Warrior Chief: MHS Principal Sees Progress and Challenges

There are plenty of things that point to success at , not the least of which is academic test scores.

Calling his "the most challenging job in the entire school district," Superintendent Dr. Joe Schroeder said Bussen lead the surge in scores by his development of an "achievement culture" at MHS.

"Academically, MHS students have demonstrated a steady increase in ACT scores over the past five years – not only in the composite score, but in every single area assessed," Schroeder said in awarding Bussen with a 2012 Compass Award.  "This has led to a steady growth of students seeking out greater rigor in AP courses, with a particularly amazing increase from over 500 AP courses taken this year to over 800 registered at MHS for 2012-13.  So the upward trajectory will undoubtedly continue."

Bussen said his own trajectory in education began as a student, when his role models were his teachers and coaches in high school.

"They were supportive, and people I really respected and admired, and I wanted to get involved where I could also help other young adults," he said.

A 33-year career in education, which included teaching biology and chemistry, coaching football and basketball in the Waukesha school system and an associate principal's post in the Delavan/Darien school district, brought Bussen to Muskego, where he's seen a steady increase in the appetite for students seeking tougher courses to prepare them for college.

"We have more students wanting to take on more challenges, taking 'zero hour' courses (those that begin before the school day), and a greater interest in our 'Project Lead the Way' engineering curriculum," Bussen said. "We've just been granted a 5-year accreditation in that program as well."

In addition, the renovations at MHS that included a new Performing Arts Center have seen a resurging arts and co-curricular program that Schroeder called "the envy of many around us... our music performance groups continue to be recognized as some of the best in Wisconsin and our MHS athletic teams have claimed the SEC All-Sports Conference Championship the past three years – and are currently positioned to claim the overall championship again this year."

However, Bussen and Schroeder say the biggest task that still nags at them is the lagging achievement gap at MHS. High performers v. students who struggle based on standardized test scores and other measures has long been a focus of the education establishment, and Muskego has not been immune.

Bussen said that collaboration with the middle schools in identifying and addressing problems early, and catching students up before they transition to high school is one of the keys to closing the gap. In that regard, coaches and intervention programs have been instituted at the middle school level, and have seen early success.

The good news lately has far outweighed the bad, and Bussen said the goal will be to continue the upward progress. He pointed to a review team from the NCAA Advanced Education Accreditation, which called Muskego's advanced courses and rigor 'highly functional,' meaning classes taken here translate well into college credit.

The Muskego Warrior ethos according to the high school's website is two simple words 'Never quit,' which has served the school in the classroom as well as on the field. Given that, it's clear Bussen won't let the challenges facing the high school be the final word.