As we wrap up another school year, I want to take a moment to acknowledge the heart, effort, and resilience that each of you has brought to Venture Academy. This year, like so many before it, was full of challenges that demanded creativity, flexibility, and patience—and you rose to meet them with compassion and grit.

Every hallway conversation, each difficult student interaction handled with care, every late night planning lesson materials or supporting a colleague—all of it matters. All of it adds up to a school environment where students know they are seen, valued, and believed in. That is no small thing.

We’ve built a place where at-risk students get another chance, where relationships are the intervention, and where growth is measured in more than just grades. You are the reason this works. From our teachers and paras to our counselors, secretaries, support staff, custodians, and kitchen team—everyone contributes to the culture of care and possibility we’ve created here.

Take time to rest this summer. You’ve earned it. I hope you return refreshed, reminded of your impact, and ready for another year of the meaningful work we do together.

With gratitude,

Teresa, Bri, and Skyler

 

To the Whole Venture Crew—Thank You

It’s the last day of Teacher Appreciation Week, and at Venture, that means we’re celebrating all the teachers in the building—and not just the ones with whiteboards and gradebooks.

Because here, teaching happens in every corner of the school. It's Rachelle helping students figure out both their presents and their futures.  It’s Josh sweeping up through chaos and calm alike. It’s Marita, Eliseo, Lucy, and Bob offering support, structure, and steady presence. It’s Caryn and Karen making the front office and online office run like a well-oiled (and frequently interrupted) machine. It’s Officer Noble keeping us safe and steady. It’s Val and Marybeth not only feeding everyone, but doing it with grace—even after cleaning up a mess none of us planned for this week.

Which brings us to... the lockdown. That was not the appreciation gift we had in mind. And yet, every one of you stepped up. Calm under pressure, caring toward students, focused on keeping things safe and running. It was a reminder—like we ever needed one—that this staff is something special.

This week may be “Teacher Appreciation Week,” but around here, we know that job titles don't define the difference-makers. You all teach—through kindness, patience, teamwork, humor, and grit.

So as we wrap up this week of gratitude, know this: You are appreciated. You are admired. You are the reason Venture works.

Thank you for being exactly who you are.

—Teresa

Week of  May 12 
Bus Duty: Cysewski
Monday:  
Tuesday: 
Wednesday:  
Thursday: Trent visiting Venture
Friday: Cross District collaboration 7:30 - 

Week of  May 19 
Bus Duty: Vaughan
Monday:  
Tuesday: 
Wednesday:  
Thursday: Trent visiting Venture
Friday: Non Work Day

Week of  May 26 
Bus Duty: Levy
Monday:   Memorial Day
Tuesday: 
Wednesday:  
Thursday: Trent visiting Venture
Friday: Certified Staff Collaboration 8:00 - 3:00

Week of June 2
Bus Duty: All Hands on Deck- outside, in the halls, in the commons
Monday: 
Tuesday: 
Wednesday:  Final Grades posted for seniors at 3:30 pm - no exceptions.
Thursday:  Finals for all students Seniors arrive at 3:00 Graduation 6:00
Friday: Teacher clean up day.

Week of June 9
Monday: Certified Staff Work Day - flex.  This day is a flex day in exchange for working the graduation.  Thank you!

Have a great summer!

 

Dear Venture Staff,

The third trimester is off to a really good start.  Thanks for everything you've done to make that happen.

As a staff, we need to complete our HRS level two survey. This survey is vital for helping us focus and refine our collective work, as well as aligning it with district initiatives. Please ensure that you fill this out before Spring Break.

Additionally, there is a student survey available on Clever. Please plan on giving this survey by Thursday, March 20.  This allows some time to know the students (which often leads to more accurate responses) and it allows for make up time before spring break starts.  

Please talk to students and explain that we use this information to find out how they're doing and to make improvements to our program.  You could have a bit of a class conversation where they talk about things that are going really well for them.  They can do an "ink, pair, share"  where they write the good stuff on a sticky note, then share it with a partner, then they can share with the class.  Then they can come up with one reasonable suggestion for improvement and share that. Be sure to collect these.  

Then the next day they could do the survey.  This small step, or one similar to it, is incredibly impactful on how seriously students take the survey.  

