The EdVisions School Network has selected the Northwoods Community Secondary School (NCSS), a charter school in the School District of Rhinelander, as a “Visionary School.”

The distict's technology director, Jan Bontz, reported the achievement to the school board at its regular meeting earlier this week. "NCSS will be a lab school," she said. "there are four in the nation, out of 65 schools that are in the EdVisions network. We'll have other schools come here and observe and learn. In fact, the administration from Nakoosa High School were here last week."

"It's quite a coup for us," Bontz added. "We've been notified by the DPI tentatively that we'll be receiving dissemination money from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for this program."

EdVisions is a coalition of innovative schools supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The network of 65 small high schools across the country is known for its advisory-based school design and project-based learning curriculum methods.

The EdVisions Network includes the Academy of Architecture and Design in New Jersey, the New Country School in Minnesota, and the Phoenix High School in Washington State. The common design essentials of all the schools in the network focus on personalized learning through advisories with a project based curriculum.

NCSS was selected as a Visionary School because of its "best practice" in many areas, its experienced faculty members that have the potential to serve as mentors to new teachers in EdVisions’ schools, and its ability to host visitors who are interested in developing this model of learning into their own school districts and communities.

NCSS has already been host to a contingent of educators from Japan, dozens of educators from the Upper Midwest who are starting small project-based schools, and teachers and students from Janesville, Beloit, and Milwaukee. The NCSS staff has also mentored teachers from other districts in "immersion trainings" or job shadowing environments. 

NCSS teachers have led trainings and workshops at state and national conferences; and most recently helped with the Rural Charter School Alliance during their summer project-learning workshop.  This included teachers from Winter, Glidden, Butternut, Mercer, and Mellen School Districts.

As a result of this recognition as a national exemplar of learning, and its highly visible work in Wisconsin for educational professional development, NCSS will continue to host national and regional training events for schools and educators in the EdVisions network of schools.