2012-2013
Award Winners
page 7
A N O K A
SPRING 2013
-
H E N N E P I N
S C H O O L
D I S T R I C T
Three district schools earn national
Awards of Distinction
T
hree district specialty schools
attracted top honors in 2013.
Outstanding community support, flexible, committed faculty and
staff and a fully integrated curriculum
are the secrets to their success.
Healthier schools
Champlin–Brooklyn Park Academy
for Math and Environmental Science,
Anoka Middle School for the Arts,
and Blaine High School Center for
Engineering, Mathematics and Science
(CEMS) were all named Magnet
Schools of Distinction by Magnet
Schools of America (MSA) in February.
In total, nine Minnesota schools were
award winners but Anoka-Hennepin
secured three of the top spots, more
than any other district in the state.
page 2
CPHS lullaby concert
Dr. Lori Dykstra, curriculum
integration coordinator, is the driving
force behind the Blaine High School
CEMS program.
page 4
Principal John Phelps explains,
“From the beginning, Lori and the staff
connect students with other classes
such as world languages and the arts
assuring a completely integrated curriculum and a unique experience. The
capstone projects (a significant final
project for seniors) are so good because
they are hands-on and they force the
students to communicate. The language
of a scientist must translate to the
language of the general public.”
Obliviate the Hate
Anti-bullying Week
page 6
Disability Awareness Week
page 6
Dykstra adds, “Students take math
and science all four years. But what
is unique is the opportunity to take
engineering classes that allow them to
explore even deeper.” She is quick to
thank a solid advisory board made
up of higher education professors,
engineers in the community and
An art class at Anoka Middle School for the Arts (AMSA) integrates geometry
into the study of Islamic art, which incorporates complex, repeated geometric
patterns. AMSA is one of three district schools recognized with a National
Award of Distinction. A feature story and more photos are available on the
district website.
parents. These community members often serve as mentors to the incredibly
creative students.
At the Champlin–Brooklyn Park Academy for Math and Environmental
Science, Principal Marilyn McKeehen and curriculum integrator Denise
Schnabel offer a standing ovation to their community network. The city of
Champlin’s Environmental Resources Commission, Three Rivers Park
District, the Champlin Garden Club and parents like Andrea Kroenig make
the academy’s award-winning curriculum possible. “We are so incredibly
proud of the program we put together. Our newly formed school resulted in
bright faculty and staff who are fully supported by outstanding parents and
community members.”
Schnabel adds, “We have 11 raised bed gardens, a green house and we
partner with the PTO on their greeting garden. Everything ties to curriculum.
It is so exciting to be able to offer these types of programs and experiences
and to watch the students develop ownership and pride in what they create.”
continued on page 2
What state spends in education is not what we get
By Superintendent Dennis Carlson
B
y the time you
read this column,
it is quite likely
the Minnesota Legislature
will have concluded its
session and the fate of
Anoka-Hennepin School
District’s financial health
will have been determined.
As this time – two weeks
out from the end of the session – the outlook
for Anoka-Hennepin is bleak.
That is in sharp contrast to reports in the
media. You have likely heard legislators quoted
in the news speaking about the importance of
investing in education, even to the point of
raising additional money for schools with a
tax increase. Legislators and the Governor are
spending $2 billion - Anoka-Hennepin must be
doing just fine for the next two years.
education students in Minnesota receive should
not depend on their zip code.
Unfortunately, as has happened in the past,
it doesn’t look as if that additional money will
be spread evenly across the state. It is likely our
district will once again receive less than the
state average in funding per student and we will
be close to the bottom. If that happens, it won’t
be because we have not made our voices heard.
We have tried to make our legislative delegation, House and Senate leadership, and the
Governor’s office aware of our Anoka-Hennepin
needs. None of these entities provides enough
revenue to cover the cost of inflation our
district faces annually. The cost of providing
educational programs, operating buildings and
running buses increases about 3 percent each
year. At this point it looks like Anoka-Hennepin
will receive an increase of about 0.9 percent the
first year and 1.5 percent the second year to pay
for existing programs and services. The district
needs about $36 million over the next two
years to simply maintain current class size and
programs. Under the House bill, the district
Your School Board members and administration have been working very closely with our
legislators, as well as other key state legislators,
to describe our needs for fair funding. We have
testified a number of times before Senate and
House committees on various bills, urging
adequate and equitable funding and we have
consistently made it clear that the kind of
continued on page 2