Thank you for your attention to these important tasks.

 

Thank You for a Fantastic Venture Community Night!

A huge thank you to our incredible staff for all the hard work that went into making Venture Community Night such a success! We had an excellent turnout, and families had great interactions with vendors representing a variety of community resources. The success of the evening was made possible by the efforts of everyone on our staff, and we are truly grateful.

A special shout-out to some who put in a particularly valiant effort:

• Becky – Thank you for building networks with our community partners. The relationships you’ve fostered truly benefit our students, helping them feel supported by the broader community.

• Val, Marybeth, Tony, Eliseo, and Shelly – Thank you for creating an opportunity for students to make and serve healthy snacks. The fruit smoothies and tacos were delicious, and everything was homemade—even the salsa and guacamole!

• Christy and the leadership students – Your thrift shop setup gave students a chance to pick out new outfits, adding an extra layer of excitement and support to the evening.

And to the entire staff—your teamwork and dedication made this a memorable evening of fun and community. Your hard work does not go unnoticed, and we appreciate everything you do to make Venture a special place.

Thank you all!

Setting the Tone: Building Community on Day One

As we wrap up our second term and head into a new trimester, I want to take a minute to recognize the work each of you has been doing. As a district, we’ve agreed that the instructional framework is our primary focus for improving learning, and I  believe that Venture teachers are ahead of the game at the secondary level. Your efforts to incorporate the workshop model, discussion protocols, thinking strategies and opportunities for deep thinking have made a difference for so many students.  You are helping young people become learners and critical thinkers.  Thank you for setting these priorities in your own classrooms and for working with colleagues so we can collectively grow our repertoire of instructional strategies.

Since the first day of the term sets the tone for all the learning that will follow, I want to encourage you to be intentional about building a strong classroom community right from the start. In Phenomenal Teaching, Wendy Ward Hoffer reminds us that students thrive when they feel seen, heard, and valued. I’d love for you to review Chapter 3 on Community and consider:

• How are you welcoming students? Are they greeted in a way that makes them feel like they belong?
• How are you setting the tone for engagement? Are you making expectations clear and inviting them into the learning?
• How are you co-creating classroom norms? Are students involved in setting expectations for how they will interact, collaborate, and engage in learning? 
• How are you encouraging student voice? Are students getting a chance to share, ask questions, and feel like their contributions matter? What are the specific protocols you want to use this term?
• How are you establishing purpose? Do students leave class understanding why what they’re learning is meaningful?

It doesn’t have to be complicated—small, intentional choices can make a huge difference. A warm welcome, a quick community-building activity, or a meaningful conversation can go a long way.

As we continue growing our skillset together, I’d love to hear from you—how can I support you in this work? Let me know what you need, whether it’s resources, brainstorming time, or anything else.

Thanks for everything you do for our students. Here’s to a great start to the new term!

Week of  March 10
Bus Duty: Njoku
Monday:  
Tuesday: 
Wednesday:  
Thursday: Trent visiting Venture
Friday: Non work day

Week of  March 17
Bus Duty: Mahoney
Monday:  St. Patrick's day!
Tuesday: 
Wednesday:  Kennedy out@am
Thursday: Trent visiting Venture
Friday: Certified Collaboration Day; Breakfast-themed potluck.

Week of  March 24
Bus Duty: Mazhon
Monday:  
Tuesday: 
Wednesday:  Awards Assembly
Thursday: Trent visiting Venture
Friday: Non work day

Week of  March 31
Spring Break!

Week of  April 7
Bus Duty: Nettles
Monday:  
Tuesday: 
Wednesday:  
Thursday: Trent visiting Venture
Friday: Non work day

Week of  April 14
Bus Duty: Tacke
Monday:  
Tuesday: 
Wednesday:  
Thursday: Trent visiting Venture
Friday: Non work day

 

Thank you for your hard work today and for your ongoing work to provide the best possible learning opportunities for your students.  You make a difference!

Testing... for our online students will begin after spring break. For in-person students, it will occur on Tuesdays and Wednesdays during April with Makeups happening on Mondays/Thursdays.

