Dane County Transition Schools


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>>The No Stopping Point Curriculum | >>Key Phrases

A School With No Stopping Point!

Exciting Happenings at DCTS

"Making the Transition"

Article from the Isthmus

"Her Day at the Office is a Dream Come True"

Article from ANEW Magazine 1/2004

Dane County Transition School is involved in the largest Interact Club in Wisconsin. Interact is a high school service club that works in conjunction with Rotary International. The Interact philosophy encourages endless community involvement; thus, coinciding with the DCTS motto, "Schools with No Stopping Point". Below is a list of a few of the service-learning projects that DCTS participates in:

Project Warmth
For the past five years the students from DCTS have made over 500 polar fleece blankets that are distributed to children and adults in and around Dane County. This year the students will be making blankets for Project Linus, which gives blankets to children at UW Hospital.

Watershed Clean-up
Due to a generous grant from CUNA Mutual, DCTS students have and continue to participate in a watershed clean-up project throughout much of the school year. Students conduct clean-up, stream bank restoration, and water sampling of area lakes and rivers. In addition to giving back to the community through service learning, students gain valuable work experience and hands-on instruction in watershed ecology.

Bikes for Kids
Through a grant from "By Youth for Youth", students at DCTS purchased tools to repair and refurbish donated bicycles. Since the beginning of this program, students have diverted hundreds of bikes out of the landfill and given them to people in need of a bicycle. If you need a bike please contact the Wheels for Winners or FreeWheel programs. DCTS collaborates with both organizations. If you are interested in donating a bicycle please contact Keith Pollock at DCTS, (608) 250-5210.

Cell Phone and Ink Jet Cartridge Recycle
The Dane County Transition School is currently collecting used cell phones and empty printer cartridges for recycling or refurbishing. The money earned from this program goes to pay for wilderness trip experiences. If you would like to make a donation to this program please call the school for drop off information, (608) 250-5210.

Woodshop for Wildlife
Students at DCTS build wood duck, bat houses, squirrel boxes and bluebird houses to place in natural areas around Dane County. In addition, students build Leopold Benches for resting areas. This program teaches students about mathematical and ecological concepts through hands-on learning. If you would like the students to build something for your group please contact us, (608) 250-5210.

Ecological Restoration
After receiving a grant from the Dane County Environmental Council, students at DCTS worked at the Indian Mound Conservation Park in McFarland and the Pheasant Branch Conservancy in Middleton to remove invasive species to restore prairie and savanna environments to pre-settlement vegetation. In 2006, DCTS received a Plant Dane grant to purchase native plants to install a rain garden at the school. Since the beginning of the 2007-2008 school year, DCTS students have also participated in cleanup and restoration projects involving the Yahara River and Starkweather Creek watersheds.

Take a Seat for a Cure
For the past three years, students at DCTS have decorated chairs to donate to the Fort Atkinson's Relay for Life auction which donates proceeds to the American Cancer Society. If you would like to donate a chair for this program, please contact Keith at (608) 250-5210.

Toiletries for the Homeless
Since 2003, DCTS students and Rotarians have collaborated in collecting unused toiletries from hotel visits and redistributed them to the needy. Students organize the toiletries and place them in decorated bags, then distribute them to various homeless shelters.

War Veterans Project
This is our third year of conducting interviews with War Veterans. This project is in partnership with the Breakfast Rotary Club. Interviews are conducted by approximately fifteen students while pictures and videos are taken. Interviews are later transcribed and given to the War Veterans Museum and the interviewed veterans. Participating veterans are honored at an end of the year celebration.

Children's Garden

The children's garden has been a successful partnership between DTCS and the Harambee Center. Children from the Headstart program planted vegetables and flowers with the students at DCTS. Throughout the summer children were able to eat tomatoes and broccoli.

Other Service Learning Projects

Recycling office paper, newspaper, and cans...
Building bookcases for a domestic violence prevention shelter
Planting gardens with pre-school children
Reading to pre-school children
Sewing flannel pants for people in need
Repairing senior citizens' homes