Newsletters 2018-19 Focus newsletter, [2] Fall | Page 6

PREPARING STUDENTS FOR LIFE
PAGE 6
Community survey results show continued positivity
More and more members of the community view
Anoka-Hennepin as a district of excellence.
That’s according to a scientifically valid community
survey conducted by the Morris Leatherman
Company in July, in which 500 randomly selected
residents throughout the district were contacted by
phone. Peter Leatherman, CEO of the nationally
recognized survey research firm, shared that the
overall results for the district were above-average
in many cases.
education and good programs. Leatherman noted
that most districts are only focused strongly on one
item as opposed to all three. “It’s atypical to have
that close of a split,” Leatherman said.
Parents are continuing to have positive responses
to a variety of school-level experiences, including:
school is safe, 87 percent agree; teachers and staff
care, 95 percent agree; and that individual learning
needs are met, 90 percent agree.
Anoka-Hennepin’s excellent rating continues to
climb. It’s now 10 percent higher than the metro
average for a combined total (excellent and good
ratings) of 88 percent. In fact, 87 percent of those
surveyed also believed that the district meets the
learning needs of all students. “It’s a five point
uptick — it’s statistically significant and it reflects a
positive trend,” Leatherman noted. Financially-speaking, the majority, 71 percent,
believe the district spends tax money effectively and
efficiently. This is actually a slight increase from last
year, following a referendum, in which a dip would
have been expected. “You’ve been above the norm
for the past four years, but you actually went up sta-
tistically significant on agreement on this question at
a time where the regression is typically 8-10 percent
after a referendum.” Leatherman explained.
The results showed that Anoka-Hennepin priori-
tizes three things equally — good teachers, good High taxes only reached 11 percent as a serious
issue, where the norm, comparatively-speaking, is
Community survey key indicators
Anoka-Hennepin conducts a community survey
annually using the Morris Leatherman Company,
a leading Twin Cities based firm. The survey
contacts 500 randomly selected residents from
all areas of the district via phone and is consid-
ered accurate by plus or minus 4.5 percentage
points in 95 of 100 cases. Comparison with past
surveys helps to ensure accuracy and identify
trends for decision makers.
How would you rate the quality
of education provided by the
Anoka-Hennepin School District?
56%
only fair
View the full results via the Sept. 24 School Board
meeting documents at ahschools.us/SBstream. n
Are you aware of the
district’s efforts to end
bullying and harassment?
large
class sizes
11%
19%
lack of
funding
drugs and
alcohol
12%
9%
The district has been able to track data over the
last 15 years with the Morris Leatherman Company,
and when necessary, adjusts district operations to
meet community expectations as a result.
The top four responses provided, and the
only ones above 10 percentage points.
poor
32%
Large class size still rises as the top serious issue
facing the district. Stronger this year, was lack of
funding and drug/alcohol use. Leatherman noted
that the drug/alcohol issue, specifically, could be
influenced by external factors such as news reports
and what’s going on in other school districts. “The
issue on drugs across cities, counties and school
districts is rising as a concern (across the metro).”
What is the most serious issue
facing the school district?
excellent
good
15-20 percent across the metro. “(Anoka-Hennepin
is) different from the history over the last couple
years on a concern on taxes and different than the
comparative metro average, even after a successful
referendum,” Leatherman shared.
13%
Yes
No
45%
55%
lack of
discipline
0%
Serving others results in
prestigious Jefferson Award
for Champlin Park High School
Jane Hansen, CPHS youth service coordinator, shown with student leaders
Will Asinger, Megha Verghese, Grace Bassekle, and John Zheng.
For the 240 student-members of
the Champlin Park Leo Club, log-
ging more than 13,000 service hours
and helping approximately 8,400
people over the last school year was
completed without fanfare.
It is just what the school’s stu-
dent service organization does.
Those efforts did not go unno-
ticed as the school and Leo Club
were recognized nationally with a
Jefferson Award, a designation
provided to local “unsung heroes”
by the non-profit Jefferson Awards
Foundation.
From making sandwiches for
those experiencing homelessness,
to raising thousands of dollars for
hurricane relief in Puerto Rico, to
donating blankets to Hope4Youth,
to giving time to Feed My Starving
Children or helping out at the
Champlin Women of Today craft
show, CPHS students made a posi-
tive impact on the community.
The Leo Club, now in its 10th
year, is a student driven group with
a leadership team of 18 students.
Juniors Will Asinger and Grace
Bassekle, and sophomore Megha
Verghese, were led by senior John
Zheng in compiling the Leo Club’s
2017-18 service efforts and
Jefferson Awards application.
The CPHS Leo Club is spon-
sored through a partnership with
the Dayton Lions International
Club. Anoka-Hennepin Community
Education coordinates youth serv-
ice programs, such as the CPHS
Leo Club, at each high school
across the district. Learn more at
ahschools.us/youthservice n
State safety grants fund
emergency communications
improvements
Earlier this month, Anoka-Hennepin
was awarded nearly $500,000 in
safety grants by the state of
Minnesota, funding that will assist
in bringing communication upgrades
to improve response in times of
greatest need. Kreyer shared that during any emer-
gency situation, a simple, effective
communication plan is required to
ensure a rapid, coordinated emer-
gency response. “This tool will enable
staff to act more instantaneously when
every second counts,” she said.
All told, eight Anoka-Hennepin
schools will receive $491,123 in grant
money: Adams, Dayton, Hoover,
Jefferson, and Ramsey elementary
schools, as well as Oak View Middle
School, Coon Rapids High School,
and the Secondary Technical
Education Program (STEP). And even
though only eight schools received
the grant money, the district will
implement the same safety project
at all district schools and program
sites. Anoka-Hennepin submitted grant
applications for all district schools and
program sites. In all, a total of
$6,896,757 in grant requests went
unfunded for Anoka-Hennepin
schools, however, $500,000 was the
maximum amount a school could be
awarded in the 2018-19 school year.
The district-wide safety project will
focus on a communication need –
digital two-way radio systems to
replace the current analog system.
“This improvement will update
the original infrastructure throughout
the district and establish new, best
practice improvements in many
cases,” said Chandra Kreyer, the
district’s emergency management
coordinator.
To cover the project cost not
covered by grant money, the district
plans to utilize allocated capital
dollars.
“These grants are essential to
enhancing our security systems at
a faster rate,” said Kreyer.
The district is building the founda-
tion for the safety project this school
year. By next fall, several district
schools and program sites will have
new, fully functional radio systems.
For the latest safety updates, go to
the security and emergency manage-
ment webpage at ahschools.us/sem. n
“ These grants are essential to enhancing
our security systems at a faster rate. ”
Chandra Kreyer, emergency management coordinator