COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS PAGE 2
Andover High School students fabricate commemorative flag for sheriff ’ s office
Putting their emerging skills together with a creative eye and a heart for law enforcement , Andover High School ( AndHS ) technical education students and robotics club members fabricated a commemorative flag for the Anoka County Sheriff ’ s Office .
“ It ’ s really such an honor to be able to do something for these guys and our students have really enjoyed working on it ,” said Dale Johnson , head of the school ’ s woodworking , engineering and design department and robotics club coach .
The 42-inch by 80-inch white birch plaque resembles the American flag . Students inlaid 50 retired badges as stars . Black and white wood tones were used for stripes to represent the fallen . One blue stripe symbolizes the safeguarding presence of law enforcement , the “ thin blue line between us and trouble ,” said Johnson .
Students got together after school to work on the project , something near and dear to many .
“ This is so important because these guys protect us . Without them the world would be a lot scarier ,” said 10th grader Zach Hutchins .
The commemorative flag features a blue stripe engraved with the Anoka County Sheriff ’ s Office motto (“ honor , sacrifice , pride ”) and represents “ the thin blue line between us and trouble .”
Andover High School technical education students and staff pose with the commemorative flag they created for the Anoka County Sheriff ' s Office , as well as members from the department .
His fellow robotics club member Zach Naffziger , a junior , agreed . “ This means a lot . Without them it would be chaos and they get the least recognition so I want to do something for them ,” he said . “ I also want to do something for my country . I want to be in Army Reserves , my brother wants to be a police officer . I know what these guys do for us and I wanted to do something for them .”
Together 27 students , instructor Johnson and his fellow robotics club coaches Frank Kratochvill and Mike Hecker and mentors from Dynamic Sealing Technologies , Inc . devoted some 30 to 40 man-hours over six weeks ’ time to complete the project .
“ We have so much capability — we have some really talented students here — and we have lots of machines to use . It ’ s really an honor to be asked by the Sheriff to do this ,” Johnson said .
Eagerly putting their technical skills to use with a keen knack for problem-solving and a passion “ to build stuff ,” members of Andover ’ s robotics club ( the Butler Bots ) used a table saw and router , power hand tools and a spray gun to fabricate the flag . In addition , they used a CNC router to cut the stars in which to lay the badges and to fashion letters for the Anoka County Sheriff ’ s Office motto , “ honor , sacrifice , pride .”
Sheriff Deputy Thomas Strusinski said the plaque is an important memorial for fallen officers throughout the country .
“ This is very meaningful for us to be able to install this flag in memory of our brothers and sisters in law enforcement ,” he said .
The plaque was installed at the sheriff ’ s office and will serve as a constant reminder of the proud sacrifices made to protect and serve the community . ■
Analyzing the district ’ s special education services , focusing on best practices and student needs
Last spring , the Anoka-Hennepin School Board began a special education audit to thoroughly analyze the program ’ s services , focusing on best practices and the needs of students . The University of Minnesota ’ s Center for Applied Research and Educational Improvement ( CAREI ) was tasked with completing the work . The information they ’ ve gathered is already shaping the program ’ s future .
Special education students make up about 15 percent of the student population in Anoka-Hennepin schools . Since these students have varying degrees of needs , it ’ s important to analyze several program areas to achieve a full perspective . Fourteen areas have or will be looked at ; they include :
● District office
● Social behavior
● Setting four ( River Trail Learning Center )
● Specific learning disabilities
● Early childhood
● Low-incidence
● Autism spectrum disorder
● Transition
● Speech and language
● Health service
● Inter-agency
● Legal services
Four of the areas — the district office , setting four ( River Trail Learning Center ), specific learning disabilities ( developmental cognitive disability ), and autism spectrum disorder — have already been analyzed . Surveys , focus groups , interviews , observation , and records were all part of the process to do this .
“ Everyone has been very willing to participate and hungry to share what ’ s going well ,” said Cory McIntyre , executive director of student services . “ There ’ s also a genuine desire to improve .”
McIntyre and Kim Gibbons , Ph . D ., associate director of the CAREI , presented first findings at the Jan . 9 School Board meeting . There were several strengths identified including high morale amongst staff , quality resources and tools , best practices being implemented , adequate training , and more . Short- and long-term adjustments were recommended as well , including a comprehensive system to better meet all student needs , communication and decision-making , professional development , supports to neighborhood schools and the continuum of services , the staffing process , and mental health .
The presentation can be seen in its entirety at ahschools . us / sbstream . The team is expected to share recommendations on the remaining items between now and the end of the school year .
An audit of Anoka-Hennepin ' s special education department is ongoing and focusing on best practices and the needs of students .
“ There are a number of things we ’ re doing well ,” said McIntyre . “ We also have really talented staff that have been able to improve the systems that we ’ ve given them . We ’ ll be able to implement recommendations because of our great workforce .”
The district website will continue to share updates on this program analysis at ahschools . us . ■