Help Our Cause
Your support and contributions will enable us to provide for the school's program needs. Your generous donation helps students succeed.
All donations are currently being matched 2-to-1 by Madison Community Foundation!
Parents Advocating Student Success, Inc. (PASS)
Mission and Purpose
PASS, or Parents Advocating Student Success, Inc. is a private, not-for-profit organization that is autonomous from the Verona Area School District (VASD).
The primary role of PASS is to grow and maintain relationships with the Verona Area School District (VASD), the Verona Area School Board (VASB) and Verona and surrounding communities.
PASS does this by:
- Holding the Verona Area Core Knowledge Charter School's charter contract with VASD
- Working with the district on contract updates and renewal every 5 years
- Assuring continued contract compliance
- Generating school fundraising opportunities for the CKCS Endowment Fund held through Madison Community Foundation
- Allocating the distributions from the CKCS Endowment Fund to the school
The PASS Board of Directors consists of five volunteer parent members who are elected for 1-year terms in an election held by the Parent Round Table (PRT) each spring. Of the five PASS members, two are the Governing Council (GC) President and Treasurer. In addition to the Board of Directors parent volunteers serve as PASS Officers heading committee activities.
Members and Positions
Linda Hmielewski
Board of Directors
President
Jill Kisting
Board of Directors
Vice President
Coleen Rupnow
Board of Directors
Secretary
Marcia Tennyson
Board of Directors
GC Representative
Joleen Rau
Board of Directors
GC Representative
Dave Vogt
Officer
Treasurer
Partner with PASS
Endowment
Established with Madison Community Foundation (MCF) in 2016, the CKCS Endowment Fund creates long-term financial sustainability for our students to succeed. The fund generates an annual revenue for the school to maintain materials, classroom needs, operating costs, and scholarships to our alumni. This fund assures a life time of success for current and future generations of students.
Distributions made between January 2019 and July 2020 up to $60,000 will be matched 2:1 by a grant from MCF!
Inspire Signs
"The great aim of education is not knowledge, but action." - Herbert Spencer
Our Inspire Partners have the opportunity to cultivate positive thoughts and attitudes through their Inspire Sign. Signs will be custom designed, wall mounted and located outside of CKCS classrooms, offices, and throughout the school. As an Inspire Partner you will select a quote to have displayed for the 2019-20 school year.
17 Again Dance
This 21 and older dance will have a fun new theme each year. All proceeds go towards the Verona Area Core Knowledge® Charter School Endowment. Costumes are encouraged but not required. Learn more about this years dance and to buy your event tickets click below.
Golf
The CKCS Golf Scrambles have been a huge success with sponsors, golfers, and donors coming together to raise over $10,0000 towards the CKCS Endowment Fund in the first 2 years.
Our 3rd outing is schedule for August 24th, 2019. To learn more about becoming a sponsor or event tickets click below.
Website
VACKCS.com is an information center for the CKCS families, staff and surrounding communities.
Serve on PASS
PASS has two opportunities to serve - as a Board Director or a Corporate Officer.
CKCS Relocation 2020
Updates
August 29, 2018
Throughout the summer the CKCS administration and PASS board continued to be involved in conversations with VASD regarding our school’s relocation in 2020. Superintendent Gorrell has confirmed the following:
- CKCS K-8 and Badger Ridge Middle School will be relocated to the existing main high school building
- New Century and VAIS will be relocated to the K-Wing
In late fall 2018, VASD budgets for the New High School project and the relocation remodels will be finalized. Additional information with more specific location information will be made available in 2019. The CKCS administration and PASS board will continue to be part of this process.
We will continue to post updates here on the progress of the process, timeline adjustments, input needs and the relocation decisions. Please feel free to contact PASS with any questions regarding this process at CKCS.alumni@verona.k12.wi.us or through the contact us link.
April 25, 2018
Following the April 4th, 2017 vote approving the Verona Area School District’s (VASD) New High School Referendum, Verona Area Core Knowledge® Charter School (CKCS) administration and parent leadership teams began to look ahead at the possible relocation scenarios for the school in the 2020-21 school year.
In conjunction with CKCS administration, Parents Advocating Student Success, Inc. (PASS) has evaluated input on several scenarios for the upcoming relocation of CKCS in the 2020-21 school year. The scenarios evaluated were:
- Scenario 1 – CKCS elementary and middle school (K-8) programs located in the kwing
- Scenario 2 – CKCS elementary and middle school (K-8) programs located in the current high school building
- Scenario 3 – CKCS elementary (K-5) program located in the kwing and CKCS middle school (6-8) program located in the current high school building
Over the course of 6 months meetings were held with parents, staff and administration to ensure input from various CKCS vantage points. These meetings followed the same format of discussing the Pros, Cons, and Questions to each scenario.
Input was received from the vantage points of:
- Administration
- K-8 Educators and Staff
- Parent leadership
- Parents of K-8 students
- K-8 Students
When reviewing the information gathered in the meetings, PASS focused it’s determination in each vantage point within the following areas, in no particular order:
- Program implementation and integrity (CKCS 20-year plan)
- Safety
- Budgetary planning
- District goals and relationships
The recommendation of PASS to Superintendent Gorrell and the Verona Area School Board is Scenario 2 – CKCS have its elementary and middle school (K-8) programs relocated to the current high school building along with Badger Ridge Middle School (BRMS.) This enables the CKCS elementary and middle school programs to maximize K-8 program implementation with easy and safe proximity to each other and complementary programs.
On March 19th, 2018 there was a District Remodel Planning Team meeting to begin preliminary conversations about potential relocations and remodeling needs. Both the CKCS administration and PASS continue to be active in conversations with the district and are represented in these planning phases.
The tentative timeline on the relocation assignment and remodeling process is:
- Spring of 2018 - establishing a schematic design
- Summer 2018 - budget evaluation of the schematic design
- Fall 2018 - Design development phase
- Additional staff and parent input may be requested
- Late January 2019 - Formal bidding and placement confirmation
PASS, in conjunction with the CKCS administration, will continue to post updates here on the progress of the process, timeline adjustments, input needs and the relocation decisions. Please feel free to contact PASS with any questions regarding this process at CKCS.alumni@verona.k12.wi.us or through the contact us link.