Schools
Why Did Anthony Strancke Resign?
Shorewood parents were shocked by his resignation, but the beloved administrator said he needs more time to not only be a father to his two children – but also to address a special education issue that impacted his family growing up.
Every morning, Shorewood Intermediate School Principal Anthony Strancke packs extra food in his lunchbag in case one of the students is hungry.
Once he gets to school, he welcomes all students coming through the door with a fist bump and a personalized greeting. And at the end of the day, he refuses to go home until every child has found a ride home.
Parents say he treats every child like they are his own, and he answers every parent's questions and concerns.
So when news broke Friday that the beloved educator is taking a job with the Pewaukee School District, Shorewood parents were left shocked, confused and angered that the district didn't do more to keep him in Shorewood.
Those parents spoke up at a Shorewood School Board meeting Tuesday night.
"When I think of someone...who really knows the middle school mind, I think of Anthony Strancke," said parent Mary Gorman.
"He identified each person, which made the students responsible," said parent Adrienne Widell. "He broke mob mentality and groupthink by letting each person know that he knew them and they were worth knowing."
Before Strancke was hired, parent Jenny Mauer said cognitively disabled students were shipped out of the district after sixth grade as part of the North Shore Special Education Consortium. Once Strancke took over the position, he hired dedicated staff for students at all grade levels and started a career transition program to help special education students adjust to life after high school.
"I am saddened by him leaving, and I am afraid for the special ed program," Mauer said Tuesday night.
Many of the parents said the district administration and School Board should have noticed the long hours Strancke was putting in to meet the demands of two job descriptions. One of those parents, Judy Wood, said the administration should have broken the hybrid position into two separate jobs to keep him from leaving.
"We feel like he's moving on to a position that could have existed here somehow," said parent Judy Wood.
Strancke's new chapter
Originally hired as the Shorewood Intermediate School principal in 2007, Strancke absorbed the role of special education director after 30 days into the job.
It was a job that Strancke took to heart, as he had watched the troubles his younger sister Jennifer had adjusting to life after high school. Just five years younger than him, she has Down Syndrome and rheumatoid arthritis – which made it difficult for her to get a job after high school.
Inspired to do what he could to help a younger generation of special education students, Strancke developed a cognitive disabilities program for special ed students ages 7 through 21 and gained internship partnerships with 16 Shorewood businesses.
While Shorewood High School is located in the middle of a bustling commercial district, Strancke had often wondered what he could do to address the transitional issues he saw Jennifer confront in their rural hometown of Kewauskum.
That's where Pewaukee comes in.
If he can make a career transition program work in Pewaukee, Strancke said he would be addressing a problem that has long been close to his heart – and could serve as a model for the rest of Wisconsin to learn from.
Similar to the way he built up Shorewood's special education services, Strancke said he is excited to see what he can do in Pewaukee.
"There is something professionally exciting to see if you can have the same results in a different community," he said.
While Pewaukee may be more rural, its districtwide campus buildings are all within a single city block. So instead of meeting special education students at Lake Bluff, Atwater, SIS and the high school, Strancke would be able to see all of his students in a consolidated location – something that matches his hands-on, personalized leadership style.
For a dad with two young children, the idea of holding one job title instead of two was also a selling point for Strancke.
“I was concerned my kids would remember me asking them about their events when I got home from work, as opposed to looking up at me and seeing me cheering from the stands,” he said.
Pewaukee has always had a designated student services director, whereas Shorewood has always had some sort of hybrid model. While Strancke has had discussions with Lexmond about separating the two positions, the administration recommended earlier this year– given the budget challenges and Strancke's interest in both roles – that he get assistance from a new assistant principal/special education coordinator position that be created from the athletic director/dean of students position.
Strancke said he was not interested in taking a promotion to full-time special education director, because it would have came at the price of declining services elsewhere.
"I don’t want to get an increase in pay and promotion if some other aspect of the organization is going to struggle," he said.
With Strancke's departure, the administration is recommending the intermediate school have its own designated principal. Depending how much revenue is allocated in the state budget, the board will consider hiring a new, full-time special education director or contract a special education coordinator through a nearby district.
While the board debates its options, Strancke is saying his goodbyes. Although he is excited by his new opportunity, he said he will cherish the connections he made in Shorewood. He said the students and parents here possess a polite and caring character that is hard to come by in other communities.
“I love Shorewood, and I truly feel honored to have the phenomenal opportunity to work with these kids and get to know these families," he said. “I’m very proud of what we accomplished over the last six years, and I feel very confident in the state I’m leaving the special education program."
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