Assessment Schedule

Week of  February 24

Bus Duty:  Penske
Monday:  
Tuesday: 
Wednesday:  RTI
Thursday: Trent visiting Venture
Friday: Non work day

Week of  March 3
Bus Duty: Gonzalez
Monday:  
Tuesday: Kennedy out@am
Wednesday: RTI, Community Day 
Thursday: Trent visiting Venture, Last Day of Term, Last day of Interims
Friday: Non work day

Week of  March 10
Bus Duty: Njoku
Monday:  
Tuesday: 
Wednesday:  
Thursday: Trent visiting Venture
Friday: Non work day

Week of  March 17
Bus Duty: Mahoney
Monday:  St. Patrick's day!
Tuesday: 
Wednesday:  Kennedy out@am
Thursday: Trent visiting Venture
Friday: Certified Collaboration Day; Breakfast-themed potluck.

Week of  March 24
Bus Duty: Mazhon
Monday:  
Tuesday: 
Wednesday:  Awards Assembly
Thursday: Trent visiting Venture
Friday: Non work day

Week of  March 31
Spring Break!

Week of  April 7
Bus Duty: Nettles
Monday:  
Tuesday: 
Wednesday:  
Thursday: Trent visiting Venture
Friday: Non work day

Week of  April 14
Bus Duty: Tacke
Monday:  
Tuesday: 
Wednesday:  
Thursday: Trent visiting Venture
Friday: Non work day

 

From Bri...Working at school, I believe a large part of my role is helping take care of our staff. This goes beyond words, notes, and evaluations. It’s about creating an environment where everyone feels safe, valued, and truly appreciated. When people know they are cared for and supported, they are naturally motivated to give their best to our students and our school community. Since I am coming back from time away from Venture, I wanted to make sure I can continue building this culture of care, To get to know you all better and show care beyond words, I’ve created a quick survey to learn about your favorite things so we can celebrate and support you in meaningful ways—because you matter!

Take the Favorite Things Survey Here

January and February can feel like a long, gray stretch for both students and teachers. The holiday fun has passed, and spring feels far away. It’s a time when school has settled into the routine, and the pull of spring days or holiday festivities no longer competes for our attention. Midwinter can feel dull, but it also offers a unique opportunity to ignite a spark in our classrooms and create high points in the school year for our students and ourselves.

This season, we have a chance to lean into the quiet and use it as a springboard for powerful, meaningful learning. These moments of engagement and discovery can break the monotony and bring back some of the joy of teaching and learning. When students are immersed in meaningful work, it not only brightens their days but also builds their confidence and sense of accomplishment.

Consider ways that students can be more "hands-on, minds-on".  Some ideas:  Analyze real-world data, design and test structures for various purposes, host a mock trial, create time-lines, re-enact an historical event.

Encourage creative expression.  Some ideas: create short videos to explain thinking or give life to a narrative, use technology to create visual presentation or infographics to explain complex information, have students write short scenarios that they can act out with classmates to explain an event or concept.

Gamify.  Use AI to create some competition to liven up a review, set up an escape room (there are templates for this online), have students create games to reinforce content area skills. 

Let students lead.  Empower students to take the lead in their learning by creating student-run discussion panels on issues that matter to them, work on projects that align with something they care about.

Keep the joy in our own journey.  Ideas: collaborate with colleagues to swap ideas and support one another, celebrate wins by looking for small successes, learn something new to grow your own instructional skill.

Let’s use this season as an opportunity to create memorable, enriching experiences for our students and ourselves. By focusing on engaging, meaningful learning, we can make this part of the school year a bright spot.

February 14 Certified PD Day.  How fun for us all to be spending Valentine's day together.  Maybe Caryn will help us plan a potluck.💕   We will be talking about Academic Dialogue (chapter 5 from Phenomenal Teaching)  I would like to try something new this time and dig into a different resource.  Some of you have recommended "The Cult of Pedagogy" and I would like to dig into one of her episodes for that day:  Listening and Discussion Techniques  It's an oldy but goody.  

Edit:  February 14 is a cross district collaboration day.  We will meet as a Venture staff on Feb. 21.

