Dean of Students position is working out well at Decorah HS

Decorah HS Dean of Students David Waskow

Decorah High School Dean of Students David Waskow and Principal Kim Sheppard shared some statistics with the Decorah School Board Monday night about the impact the new Dean of Students position has had at the high school.

As we reported last week, Waskow's main job is "triage"--talking with high school students about minor problems before they lead to bigger problems.

Waskow and Sheppard told school board members that because Waskow was able to concentrate on this issue, the number of tardies at Decorah High School dropped from 1,200 in the first semester to 800 in the second semester.  Likewise, 638 truancies in the first semester declined to 471 in the second semester.

The two also highlighted Waskow's work with students who were getting Ds or Fs in class.  By taking early intervention and assigning kids to working lunches or to the Viking Success Center, several students were able to improve their grades.  As a result, only three Fs were handed out in the second semester.

School board member Melanie Tietz agreed that "triaging" was a good approach.  "Once kids dig a hole, it's hard to get out," she noted.