PREPARING STUDENTS FOR LIFE
PAGE 7
Anoka-Hennepin schools remain a
state leader in student achievement
There’s an old saying — numbers never lie.
Teachers like Lincoln Elementary School for the Arts
kindergarten teacher Melissa Johnson know the
saying all too well.
Scott Lempka. He pointed to the use of teacher-led
professional learning committees (PLC) and better
student intervention as the foundation for the
school’s success.
“Numbers are helping me teach students math
concepts, but they’re also helping me and my
colleagues drive instruction and discover the best
way to reach students,” Johnson said.
“We use the PLC time to look at data and form
instructional groups,” he said. “We also get to focus
on kids at an individual level, which is huge.”
Johnson couldn’t agree more, saying weekly PLC
meeting time has created an opportunity for teachers to collaboratively look at student data while also
allowing intervention teachers time to plan — an
opportunity that wasn’t there before.
Numbers also help tell a larger story about the
district’s overall student achievement: AnokaHennepin is among the state’s best at educating
students.
Earlier this year, test results
“For teachers, this is a
indicated Anoka-Hennepin’s
sacred time that we dedistudents were high flyers in
cate to looking at student
math, reading and science
data and planning inter— the three subjects tested
ventions to help our strugby the state on the
gling students,” she said.
Minnesota Comprehensive
“Our reading recovery and
Assessment III (MCA). All
math recovery teachers are
- Rebecca Coubal, Lincoln Elementary
students around the state
invited to our PLC meetSchool for the Arts second grade teacher
take the test annually, and
ings on a rotating basis,
Anoka-Hennepin students
which allows us to utilize
not only showed growth in all three testing areas,
their expertise in working with our struggling learnbut significantly outperformed state averages in all
ers and create interventions specific to our students'
three (see sidebar).
needs.”
“ We give (students)
every ounce of extra
support we have. ”
But why is Anoka-Hennepin showing such growth?
For the answer to that, one could look back to
schools like Lincoln, which is located in Anoka.
Lincoln second grade teacher Rebecca Coubal
said the student growth as a result of both the PLC
collaboration and interventions has been impressive.
On last year’s MCAs, Lincoln posted some staggering increases in student achievement. In science,
the school jumped 20.9 points, from 55.6 percent of
students meeting proficiency in 2013, to 76.5 in
2014, which is also more than 15 points better than
the state. In reading, Lincoln jumped 7.1 points to
63.3 percent, which is also better than the state
average of 60.1. Math is a similar story. Lincoln
students were up 1.7 points to 75.2 percent, which
is more than seven points better than the state.
“We give (students) every ounce of extra support
we have,” Coubal said. “In my class I have seen
students grow rapidly over the course of the year.
Students who came into my room below grade-level
were able to leave on track and ready for third
grade.”
And Lincoln’s not alone. Anoka-Hennepin schools
across the district now have dedicated PLC time for
teachers, and the benefit on student achievement is
clear. On Oct. 1, the state released its Multiple
Measures Rating for Minnesota’s Title I schools,
which are schools with high percentages of poverty
“We’re very, very proud of our scores and our
rating. It’s very validating,” said Lincoln Principal
0
2013
2014
0
2013
2014
Eisenhower Elementary named
ENVoY demonstration site
cont. from page 5
“That’s where I find the most benefits with ENVoY: it’s relationships,” Mares said. “And not just teacher-student, but studentstudent. It’s them taking responsibility for their own learning and
being part of a successful team.”
Rock said she sees ENVoY as a piece that’s been missing in a
lot of traditional programs for teachers, which don’t often
include coursework in how to manage a classroom effectively
and efficiently.
“When I went through the teacher prep program a number of
years ago, we didn’t have a class on how you manage a classroom of first graders or second graders,” she said.
While using ENVoY does require teachers to go through more
training, the trade-off is a better classroom environment, more
productivity, and easier relationships with students, Geisenhoff
said. And the improvement in school culture since implementing
ENVoY is remarkable.
“You can feel the difference even when you come in the
door,” he said. Being an ENVoY demonstration site “provides
that opportunity for other teachers. If you can come in and see
it, it’s like, OK, I can do that.” ■
40
20
0
60.0
2013
61.4
State Average
60
68.7
Anoka-Hennepin
64.0
State Average
State Average
20
63.2 60.1
Anoka-Hennepin
40
62.1 59.2
State Average
Anoka-Hennepin
State Average
20
Anoka-Hennepin
Proficiency level
40
60
Science MCA-III Elem.
80
Anoka-Hennepin
68.1
67.4
60
Reading MCA-III Elem.
80
75.1
74.8
State Average
80
100
100
Math MCA-III Elem.
Anoka-Hennepin
100
2014
Lincoln Elementary School for the Arts second grade teacher
Rebecca Coubal works with a student during a math lesson.
that receive funding from the federal government to
support math and reading resources. Eight AnokaHennepin elementary schools (Adams, Eisenhower
and Hoover Elementary Schools in Coon Rapids;
Lincoln and Wilson in Anoka; Jefferson and Madison
in Blaine; and Monroe in Brooklyn Park) were named
Reward Schools, the highest designation given to
the top 15 percent of schools in the state. Two more
were ranked in the next 25 percent, known as
Celebration Eligible Schools (Hamilton and
Mississippi Elementary Schools in Coon Rapids). Not
a single Anoka-Hennepin Title I school was deemed
a Focus or Priority school, or those ranked in the
bottom 35 percent in the state.
Johnson said she feels lucky to work at a school
like Lincoln where student achievement and success
is a whole-school effort. “Our entire staff works collaboratively and tirelessly in the best interest of our
students, and it shows in our recent achievement
scores,” she said.
She’s also proud of her students. “They put in the
hard work necessary to reach their full potential,”
Johnson said.
For Lempka, students and parents are part of
it all too. “This doesn’t happen in a vacuum —
teaching kids,” he said. “For our students to be
this successful, it really is a partnership with parents
too. We’ve had parents express positive feedback
about that.” ■
Grad Spotlight
cont. from page 8
ruling,” she said. He bluntly told me he didn’t
want to hear it. Unless I was willing to serve,
he didn’t want to hear my complaints.”
At first she was hesitant, but after doing
some research and talking to colleagues, she
thought being a judge was something she
may excel at doing.
So in 2011, McPherson applied with the
Minnesota Judicial Selection Committee for
the 10th Judicial District vacancy, which
serves Anoka, Chisago, Isanti, Kanabec, Pine,
Sherburne, Washington and Wright counties.
They screened her and sent her name, along
with two others, to Gov. Dayton, who ended
up appointing her.
“It’s been a wonderful place for me,” she
said.
So, too, have Anoka-Hennepin schools,
she said. Not only is she a product of the
district, but McPherson, who lives with her
family in Ramsey, has a son who graduated
from Anoka High School last year, a daughter
at the school now, and a husband who
teaches at Blaine High School. “The district
has had a huge influence on my life,” she
said.
And she’s had a significant impact on the
district. Over the years, McPherson has spent
time volunteering in the classroom, specifically at Mississippi Elementary School, and
was also a member of the district’s Future
Focus Task Force, which a few years ago
studied the needs of the district to maintain
a quality education with growing limitations
on funding.
Being active as a parent is key, McPherson
said. “So often, it’s easy for a parent to say
the district should do this or do that,” she
said. “It’s incumbent on us to be actively
involved in our school district. Parent involvement enriches the conversation and the
more involved you are, the larger say you
have in your child’s education.” ■