Our Organization

We Love Rural Schools!

We believe in strong schools and communities. Our priorities are to provide a unified voice for rural schools at the local, state, and federal levels, celebrate the incredible achievements of rural schools, and curate research, news, events, and resources for rural educators, including our annual WiRSA conference.

WiRSA began in 2008 as a group of CESA and district leaders who recognized that rural school districts were not well-represented or significantly discussed at the state level. We did not see these schools, staff, or students receiving the recognition they deserved. We began by hosting annual conferences from 2008 to 2011 to promote rural education and highlight success stories.

In 2012, we officially formed our organization and began accepting memberships. We continued the annual conference and steadily grew our membership to over 168 public schools out of 310 rural districts, 10 colleges and universities, and 10 CESAs, as well as dozens of individuals and businesses. We continue to evolve our resources, awards, and events to best serve our members and stakeholders.

Leadership
Executive Director, Jeff Eide

Jeff Eide has been in public education for 34 years. Prior to serving our rural schools and communities as WiRSA’s Executive Director, Jeff taught in the classroom, was a gifted and talented coordinator, and was a head football coach.  Administratively, Jeff served as a K-12 associate principal for three years, was a middle school and high school principal for ten years, and was a district administrator for eight years.

 “I firmly believe that our rural school districts are the backbone of education in Wisconsin, and I have a deep passion for doing what is best for our rural schools, students, and communities. We are in challenging times, and leadership from our state organizations and state legislation is more important than ever. As WiRSA’s Executive Director, I am driven to support rural education in Wisconsin because the success of rural schools directly reflects success in our state.”  Jeffrey S. Eide

Executive Board

President — Patrick Galligan / Colby District Administrator

President-Elect — Jesse Brinkman / Algoma District Administrator

Past President — Brandon Robinson / CESA 11 Agency Administrator

Secretary — Valorie Kulesa - Board of Education / Gilman Board Member

Treasurer — Sarah Ploeckelman, Elementary Principal / Riverdale School District

Board of Directors

  • Heather Fish

    Director - Region 1
    Administrator, CESA 5

  • Jesse Brinkmann

    President Elect - Region 1
    School Administrator, Algoma

  • Sue Todey

    Director - Region 1
    School Board Member, Sevastopol

  • Ryan Frye

    Director - Region 1
    Social Studies Teacher, Mauston

  • Paul Fischer

    Director - Region 2
    Agency Administrator, CESA 4

  • Al Brokopp

    Director - Region 2
    District Administrator, Monticello

  • Eric Thunstedt

    Director - Region 2
    School Board Member, Westby

  • Sarah Ploeckelman

    Director Region 2
    Riverdale - Elementary Principal
    Former Spanish Teacher

  • Brandon Robinson

    Past President - Region 3
    Agency Administrator, CESA 11

  • Patrick Galligan

    President - Region 4
    District Administrator, Colby

  • Valorie Kulesa

    Secretary - Region 3
    School Board Member, Gilman

  • Mykayla Sygulla

    Director Region 3
    Cornell School District

  • Betsy Gruszynski

    Director - Region 4
    Associate Director of Business Services, CESA 9

  • Nate Burklund

    Director - Region 4
    District Administrator, Niagara

  • Stacy Tlusty

    Director - Region 4
    School Board Member, Rib Lake

  • Vince Czahor

    Director - Region 4
    Beecher-Dunbar-Pembine
    Principal

  • Dr. Tim Buttles

    Statewide Director
    UW System Rep, UW-Platteville
    School of Eduction Director

  • Mandy Lang

    Statewide Director
    Technical College Rep, Mid-State

  • Diana Bohman

    Statewide Director
    Regional Library Rep

  • Josh Robinson

    Statewide Liaison - DPI
    Assistant State Superintendent for the Division of Academic Excellence

WiRSA Founders

From Left to Right: Ben Niehaus 2019 WiRSA President, Founders - Fred Yeo, Don Stevens, Bob Beaver, Chuck Pursell, Nancy Hendrickson, Senator Luther Olson accepting for Joan Wade, Jerry Fiene and Executive Director Kim KauklFounders not pictured: Ken Kasinski, Art Keenan, Bob Kellogg, Guy Leavitt, Fred Schlichting and Dave Polashek

From Left to Right: Ben Niehaus 2019 WiRSA President, Founders - Fred Yeo, Don Stevens, Bob Beaver, Chuck Pursell, Nancy Hendrickson, Senator Luther Olson accepting for Joan Wade, Jerry Fiene and Executive Director Kim Kaukl

Founders not pictured: Ken Kasinski, Art Keenan, Bob Kellogg, Guy Leavitt, Fred Schlichting and Dave Polashek

We are grateful to the vision and foresight of our founding members: Bob Beaver, Jerry Fiene, Nancy Hendrickson, Ken Kasinski, Art Keenan, Bob Kellogg, Guy Leavitt, Chuck Pursell, Dave Polashek, Fred Schlichting, Don Stevens, Joan Wade, and Fred Yeo.

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