7QUESTIONS+PLUS

William Hittman, the principal of LakeView Tech Academy. Hittman arrived at Lakeview in the fall of 2002 after serving as an administrator in the Sheboygan Area School District. This week he answers your questions about LakeView’s rising enrollment, the minority achievement gap and his favorite robots.

Hittman will now take your questions ...

Is LakeView capable of accommodating the increased enrollment of late? If not, what are the plans to handle all of these students? The capacity of LakeView is 385 students. At present we have 336 students with 375 signed up for next school year. We will reach capacity either this summer or next school year. We do have plan for a 20,000 square foot addition that will take the capacity of LakeView to about 530 students. That project was put on hold until the Indian Trail comprehensive high school issue was decided.

Is the open air classroom design going to survive at Lakeview? Do you prefer it? LakeView does not have an open air classroom design. Five years ago LakeView underwent extensive remodeling putting in partial walls and carpeted walls and now the remodeling is basically done other than for a few additional walls this summer.

If you were a teacher at Lake View, what subjects or classes would you most want to teach? I would most want to teach classes in our new Biomedical Engineering track.

What percentage of LakeView students in Project Lead the Way actually enroll in engineering programs in their post-secondary education pursuits? What is the graduation rate for Project Lead the Way students? I do not have the exact percentages at this time but in the past the percentage was between 50 and 60 percent. The graduation rate for Project Lead The Way Students has been 100 percent.

How do you spend your summers? I spend much of my summer working on new courses and projects at LakeView, the Kenosha eSchool, and last summer I worked with the new K-TEC school. I do a little traveling out of the state and attend a national conference sponsored by Union Pacific Railroad. I also enjoy watching my softball team the LakeView Hitmen. This summer I hope to spend time with my daughter and her new restaurant, La Rev in downtown Wauwatosa.

What’s the best piece of wisdom you’ve taken from any one or your students? Mr. Hittman “you give me hope.” Educators are in the “hope” business. I take that charge very serious.

What reasons can you give for a student to attend a school like LakeView instead of a traditional high school? This is a personal choice. Both settings are right for specific students. I do tell students that LakeView is a specialty school and what we prepare students to enter after high school we do a very good job. Our specialty is pre-engineering, high technology manufacturing, information technology, and aviation technology.

Growing up, do you think you would have benefited from going to a school like LakeView or do you prefer a traditional public school setting? I would have loved to have gone to a school like LakeView. The quality of the programs and the quality of the staff would have been a huge benefit to me.

You were previously a superintendent but gave that up to become principal at LakeView. Why, and do you see yourself ever going back into that position? I was a Teacher, Assistant Principal, Coordinator, Director of Business Services, Superintendent but never a Principal. I wanted to work at this level and bring about a systemic change. I do not have a desire to return to the position of Superintendent at this time.

As a former superintendent, why is that position so hard to fill, and why are so many school districts so secretive in the process? The position is hard to fill because there is a significant shortage of truly quality candidates. The reason school districts are secretive about the process is to protect the personal integrity of those applying and to minimize being unduly influenced. The Board of Education is an elected representative position. They represent us and until otherwise they deserve our trust. If they violate that trust they should be removed.

Your school has been lauded for besting not only the rest of the district but leading the state in ACT scores. What’s the secret, and can that be applied to other high schools? At LakeView we take the Wisconsin Knowledge and Concepts Exam very serious as do other schools. We prepare the students for the exam by reviewing and addressing the students’ weaknesses. We provide a diet the days of the exam that supports attention and focusing. LakeView students know the test is an important measure of their abilities and learning and know that employers may want to see the results.

If you could have your way, how would you close the minority achievement gap? We know how to close the gap; putting the steps in place to do so is the real challenge. Students need a well thought out and sequential curriculum. They need highly qualified teaches who know how to tap into student interests and strengths. They need common assessments so the data can be used to improve student achievement. When the student falters there needs to be immediate and effective interventions to help the student master the concepts being taught. Since students learn at different rates there needs to be an effective tutorial program available to all students who need it. These steps will and have proven to be very effective when effectively implemented.

As a school that specializes in engineering, and having a group that scored very high in the state robotics competition, how realistic is it that we will have personal robots in every household by 2025? I do not believe that every household will have a personal robot by the year 2025. I do know that robots will and are playing an ever increasing role in our daily lives. They continually perform tasks that increases our quality of life.

Who was your favorite robot and why: Rosy from the Jetsons? The Lost in Space Robot? R2D2? C3PO? Or Hal from 2001 a Space Odyssey? I prefer Hal from 2001 Space Odyssey. He had a mind of his own!