LEADING THE WAY
For the fifth consecutive year and seventh overall, the School District of Elmbrook was ranked the #1 Wisconsin Public School District by Niche.com. Elmbrook was also ranked #42 nationally. In 2024, all Elmbrook schools received an A+ rating, with Wisconsin Hills Middle School and Brookfield East High School taking first place in their levels.
NATIONAL BLUE RIBBON SCHOOL
Brookfield East High School was named a 2023 National Blue Ribbon School by the U.S. Department of Education. Recognized for its exemplary work in closing achievement gaps, East was one of only three high schools nationwide to receive this honor.
In 2018, Elmbrook became the first Wisconsin district to implement the HOPE Squad, a peer-to-peer suicide prevention initiative at Brookfield East and Brookfield Central High Schools. The program, based on peer-nominated student leaders, bridges the gap between students and adults during crises. After success, it expanded to Elmbrook’s middle schools and other Wisconsin districts to address youth stress, anxiety, and depression. In 2024, Elmbrook’s HOPE Squad was featured on PBS NewsHour and Spectrum News Wisconsin.
FUTURE-READY GRADUATES
CLASS OF
2024
The Elmbrook Promise is the District’s commitment to offering students the opportunity to access 30 college credits before graduation through an extensive list of options. College credit courses range from Firefighting to Teaching Methods to Accounting. In 2024, Eric Perrin (BC ‘24) and Deidre O’Day (BE ‘24; pictured) became the first Elmbrook students to complete their Associate Degrees from WCTC prior to receiving their high school diplomas!
1,014 AP EXAMS TAKEN
with a score of 3 or higher
1,482 COLLEGE CREDITS EARNED
through Technical College & Dual Enrollment
VALEDICTORIAN
brookfield central high school
VEDANT SHUKLA
SALUTATORIAN
brookfield central high school
AMAN AMJAD
VALEDICTORIAN
brookfield east high school
MICHAEL DESELNICU
ANUBHAV PARIDA
SALUTATORIAN
brookfield east high school
CO-CURRICULAR SUCCESS
CO-CURRICULAR SUCCESS
TENNIS
STATE CHAMPIONS
The Brookfield Central Boys Tennis Team won the 2024 WIAA Division 1 state title, finishing the season with a 26-2 record. Additionally, Aaditya Tiwari (12) and Jacob Smith (11) placed second in the state in the Doubles competition.
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TEAM TENNIS | BCHS Boys Tennis
BATTLE OF THE BOOKS | PPMS
400 YARD FREESTYLE RELAY | BEHS Girls Swim
200 YARD FREESTYLE RELAY | BE/BC Boys Swim
100 YARD BACKSTROKE, Maggie Wanezek | BEHS Girls Swim
200 YARD INDIVIDUAL MEDLEY, Maggie Wanezek | BEHS Girls Swim
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HOCKEY | Stars Hockey Team
SOCCER | BEHS Boys Soccer Team
GOLF, Payton Haugen | BEHS Girls Golf
300M LOW HURDLES, Regan Scott | BEHS Girls Track
POLE VAULT, Johnny Botch | BEHS Boys Track
100 YARD BUTTERFLY, Sophia Brueggeman | BCHS Girls Swim
200 YARD FREESTYLE, Audrey Olen | BEHS Girls Swim
200 YARD MEDLEY RELAY | BEHS Girls Swim
TENNIS DOUBLES, A. Tiwari, J. Smith | BCHS Boys Tennis
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MARY POPPINS, Brookfield Central
OUTSTANDING LEAD PERFORMER | Andrew Kindler as Bert
OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING PERFORMANCE | Bella Bloxham as Jane Banks
OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING PERFORMANCE | Suha Muqeet as Michael Banks
SPIRIT AWARD | Lucy Heideman
OUTSTANDING CHOREOGRAPHY | Alli Hickmann
OUTSTANDING SCENIC DESIGN | Tim Barnes
OUTSTANDING COSTUME DESIGN | Christine Birt
THE LITTLE MERMAID, Brookfield East
OUTSTANDING MUSICAL
OUTSTANDING LEAD PERFORMER | Lucy Irwin as Ariel
OUTSTANDING LEAD PERFORMER | Ryder Ruck as Ursula
SPIRIT AWARD | Hannah Topp
The December 2023 Unified Sports basketball game united students with and without disabilities to work together and have fun!