Week of  January 27
Bus Duty:  Vaughan
Monday: 
Tuesday: 
Wednesday:  
Thursday: Trent visiting Venture
Friday: Non work day

Week of  February 3
Bus Duty:  Levy
Monday:  TK out all week
Tuesday: 
Wednesday:  
Thursday: Trent visiting Venture
Friday: Non work day

Week of  February 10
Bus Duty:  Smith
Monday:  
Tuesday: 
Wednesday:  
Thursday: Trent visiting Venture
Friday: Certified PD Day

Week of  February 17
Bus Duty:  Hook
Monday:  President's day No School
Tuesday: 
Wednesday:  
Thursday: Trent visiting Venture
Friday: Certified PD Day

Week of  February 24
Bus Duty:  Penske
Monday:  
Tuesday: 
Wednesday:  
Thursday: Trent visiting Venture
Friday: Non work day

 

Happy New Year, Team Venture!

I hope you all had a relaxing holiday and are feeling refreshed for the next leg of our school year. I’ve been reflecting on where we are and where we want to be, and would like to share some thoughts with you as we dive into this next chapter together.

Discipline and IEPs

To ensure consistency and clarity, here’s a quick reminder of our roles regarding discipline and IEPs:

• Skyler: Freshmen and TSC
• Brianne: Sophomores
• Teresa: Juniors and Seniors

While we can all step in for each other as needed, big decisions should involve the assigned administrator to align with previously agreed-upon plans.  We are not asking teachers to try and remember who to contact regarding individual students.  Please include all of us on discipline related emails and we will triage as necessary.

Supervision of Instruction

We’ve structured supervision of instruction to provide targeted support:

Brianne:

• English: Levy, Smith, Cysewski, Eastman
• Online: Mires, Fehling, Alison, Doering, Orchard, Whaley
• Counseling: Smotherman
• Electives: Hook, Cooley

Teresa:

• Math: Mazhan, Gonzalez, Mahoney, Vaughan
• Special Education: Mantz, Miller, Njoku
• Science: Pensky, Nettles
• Social Studies: Wilson, Tacke
• MSW: TBA

Addressing the Current Crisis

I recognize that we’re in a challenging moment regarding student academics and behavior. To respond, I’d like to make two promises:

1. One of us will be present in the commons at least 90% of the time to ensure visibility and support.
2. We are here to assist you. Whether it’s working with individual students or providing extra support in your classrooms, we’re ready to help.

Here’s how you can call on us:

• Email one or all of us with the name of a student you’d like us to focus on or details about a class where you need extra support. We can work with students in content areas, we can read with them, help them write, help with their writing or various assignments.  
• Please consider which students might benefit from this additional support and be sure you send any materials that we will need to work with them.  
• My hope is for at least one of us to be working with a student or small group for at least 4 of 5 periods per day.
• We’ll collaborate with you to strengthen students’ social and academic skills.

Moving Forward Together

I believe in the power of this team and the work we do for our students. Let’s continue to lean on each other and stay focused on creating the best possible learning environment.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on these plans—what works, what could be improved, or any other ideas you’d like to share. Together, we can tackle these challenges head-on.

Here’s to a strong start to the new year!

Staff Collaboration... Last time we met, small groups chose a lesson plan and made a commitment to helping the teacher adapt and improve that lesson so that it aligned with workshop model for the purpose of improving student learning.  How is that going?  Please check in with the teacher this week to bounce ideas around or offer suggestions to improve the lesson.  We will debrief this on Friday, 1/27.

Also on that day, we will review chapter 5 in Phenomenal Teaching and do a mid-term check in of IPLP goals.  Remember our commitment to get 1% better at something?  We will review progress with that goal as well. 

Week of  January 6
Bus Duty:  Cooley
Monday: 
Tuesday: 
Wednesday:  
Thursday: Trent visiting Venture
Friday: Non Work Day

Week of  January 13
Bus Duty:  Wilson
Monday: 
Tuesday: 
Wednesday:  
Thursday: Trent visiting Venture
Friday: Certified collaboration PD day: meet in library at 8:00 am

Week of  January 20
Bus Duty:  
Monday: Martin Luther King Jr. Day No school
Tuesday: 
Wednesday:  
Thursday: Trent visiting Venture
Friday: Certified collaboration PD day

Week of  January 27
Bus Duty:  
Monday: 
Tuesday: 
Wednesday:  
Thursday: Trent visiting Venture
Friday: Non work day