Dr. Patricia (Porisch) Deklotz named Wisconsin’s 2016 Superintendent of the Year
The love for her work in public education and the fight for the rights of all children to learn and achieve is apparent in the passion she takes with her to the job.
That intensity to create an equal opportunity for all has deep roots. Roots that reach to growing up in southwestern Minnesota with a politically-active mother.
This advocacy has earned Dr. Patricia “Pat” (Porisch) Deklotz, superintendent of Kettle Moraine School District (KMSD), recognition as Wisconsin’s 2016 Superintendent of the Year, as named by the Wisconsin Association of School District Administrators.
The KMSD school board voted unanimously to nominate Deklotz as Superintendent of the Year. In the nomination, School Board President Gary Vose notes the “extraordinary leadership” she has provided. “Pat has always been motivated by what is in the best interests of our students,” states Vose. “Her demonstrated leadership of being committed to the right motives, with unquestioned integrity, has created success for the Kettle Moraine School District.” Vose went on to share that Deklotz has encouraged staff members to innovate and has inspired the community to support its schools, all with the goal of helping students be successful, “not only in academics, but in life after Kettle Moraine.”
Deklotz was the third of six children who grew up on a farm south of Mountain Lake. Her father, Richard Porisch, was a share-cropping farmer, and her mother, Marie, a school teacher who left her one-room schoolhouse to become wife and mother. However, she did not leave behind the cause for the education of children. She cultivated political ties with Hubert Humphrey and Walter Mondale, and led a successful campaign for the right of kindergarten students to receive bus transportation.
Sadly, the life of Deklotz’s mother was cut short at age 42. While still in high school, Deklotz stepped up to carry on her mother’s various missions. First as “chief cook and bottle washer” for the family, a title given to her by her dad; and second by steeping herself in her mom’s political activism for children and their education.
The route Deklotz took to her current position, however, was circuitous and definitely non-traditional. After graduating from Mountain Lake Public High School in 1971, she attended Concordia University in St. Paul, dropping out of college in 1974 just two quarters shy of her teaching degree in order to provide for her own family.
Deklotz worked 20 years in financial software development and with non-profit organizations prior to changing her career course. She earned her bachelors degree from Carroll University in Waukesha, Wisconsin in 1995, becoming a teacher in 1996. Deklotz continued with her education, achieving her Master of Science Degree from Cardinal Stritch University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 2001 and her Doctorate of Philosophy, also from Cardinal Stritch, in 2013. In fact, on a spring May 2013 weekend, Deklotz and her son were both awarded their doctoral diplomas at the same ceremony.
From July 2001 to July 2003, Deklotz was principal of the Glendale/River Hills (Wisconsin) School District. She was assistant superintendent at KMSD from August 2003 to June 2006, and has been its superintendent since July 2006.
Her involvement with KMSD actually began years before becoming a member of its administrative team. Deklotz began by serving as a parent volunteer and PTO (Parent/Teacher Organization) co-chair. Before returning to college to pursue her teaching license, she spent five years on the KMSD School Board, serving as president for the last two years of her term.
Currently Deklotz serves on the state Coordinating Council for Educator Effectiveness, Waukesha County Technical College Board, GPS Education Partners Board and the President’s Advisory Council for Carroll University. She is chairwoman of the Cooperative Service Agency No. 1 Superintendent’s PAC; co-chairwoman of Southeast Wisconsin Schools Alliance, vice chairwoman for Waukesha County Technical College and president of GPS Education Partners, a nonprofit provider of youth apprenticeships. She is also an active member of the business and civic organizations serving the 10 municipalities that make up the KM School District. Deklotz was recently selected to serve on an education forum with Condoleezza Rice. In the past year, she has met twice with President Barack Obama to discuss education and policies.
Deklotz resides in Delafield, Wisconsin with her husband, Joe. They have three children and five grandchildren.
As far as the recognition, Deklotz says she is deeply honored and humbled. Emblematic of being a leader, she deflects the accolades away from herself to point out that, “This honor is a reflection of the amazing work of our school board and our educators. I am very proud of our team and the personalized learning opportunities we provide students.” She also credits the support of Kettle Moraine parents and community members for the district’s success. “Our culture of continuous improvement and innovation allow us to cultivate academic excellence, citizenship and personal development for all students,” Deklotz stresses.
KMSD is a K-12 district that serves 4,200 students in southeastern Wisconsin. In addition to its four elementary schools, middle school and high school, KMSD has created three charter high schools; one multi-age project-based elementary charter school; and a project-based, interdisciplinary multi-age middle school house.
Under the leadership of Deklotz, the school district increased transcripted, advanced placement and dual enrollment courses; implemented Project Lead the Way and Gateway to Engineering; implemented four-year-old kindergarten; created the four charter schools and developed an advanced manufacturing certificate diploma.
While it is recognized on a national level for its work to personalize learning for its students, the school district also embraces personalized learning for its staff. Deeper learning and micro-credentialing provide a foundation for the redevelopment of educator compensation and the development of career pathways. As well, job-embedded coaching is provided through Directors of Learning and Lead Educators
The school district recently renovated all six of its school buildings and has implemented a robust technology infrastructure. This work was supported by the community’s passage of a $49.6 million bond referendum in April 2014.
The Wisconsin Association of School District Administrators will present the 2016 Wisconsin Superintendent of the Year award to Deklotz at the joint WASB/WASDA/WASBO Convention in Milwaukee in January.
Additionally, she will represent Wisconsin in the National Superintendent of the Year Program, sponsored by the American Association of School Administrators (AASA), VALIC and Aramark, at AASA’s National Conference on Education in Phoenix, Arizona in February.