“31 Elmbrook students from First Grade through Eighth Grade qualified for the National Science, History, and Geography Bee competitions in Orlando, Florida. ”
BEHS Senior, Eiman Mir, was selected as the 2024 Wisconsin Journalist of the Year by the Wisconsin Journalism Education Association!
Sam Slowik (BCHS ‘27) won the Best Overall Award at the Elmbrook 3-Minute Film Festival for his stop-motion animated film Learning to Fly!
BCHS Senior Class President, Maggie Feng, was named a Coca-Cola Scholar Semifinalist, a National Merit Finalist, and a Herb Kohl Scholarship Finalist!
Jake Zheng (BEHS ‘26) won the National Championship for Future Business Leaders of America’s ‘Introduction to Public Speaking’!
7 ELMBROOK ALUMNI COMPETE IN THE OLYMPIC SWIMMING TEAM TRIALS
become what's next
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![Rohin Gupta]()
Rohin Gupta, a Sophomore at Brookfield East, was selected as a delegate for the summer’s Youth Leadership Forum by the Wisconsin Board for People with Developmental Disabilities in Madison. Each year, only 25 students from across the state are selected as delegates based on their leadership potential and active participation in the school community.
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![Ellia Trochelman]()
The Wisconsin Council of Administrators of Special Services (WCASS) awarded Brookfield Central students Luis Gutierrez and Ellia Trochelman with a Personal Achievement Award and a Student Advocate of the Year respectively.
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![Ojas Sahoo]()
Burleigh Elementary student Ojas Sahoo represented the state of Wisconsin at the 4th Annual John D. Rockefeller III National Chess Tournament of Elementary School State Champions. He competed against other state champions from around the country in a series of tournaments and secured a second place finish in the U1400 Blitz Tournament!
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![Pilgrim Park Middle School Logo]()
Pilgrim Park Middle School was named the 2023-24 JAM Region IV Spirit of Excellence Award Winner by the Wisconsin Association of School Councils. This award honors one school in each region for outstanding leadership, sportsmanship, and service.
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![High School Logos]()
Several Elmbrook students were recognized by the 2024 National Center for Women and Information Technology for their computing achievements. Amoolya Mammula (BE ‘24), Elena Rickert (BE ‘27), and Anushka Vysyaraju (BC ‘24) won Wisconsin Affiliate Awards. Vaidehi Ramachandrula (BC ‘26) received a National Honorable Mention.
EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP
Brookfield Central Computer Programming Teacher, Ryan Osterberg, won a 2024 MET Award (Manufacturing, Engineering and Technology) from Wisconsin Business World.
RYAN OSTERBERG
TEACHER FELLOWSHIP GRANT RECIPIENTS
Brookfield East's Nicole Augustine and Pilgrim Park's Jose Galvan were named Herb Kohl Teacher Fellows for their excellence and innovation in the classroom.
ANNIE SCHMIDT
Brookfield & Burleigh Elementary School Orchestra Teacher, Annie Schmidt, was awarded a Certificate of Excellence in Instrumental Music Instruction from Civic Music MKE.
Brookfield East Principal Andy Farley was named the 2024 National Secondary Principal of the Year. Under his leadership he fostered a culture of academic and human excellence, launched Wisconsin's first Hope Squad, and ensured 99% of the Class of 2023 took a college-credit course. Farley also received the 2023 Terrel H. Bell Award for Outstanding School Leadership.
THIS IS OUR CREW
On April 28, Andy Farley (National Principal of the Year) and Dr. Mark Hansen (Wisconsin Superintendent of the Year) threw out ceremonial first pitches at a Milwaukee Brewers game, an event coordinated by the Elmbrook Education Foundation.
Brookfield Central Baseball Coach Jeff Bigler was inducted into the Wisconsin Baseball Coaches Association (WBCA) Hall of Fame in February 2024. In celebration of this honor and his recent milestone of 500 career wins, he threw out the first pitch for the Milwaukee Brewers.
become what's next
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Matt Dapelo
The Brookfield Jaycees has selected Brookfield Central Social Studies Teacher, Matt Dapelo, as their 2024 Outstanding Educator. Matt was nominated by Brookfield Central’s administrative team for his leadership and student-driven impact in the building.
