PREPARING STUDENTS FOR LIFE
Superintendent column
cont. from page 1
Improving core subject areas such as
reading and math at all grade levels is also
at the top of the list for district leaders. An
upcoming School Board decision on new
curriculum materials will ensure elementary
students will have the best resources available
to achieve reading proficiency. In addition,
our partnership with the Minnesota Reading
Corps has enabled more than 400 kindergarten through second-grade readers to
improve literacy skills in just the first half of
the school year. This program provides
focused tutoring with the goal of ensuring
all readers are proficient by grade three.
In terms of math, our data shows a very
strong performance at the elementary and
middle school levels, with our students in
the top quartile among state schools. We
also note that our proficiency drops at the
high school level. This condition is consistent
with other Minnesota school districts and is
due, in part, to the historically high rigor on
the tests given to measure proficiency.
Determined to reverse this trend, the School
Board expanded a successful Bridge to
College math program district-wide as
part of an overall action plan to improve
performance in math.
Our schools are in a strong position for
success because they know their students
and have a culture of continuous improvement aimed at finding solutions to their
highest needs. With input from teachers,
teacher leaders, administration and support
staff, we prioritize our needs and make
strategic investments to improve student
performance.
Early conservative estimates show our
district is experiencing enrollment growth.
A deeper look indicates that this growth is
expected to continue for years to come.
The potential to further stress our current
facilities, particularly in the northern and
western portion of our district, is an emerging challenge.
With this in mind, the School Board is
forming a community task force to review
our facilities. This group will study long-term
solutions, looking 10 to 15 years into the
future. They will be tasked with recommending options to accommodate new enrollment
and programming, security and maintenance
needs for our current facilities. Their work
will be comprehensive in nature and seek to
benefit all areas of our district. A full report
is