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PREPARING STUDENTS FOR LIFE
U. S. Sen. Tina Smith visits STEP cont. from page 2
funding for career and technical education, to allocating new funding for the purchase of expensive manufacturing equipment students learn on, to fixing outdated child labor laws that prevent manufacturing businesses from hiring highly-skilled workers who are under the age of 18.
But the one thing that educational leaders and STEP partners mentioned might be the trickiest one to overcome: the stigma students face who want to pursue studies in career and technical education over a more traditional four-year university experience.
“ There’ s a narrative out there that four-year college graduates make more money,” Anoka-Hennepin Superintendent David Law told Smith.“ But technical and skilled jobs are high-paying jobs, and we’ ve recognized the value of this programming. Our message is for students to have a post-secondary plan, not necessarily a four-year college plan.”
For STEP’ s partners, the success of the school is an example that should be expanded on across the state and across the country, they say.
“ There should be 20 of these schools( like STEP) in the state, not just one,” said Michael Lehn, the alliance manager for Minnesota Automotive Youth Educational Systems, one of STEP’ s partners. He
Supreme Court visits AHS cont. from page 2
Minnesota Supreme Court Associate Justice Margaret Chutich, a 1975 graduate of Anoka High School, poses with her letter jacket in front of her old locker.
opportunity to view first hand the highest court in the judicial branch of the state on Minnesota.”
After the oral arguments wrapped up, the justices adjourned and left the stage to derobe so they could take part in a 30-minute question-and-answer session with students. When the members of the court came back to the stage, Justice Margaret Chutich, a 1975 graduate of AHS, strutted to her seat wearing her letter jacket, which earned a loud ovation from the students in the auditorium.
“ Justice Chutich has us all thrown off with her extravagant wardrobe,” Gildea joked once the applause subsided.
The mood was rather light for the question and answer session, and Gildea acknowledged the entire experience was a bit of a“ roadshow,” but said it was an important part of what the Supreme Court does. Twice a year, the court treks out to two different schools to hear arguments in a case like the one they heard at AHS, and expose students to what it is the court does and maybe even drum up some interest in the field of law.
“ It’ s a really wonderful educational opportunity, both for the students and for us,” she said.“ We get
U. S. Sen. Tina Smith speaks to STEP senior Dylan Bratsch about his experience at the school.
pointed to STEP’ s partnership with automotive groups like the Luther Group, Walser Auto Group, and Subaru of America as an example of how it’ s good for both students and businesses.
Smith said she was impressed.“ Really it’ s about the freedom to choose what you want to do, and a place like STEP makes that possible( for students)— it’ s a freedom to create the life you want,” Smith said.“ I’ m only about three months into this job, and in that short amount of time, I’ m so struck by the entrepreneurialism of all of you.” ■
to hear from them— what’ s on their mind and answer their questions, but we hope to learn from them, too.”
Students asked dozens of questions, such as how they got into law, if law school was hard, how technology has influenced the court over the years, how long it takes to prepare for a case, and what the court’ s relationship with the legislature is.
Some questions were even deeper. AHS student Jack Weaver asked if the justices had ever made a decision they regretted.
“ Part of being a good justice is being able to make decisions and then put them behind you and not let them weigh on you,” said Justice David Lillehaug, acknowledging it’ s not always so simple, especially when they are hearing first-degree murder cases.
Before leaving the stage, with a large smile on her face, Gildea joked AHS, which was 47th in-school oral argument for the court since it began visiting schools in 1995, was“ the best high school in the state,” earning a loud and raucous round of applause.
For Heather Loeffler-Rostad, the chair of the AHS social studies department, who also lead the school’ s planning for the Supreme Court visit, the day couldn’ t have gone much better.“ It went great. It was a really interesting case, and all kids can appreciate the importance of privacy issues,” she said.
Her favorite moment came during the questionand-answer portion of the day.“ We had wonderful questions from the students and great interactions with the justices,” she said.
As for Justice Chutich, coming back to the school she graduated from was a wonderful experience and something she was proud of.
“ It’ s fabulous to be back. Unbelievable,” she said.“ It’ s been a long time— 42 years since I was a senior in this high school. I even saw my locker as I walked in.
“ I really enjoyed my time here at Anoka High School. It was brand new back then, and we were the first class to go through all three years. I still keep in contact with friends.”
While the court heard oral arguments at the school, it’ ll be a number of weeks before the court actually renders a decision, Gildea said. ■
Superintendent column cont. from page 1
Andover community even held a parade in her honor.
It may have been a moment that lasted just a few seconds, but that moment represents a lifetime of training and preparation, much of it done as a youth in Andover and further developed during her years at Crooked Lake Elementary School, Oak View Middle School and Andover High School.
Like Maddie, students and staff in our district are setting high goals and and working hard to achieve them. The School Board values recognizing this excellence at their meetings and congratulating students and staff for outstanding performance. From students who earned a perfect score on their ACT, to state geography bee winners, national merit scholars, middle school math champions, high performers in art and music, and outstanding athletes among others, these celebrations of achievement continue to impress both in number and prestige.
In reality, these are examples of students who are passionate about what they do and are preparing to do their best, values that are essential to achieving the district’ s mission of preparing students for life. Anoka-Hennepin is focused on providing opportunities and fostering school environments that support all students’ ability to do their best.
At Coon Rapids High School, a“ kindness matters” campaign started this year is delivering on a goal to maintain positive school culture, reduce discipline referrals, and more. It’ s a high-energy team effort that includes assemblies, contests, school-wide challenges, spirit weeks, and celebrity video clips and speakers. Along with extensive local media coverage, the school has gained international recognition in the May issue of Reader’ s Digest and will also accept a state award for the program’ s results.
Just this year, eighth grade students at Northdale, Roosevelt, Coon Rapids, and Jackson middle schools achieved a firstplace finish in the national FBI Safe Online Surfing Internet Challenge. Anoka- Hennepin students outpaced nearly 100,000 others across the nation to win the award, demonstrating advanced understanding of staying safe online and respectful digital citizenship.
Whether it is in the classrooms and hallways across the district, or in an ice arena located in another part of the world, we want to prepare our students for success in whatever pathway they choose.
Watching our alumni shine on the international stage and our students being recognized at the district, state and national level is rewarding. Many work to provide a foundation for this achievement. Knowing the drive of our teachers and staff to support students provides another level of gratitude. Motivating students in an environment of increasing expectations fuels a can-do attitude and is essential to delivering the outstanding results that follow.
Thank you for your ongoing support of our students and school district. It makes a difference in our schools today and helps to build a brighter future for all of us. ■