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Greetings everyone from the Baldwin-Woodville Area School District. I’m Chad Brakke, your new Superintendent of Schools. I have officially been on board working out of the district office since July 1. My first two months in the district have flown by, as I have been busy getting to know people and preparing for the 2024-2025 school year.
As I have met with community and staff members I have been asked about my philosophy of education and more importantly the role of schools in our communities. So I figured I would take this opportunity to explain a little about my career and a few experiences that have shaped my thoughts and priorities when it comes to teaching and learning.
I started out my career as an elementary and middle school guidance counselor, and also coached wrestling, football, and baseball. During this time in my career I was fortunate enough to attend the Search Institute conference in Minneapolis, Minnesota for a few years in a row. The search institute has developed a research-based framework that identifies internal and external factors that are the essential building blocks for child and youth development, resilience, and thriving.
The external factors as cited on the search institute website (https://searchinstitute.org/developmental-assets) are listed as follows:
Support
Empowerment
- Young person needs to feel valued and valuable. This happens when they feel safe and respected.
Boundaries and Expectations
- Young person needs clear rules, consistent consequences for breaking rules, and encouragement to do their best.
Constructive Use of Time
- Young person needs opportunities — outside of school — to learn and develop new skills and interests with other youth and adults.
The internal factors include:
Commitment to Learning
- Young person needs a sense of the lasting importance of learning and a belief in their own abilities.
Positive Values
- Young people need to develop strong guiding values or principles to help them make healthy life choices.
Social Competencies
- Young person needs the skills to interact effectively with others, to make difficult decisions, and to cope with new situations.
Positive Identity
- Young person needs to believe in their own self-worth and to feel they have control over the things that happen to them.
The idea is that adults in schools and the community can intentionally increase these assets in students by building strong relationships. Schools, businesses, faith based and service organizations can all work together to make a huge difference. I guess it is just the old “it takes a village” concept. This philosophy and practice are alive and well in the communities of Baldwin and Woodville, and in the school district. That has been very clear since my first few days in the community. Although there is much more to the technical side to teaching and learning than just building relationships, I firmly believe that we need to start there. My goal will be to communicate moving forward how the school district is addressing all the needs of our students whether it be academically, socially, or emotionally.
I am honored to serve as the next Superintendent of the Baldwin-Woodville Area School District. I look forward to meeting as many students, parents and community members as possible over this school year and beyond. So if you see me out and about at any fall events please introduce yourself. I would love to meet you.
I wish you all a great fall and as always, GO BLACKHAWKS!
Chad Brakke
Superintendent
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