “The original idea (for the Environmental Center) was to house the maple syrup evaporator and make that process bigger and faster but, at the same time, I was trying to encourage teachers and students to use the woods for education," said science teacher John Rhude, who spearheaded the project. "I’m a …

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Nicolet Administrator Interviewing for Greenfield Superintendent

Before joining Nicolet as director of curriculum and instruction in Aug. 2011, Lisa Elliott spent 20 years in the Greenfield school system, and hopes to rejoin the district as its school chief.

Before joining Nicolet High School as its director of curriculum and instruction Aug. 2011, Lisa Elliott spent 20 years in the Greenfield school system, and now hopes to rejoin the district as its superintendent.  She is one of six candidates to be interviewed this week, April 3-4, for Greenfield school chief, as the district seeks to replace former superintendent Conrad Farner, who resigned in January.  The Greenfield School Board will conduct the interviews this week, then from there, will decide whom to invite back for a second interview, to be conducted next week, or if they need to interview other candidates from a pool of 20 initial candidates.  Elliott is the lone candidate currently employed in a Milwaukee-area school, and with no …

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2 Nicolet Students, 1 Educator Honored by Kohl Foundation

Nicolet students Benjamin Levey and Aleena Choudry both received $1,000 scholarships, and Nicolet English teacher Nicole Mueller received a $1,000 grant for both herself and the high school.

Nicolet Teachers Shed Pounds in 'The Big Melt Down'

Thirty-two Nicolet employees are participating in a wellness program formed by the school district, its health insurance provider and the JCC.

Andi Winkle has tried to lose weight before, but the lost pounds eventually returned. This time it's different for the Nicolet chemistry teacher, who is one of 32 Nicolet employees in their fourth week of a 12-week exercise program called "The Big Melt Down." The program brings Nicolet staffers together outside school hours to exercise in the Nicolet gymnasium or at the Harry and Rose Samson Jewish Community Center.  "This time it's a lifestyle change for me," Winkle said at the end of a recent workout. "I'm not so focused on losing 25 pounds in 12 weeks. For me, it's asking myself if I ate healthy this week and if I feel good about what I did workout-wise, knowing the rest will follow. This is the first time in my life I can say that." …

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Brittney Gigl BBall Tournament Tips Off Sunday

In honor of Brittney — a three-sport varsity athlete who passed away in 2001 from encephalitis, an irritation or swelling of the brain typically brought up by an infection — the tournament serves as a fundraiser for a scholarship in her name.

The Brittney Gigl 3-on-3 basketball tournament tips off Sunday at Nicolet High School. In honor of Brittney — a three-sport varsity athlete who passed away in 2001 from encephalitis, an irritation or swelling of the brain typically brought up by an infection — the tournament serves as a fundraiser for a scholarship in her name.  “Our hope is that out of this terrible tragedy, a positive event can continue to grow and keep Brittney’s memory alive,” her parents Marta and Bob Gigl said on the tournament's website. “The Brittney Gigl Memorial Scholarship Fund was established to award a college scholarship to graduating seniors. We are so very proud to say that in the last 11 years the fund has awarded over $70,000.” The tournament runs from 11…

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Nicolet AFS Student Sings Gospel at Inner-City Church

A foreign exchange student at Nicolet High School was part of a unique intercultural experience Sunday evening at Victory Missionary Baptist Church.

High school students from all over the world came to the intersection of Teutonia Avenue and Center Street Sunday evening for a rare intercultural experience. For 15 years, international students from the Milwaukee-area AFS team have taken a field trip to Victory Missionary Baptist Church in Milwaukee to share their native culture with church members and experience an African-American church service. About 70 AFS students and host families from around the Milwaukee-area participated in the church service, including Nicolet High School exchange student Fabian Geissman from Switzerland. Some of the international students had never met a black person before. Others had never been to a church before. Some of the European students were …

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UW Band Steps Out in Style at Nicolet

The famous marching band of the University of Wisconsin Madison delighted the audience at Sunday's Band Together event.

Bucky Badger and the incomparable University of Wisconsin Marching Band were headed to the North Shore, with its famous Fifth Quarter show set to fire up the crowd at Band Together.  Funds raised at the event held at Nicolet High School will benefit the four North Shore school district foundations of Fox Point-Bayside, Glendale-River Hills, Maple Dale-Indian Hill, and Nicolet High School.  When the event was held in 2011, the marching band helped raise over $20,000 for the four foundations. 

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Do Standardized Tests Work?

Five Nicolet students earned perfect scores on the ACT, which is one of the last standardized tests many students take. The tests are used to evaluate students' academic performance, and the success of teachers and schools. Is that right?

Five students posted perfect ACT scores at Nicolet High School, something accomplished by fewer than one-tenth of 1 percent of the more than 1 million students taking the test each year. Thousands of college-hopeful Wisconsin seniors take the test each year, and the state's students consistently beat the national average score. The ACT and SAT are the final standardized test many students take. Colleges use the results to help decide which students get accepted, and which are rejected. Throughout a student's academic career, standardized tests provide a snapshot of his or her knowledge and skills. States are increasingly using these test scores to evaluate overall performance of schools and teachers. But there's an argument making the …

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5 Perfect ACT Scores Posted at Nicolet

Nicolet High School defies the odds as five students land perfect scores.

Of the more than 1 million ACT test-takers each testing year, fewer than one-tenth of 1 percent land a perfect score. It's a rarity.  But Nicolet High School has defied the odds with not one, not two, but five students posting perfect scores of 36 on the college admission and placement exam this testing year.  "It’s phenomenal, I’m so proud of our school," said Superintendent Rick Monroe. "It's truly amazing to say five students have perfect scores for a relatively small school." Seniors Nancy Gao and Annie Jen, twin sisters Alexandra Heuer and Rachel Heuer, and Ben Lawton all were perfect on the ACT this testing year. Monroe said five other seniors were one point away from perfect scores. And out a senior class of 257 students, 50 scored …

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