Hello, and Welcome to Upsala Area Schools

My name is Vern Capelle, and I am honored to serve the Upsala Area Schools – ISD 487 as the Superintendent, and in turn serve the communities of Upsala, Bowlus, Grey Eagle, and more. I am endlessly proud of our Districts' academic growth and our community's continuous, outstanding support. At UAS we operate with a passionate, skilled staff dedicated to unlocking the full-potential of each of our students.

Upsala Area Schools has a long, rich history that dates back to 1920, when four separate elementary schools consolidated under one new brick building. Today we continue to seek out technology advancements, programming enhancements, and innovative teaching techniques to not only honor our original graduates, but also to inspire and mold our future generations.

Background Credentials

• (Graduate) Educational Specialist – Educational Leadership –– Concordia University; St. Paul

• (Graduate) Master of Arts – Educational Leadership –– Concordia University; St. Paul

• (Undergraduate) Bachelor of Science – Biology/Secondary Education –– University of Wisconsin; River Falls

From the Superintendent's Desk

We have reached the end of another school year and, like many of the previous years, this year was filled with many memorable events and experiences. At the time of this writing, we are wrapping up our school year with final course/grade-level academic work as well as making final preparations for the commencement of the UAS Class of 2024.

Congratulations UAS Class of 2024

On May 24th, we will celebrate the commencement of the Class of 2024. This class of students, similar to other recent graduating classes, has endured a lot of uncommon experiences in their educational journeys thus far, and will move on to new experiences and opportunities. As part of our mission here at UAS, we work hard to ensure that all of our graduates are prepared for the next stage of their journey, whatever path they choose to follow. I am confident that each of our graduates will find success and wish each of them the best.

Summer Construction Project

This summer we will begin our Capital Facilities Improvement Project. We have been busy finalizing the details of the construction plans and are set for the construction to begin in early June. We are still anticipating that the main construction will be completed by late August and will not disrupt the start of the 2024-2025 school year. The project will provide a much needed renovation of the school’s HVAC system which will involve the replacement of the current hot water/steam boilers with high efficiency hot water boilers. Along with the boiler replacement, we will also be upgrading and replacing many of the rooftop air handling units to improve heating efficiency and provide for improved climate control throughout the facility. In addition to the HVAC system work, we will also be replacing a number of the roof areas of the school building that have reached the end of their useful life expectancy. These improvements will address a number of the significant maintenance issues that have been deferred over the past 10-15 years and will increase the efficiency of our building operations and result in significant savings in the cost of these operations. 

Due to the summer construction work, access to the school building will be significantly reduced over the summer months. Summer activity schedules will be similar to past years, however, we may have to relocate some activities to other locations in the building due to the construction. Any changes to schedules/locations will be communicated as soon as possible through our JMC messaging system and social media accounts. For more information, feel free to contact the main office.

2024 Legislative Update

At the time of this writing, the 2024 legislative session is winding down with one week left until its completion. This session’s work related to education has been primarily focused on policy work and providing much needed clarification for policies enacted last year. Additional funding may be provided to support some of the mandates that were placed on schools this year. We are still waiting on final bills to reach the House and Senate floors for votes and hope to have more information when the session concludes. In the meantime, we are planning to implement programming as a result of the 2023 mandates and will share more information regarding any changes as we receive them.

Thank You Mrs. Peterson

In closing, I would like to acknowledge and say thank you to Mary Jo Peterson for her many years of service and commitment to Upsala Area Schools. Mary Jo will be retiring at the conclusion of this school year and her legacy in Upsala will have an impact for many years to come.  Thank you Mrs. Peterson!. Best wishes.

Go Cardinals!

Vern Capelle
Superintendent of Schools