because we have. I just think methods on how you resolve conflict and having spaces to have resolution before things turn into physical conflicts and things of that nature are important. Just as much as we focus on literacy, we have to teach behaviors as well. That’s a huge part of what we do on a daily basis.”

The school response has also been to make mental health resources available to students and staff. However, there can be cultural barriers to the traditional approach to mental health services. And so the Verona schools have had to keep those cultural differences in mind when providing mental health services.

“We feel that overcoming cultural barriers to mental health services is getting better each year,” Clardy said. “Sometimes there are some thoughts — almost like blame or shame — around mental health that we really try to mitigate. If a person has a very high level disease, we wrap all sorts of support around them. Just because you can’t always physically see a mental health issue doesn’t mean that it isn’t equally as detrimental to the student. Mental health and physical health are equally as important. It has helped shift the tide that we will support you no matter what the scenario is and it is okay to talk about it.”

For the past several years, Clardy and his team have focused on leveling the resource playing field in order to make Verona schools conducive to all students fulfilling their potential.

“Leveling the resource playing field has gone very well,” Clardy said. “Our annual report shows our closure in opportunities for our students. We’re not there yet. There is still a gap between our Black and Brown students and their peers. But the gap is getting closed. I don’t believe in the mindset of the achievement gap. I think that puts the onus on the students, that they did something wrong. I explicitly focus on the opportunity gap and making sure that we have an opportunity for all of our students. That also means an explicit focus on making sure that grade level and above instruction and materials are in front of all of our students. Sometimes people get in a mindset that if a student is performing based off of a metric that lowers the instruction or curriculum, you can’t do that. If you do that, you create a bigger gap. What you do is provide access to grade level and above instruction. Our work this year in our professional learning communities will be strongly supporting all of our staff to ensure that it’s grade level and above instruction in front of every student and in every classroom.”

As with the rest of the state, Verona schools took a hit in their literacy scores during the pandemic. And so the school district is focused on bringing literacy scores and skills up to where they were and beyond for literacy skills are the gateway to learning other subject areas.

“We’ve seen a two-year growth in student test scores and grades,” Clardy said. “Based on our test scores, we will continue to focus on k-2 in literacy. While we are growing, we’re not seeing the sharp rise like we see in some of the other grade levels. We have phenomenal staff in k-2, so we will continue to provide additional supports around where we need it and maybe invest in additional strategies. The most important thing is that we have very strong staff members who want our students to be highly literate. We have that will and the skill to increase the scores. We know the importance of second grade literacy to the third grade year where literacy helps you have a deeper understanding in your skillset. We know what focus we need and we have the right staff in place make sure there is improvement.”

Clardy has also been focused on using outside partners to assist in the human and academic development of the students. Verona Area High School has partnered with 100 Black Men of Madison and the Boys & Girls Club’s AVID/TOPS program. The results were reflected in the100 Black Men’s African American History Bowl Challenge.

“Our market team took first and our middle school team placed,” Clardy said. “And our high school team did very well. They might have lost to the eventual champion in the second round. We represented Dane County in all categories. We were very pleased with the performance of our students. I say, ‘Don’t underestimate the Verona Area School District. Just because it’s our first or second time being a part of it, we can compete. And we have special, special students here. When they have the guidance, the opportunity and the space to shine, they excel.”

The city of Verona and the surrounding area — fueled by Epic Systems and other companies — is growing by leaps and bounds and it is reflected in its growing student population. And people of color are sharing in that growth.