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Prairie du Chien hires school district administrator

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Robert Smudde

By Ted Pennekamp

The Prairie du Chien Area School District will have a new district administrator on July 1. School Board President Christine Panka said that Robert “Bob” Smudde will replace Drew Johnson, who will retire on June 30, after 10 years of dedicated service.

The school board utilized consultant services from the Wisconsin Association of School Boards (WASB) to provide assistance in the hiring of Smudde, said Panka. It was a multi-step process, which began with the WASB consultant, Rachel Schultz, interviewing the school board, administration, staff and community members in addition to an online survey to determine the characteristics most desired in the new district administrator.

Based on the interview and survey information, the school board reviewed 13 applications for the position in early February. Six candidates were selected to be interviewed in mid February. Three candidates were selected for a second interview which was held in closed session on March 6, and was comprised of a second board of education interview, an administration/staff member team interview and a community tour for the candidate. Based on the input from all parties which participated in the final interview, the school board decided to offer the position to Smudde, the district administrator of the Ithaca School District.

“I do not get stuck on being right, but I believe in doing right,” said Smudde when asked about his leadership style. “Hopefully, I can continue the great work being done for the students of the Prairie du Chien School District, and together we can continue pushing the envelope of educational innovation.”

Smudde said that he, his wife and three young children, are looking forward to becoming a part of the Prairie du Chien Area Schools community.

“My family and I are very excited to begin our lives in Prairie du Chien,” said Smudde. “The school district has been doing great things for the students and the community, and I am looking forward to being part of the building project. It is going to be a very exciting time, albeit busy.”

Smudde was raised in the rural community of Butternut. After graduating from Butternut High School, he went on to attend Northland College on an athletic scholarship, where he received bachelor’s degrees in psychology and business economics.

After Northland College, he pursued a master’s degree in school psychology from the University of Wisconsin–Whitewater. Upon completing his coursework, he worked in the Milwaukee Public School system as a school psychologist for middle and high school. During this time, he also coached junior college basketball at Waukesha County Technical College.  

After working in Milwaukee for four years, he accepted a position in the Janesville School District as a school psychologist at Craig High School. Smudde also wanted to expand his career horizons and enrolled at Cardinal Stritch University in their Master’s of Educational Leadership program. He completed his program in the fall of 2009.

Smudde has served in the Ithaca School District for the past seven years, the past three of which were as district administrator.

Prairie du Chien District Administrator Drew Johnson has overseen many changes in the district during his decade at the helm.  

“During the past 10 years, Mr. Johnson served our community as an innovative district administrator,” said Panka. “Our Bluff View elementary, intermediate and junior high schools have been recognized by the Department of Public Instruction as a ‘School of Recognition’ for the past five years, with our intermediate school being recognized as ‘Beating the Odds’ during the past two years. Our high school has been a ‘US News and World Report’ silver medalist and appeared on the AP College Board District Honor Roll for the past five years as well.

“Johnson has a strong belief in public education and he also understands the challenges that face it. He recognizes that in order for public schools to succeed they must provide the highest quality educational services to meet the needs of all children. Mr. Johnson has worked tirelessly to offer educational opportunities to ensure all students experience high achievement and success. From the expansion of early education opportunities in our 3K-peer modeling program to ‘AP for All’ in humanities at the high school, Mr. Johnson believed in an inclusionary philosophy in his approach to student learning. He was constantly seeking collaborative opportunities for the school district."

During Johnson’s tenure, the Prairie du Chien School District went from a fund balance of approximately $150,000 to its current fund balance of approximately $1.8 million, while maintaining one of the lowest per pupil spending caps in the state, Panka noted. Most recently, he worked in collaboration with the board of education in the passage of both an operating and capital referendum in the spring of 2016.

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