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Matt Schroeder
The Wisconsin Council of Administrators of Special Services (WCASS) named Wisconsin Hills Middle School Principal Matt Schroeder the 2024 WCASS Administrator of the Year for his outstanding work in the field of Student Services.
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Dan Wandrey
Dan Wandrey, Brookfield Central Boys Basketball Coach, was inducted into the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame following his 400th win in January 2023. Wandrey has served as a head coach at BC since 1998.
The annual Engaged in Excellence Awards celebrated 64 individuals and three teams as Finalists from over 2,000 nominations. Milwaukee Tool and Waukesha County Technical College were honored as Community Partner Award recipients, and two alumni from the original graduating classes of Brookfield Central & Brookfield East were honored with Alumni Excellence Awards - Barbara Consigny (Brookfield Central ‘58) and Dan Buran (Brookfield East ‘64).
PROGRAM INNOVATION
The Elmbrook Transition Center (formerly Project STRIVE) which services students ages 18-21 with special needs, moved its location to Brookfield Square to better connect students with job opportunities and the community. The Transition Team won the 2024 Golden Apple Award for Excellence in Teamwork!
Elmbrook partners with Boswell Books in Milwaukee to bring in renowned authors and illustrators for engaging presentations with students as a way to promote literacy. This year, a total of six best-selling authors and illustrators visited the District including Katherine Applegate, pictured above.
Elmbrook’s 2024 Summer School Program was a major success. The program serves 2,800 community 5K-8th grade students and offers unique and engaging programming from space exploration and STEM to art camp and algebraic reasoning!
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Elmbrook Schools was named one of the Best Communities for Music Education by the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) Foundation in 2024. Elmbrook was one of only 975 Districts from across the country to receive this year’s award, which serves as a testament to the exceptional music education opportunities and dedicated staff in our schools.
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2023-24 marked the rollout of Science-Based Reading following board approval the previous Spring. The approach emphasizes elements of both Word Recognition & Language Comprehension, which ultimately lead to Reading Comprehension.
Elmbrook’s Food Service Department partnered with Fork Farms to grow their own lettuce for school kitchens. The lettuce grows in four weeks and helps counteract rising food costs while reducing waste by 40%. This sustainable method extends the lettuce's life by 2-3 weeks and decreases food safety risks.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
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Empty Bowls Fundraiser
Dixon Elementary School’s annual Empty Bowls & Gallery Night fundraiser raised over $7,000 for the Milwaukee Rescue Mission! The evening showcased student art around the school and included a wildly popular glow room which featured blacklights and glowing artwork.
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Book Vending Machine
The Dixon PTO bought a Book Vending Machine for their students. Stocked with children’s books, the machine takes a special coin that students receive on their birthdays to cash in for free picture or chapter book. More of our elementary schools followed suit to continue to spread a love of literature!
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Most Influential Educator
Each year, fifteen seniors from both Brookfield Central and Brookfield East nominate their Most Influential Educators to be honored at a banquet hosted by the EEF. These top-performing and most-improved students are asked to nominate a teacher who had a significant impact on their K-12 education.
ELMBROOK EDUCATION
FOUNDATION
Since its founding in 1958 the Elmbrook Education Foundation has donated $1.7 million in scholarships and over $845K in grants and initiatives.
BOARD LEADERSHIP
Following Board approval, the Burleigh Elementary School Library celebrated its grand re-opening in the Fall of 2023. The renovation marked the first major facelift for the space in nearly 60 years!
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Teacher Compensation Model
In April 2024, the Board approved a new Teacher Compensation Model that prioritizes continuous learning and longevity. It offers clear career pathways, salary guidance, and new incentives to attract and retain top educators.
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Facility Planning
Throughout 2023-24, the Board of Education prioritized facility decisions for Fairview South and the former Hillside Elementary school. These decisions are the beginning of a Master Facility Planning process, targeted for completion in 2025.
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Robotics and Automation Learning Space
Elmbrook’s new Robotics and Automation Space at Brookfield East opened in Spring 2024. Accessible to all Brookfield Central and Brookfield East students through District courses, it also houses the BEAST Robotics Team.