Whitehall Regional Emerging Technology Center opens with ribbon-cutting
Whitehall School District leaders joined Ronald, Joyce and Todd Wanek in cutting the ribbon to celebrate the grand opening of the Whitehalll Regional Emerging Technology Center last Thursday. The educational facility on the Whitehall school grounds will teach area students in a number of trades and modern technology courses, beginning this fall. The Ronald and Joyce Wanek Foundation contributed $1 million to the project. (Times photograph by Benjamin Pierce)
The Whitehall Regional Emerging Technology Center was filled on Thursday with children testing new technology, families roaming through the 16,400-square-foot facility and even a beeping robot driving between the hustle and bustle of a visibly wondered crowd.
Last Thursday marked the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the center, which will provide students with a modern approach and hands-on experience with trades and technology. The facility will teach courses in 3D modeling/printing, computer science, drones, autonomous vehicles, robotics, AI development and more.
Courses will be taught to students within the Trempealeau Valley Cooperative 2.0 schools— Whitehall, Independence, Arcadia and Blair-Taylor — as well as the Osseo-Fairchild and Eleva-Strum school districts.
“This is not just a building. It’s a symbol of our commitment to preparing our students for the future and equipping them with the skills and knowledge that they need to thrive in an ever-evolving world,” Whitehall middle/high school principal Damon Lisowski told the audience assembled at the facility last week. “Our new emerging technology lab is designed to be a hub of innovation, creativity and hands-on learning where our kids can explore, create and imagine without limits.”
The lab will begin teaching students this fall, offering course credits and certifications that can be transferred to a number of colleges and career paths. The building, which used to house Beaver Builders Supply, was purchased in 2022 for $800,000. The purchase was approved in a special meeting of electors, which authorized the district to spend $2.5 million to purchase that building and renovate both it and the high school building.
The district was helped by a $1 million contribution from the Ronald and Joyce Wanek Foundation.
Ashley Furniture Industries founder and chairman Ron Wanek said the facility puts Whitehall “ahead of the game.”
“These types of educational initiatives are important in foreseeing the next generation and getting them ready for the new technology-driven work environment,” Wanek said Thursday.
One of the people who will frequent the facility is Kristoff Ausderau, who teaches math, computer science and robotics in the district. The former computer programmer said when he first began teaching in Whitehall, he hoped to fight barriers often seen by rural schools with traditional school scheduling.
The new facility will do that, Ausderau told attendees, saying multiple students will be in the laboratory completing assignments for different courses and certificates at the same time. Students and staff will learn by making mistakes and adjusting along the way.
“This will allow our students not just to consume technology but to create real-world solutions with this technology. In a world where technology is omnipresent — computers, AI, smart sensors, robots — we must ensure our students understand the technology behind these devices,” Ausderau said. “It can’t just be magic to them. This understanding is crucial, as they will be the ones making decisions about the technology in the future, shaping the world we all live in.”
LAB Midwest was a company that helped the Whitehall district create and operate its mobile skills laboratory in 2018. This experience began with exposure to certifications and industry technology learning, which grew into the recent facility.
Matt Kirchner, president of LAB Midwest, told Thursday’s attendees that the new laboratory is a unique offer not just in Wisconsin but in the entire U.S., saying no one else is creating similar opportunities for students.
“This isn’t your typical classroom and this is not your typical educational facility. This is cutting edge,” Kirchner said.
“Your school district and your community was willing to take a risk on what education should look like in the future. I wish I had had an opportunity to learn in a lab like this when I was young, and I just know that our great instructors and teachers — Kristoff (Ausderau) and Alex (Eid) are going to create a world of magic for the next generation here in Western Wisconsin.”
Whitehall Superintendent Mike Beighley described the facility as a combination of passion from area business leaders, educators and the Whitehall community.
Beighley said area education leaders received a tour of the facility recently as they learned about how AI is changing education and the need for structural change in delivering that education.
“As we look at our future, it is bright. But it is bright because we are passionate and we care, and we turn that passion into action. … Now is the time. This is a building. The equipment is phenomenal. Like Matt (Kirchner) said, there is nothing like this in the country. I don’t say that for a feather in our own caps. I say that because we need to understand the responsibility that comes with that as well. We have an obligation to continue to fight for our kids, to fight for our future.”
