PREPARING STUDENTS FOR LIFE
Two students
appointed to
Minnesota Youth
Council
Two Anoka-Hennepin students have been
selected to serve on the Minnesota Youth Council
(MYC) during the 2019-20 school year. Yazzmine
Zaccardi, a senior at Coon Rapids High School,
will represent Minnesota Congressional District
3, while Blaine High School junior Nicholas
Armstrong will serve a second term representing
Congressional District 6.
The MYC is a collaboration of youth and adults
working together to empower and mobilize
young people across the state to exercise their
voices, opinions and ideas and take action on
issues affecting youth.
The Minnesota Legislature formally recognized
the work of MYC in 2013, passing into law
the MYC Committee Bill, which established
the group as an official legislative committee,
creating a system for youth to provide advice
and recommendations to the legislature and the
governor.
During the first half of the year, youth
representatives act as an advisor committee to
the Minnesota Department of Education, advising
staff on youth issues in education, striving to
advance equity and personalized and holistic
education for all young people in Minnesota.
Members also work with elected officials,
advocate for legislation and policy platforms that
support equity and young people.
There are 36 members on the MYC, four from
each congressional district and four at-large
members.
Learn more about the MYC at mnyouth.net/
minnesota-youth-council/. n
Continuing to outpace state
on academic performance
Anoka-Hennepin continues to outperform
the state in key academic areas, according to
data released by the Minnesota Department of
Education (MDE) Aug. 29.
Notably, Anoka-Hennepin’s four-year graduation
rate climbed to 87%, a jump of four percentage
points, which marks one of the biggest jumps this
century and continues to outpace the state average
of 83%. In addition, Anoka-Hennepin’s seven-year
graduation rate stands at nearly 90%, which also
marked an increase over previous years.
“We’re on the right track,” said Anoka-Hennepin
Superintendent David Law. “Staff are working hard
across the district. We’re seeing the results of that.”
The graduation rates are just some of the data
that was released by the MDE as part of their
reporting called the State of Our Students. The
state report card also analyzes data on proficiency,
attendance, progress on state tests over time,
and English language proficiency, in addition to
graduation rates.
According to the data, Anoka-Hennepin’s
accountability numbers are higher than the state’s
Accountability
results:
Nicholas Armstrong
Follow Anoka-Hennepin’s
verified accounts on
Facebook, Instagram, Twitter
From students and staff doing amazing
things in the classroom, to breaking weather
alerts about districtwide school closures thanks
to the snow or cold — keeping up with what’s
going on in Anoka-Hennepin has never been
easier thanks to social media.
Anoka-Hennepin is on Facebook, Instagram,
and Twitter:
facebook.com/ahschools
instagram.com/ahschools
twitter.com/ahschools
Importantly, the district’s Facebook,
Instagram and Twitter accounts are verified.
In an era when parody and impersonation, and
Facebook, Instagram and Twitter accounts are
more popular than ever, being verified means
you can trust the messages sent from the
district’s social media accounts. n
across all 10 of those measured.
Digging deeper, more than 70% of district
students maintained or improved their achievement
levels in math and reading on Minnesota
Comprehensive Assessments (MCAs) last year,
according to the data.
Also of note, consistent attendance rates
remained high with nearly 90% of students
attending school at least 90% of the time last year.
“Our measures reflect our students and parents
working together with us to be successful,” Law
said. “It’s great to see progress, but we will not
be satisfied until every student is proficient and
succeeds. Anoka-Hennepin is continuing to strive to
meet the needs of every student.”
For details on how each of Anoka-Hennepin’s
schools performed, check out the Minnesota
Department of Education’s report cards at
eduation.mde.gov, click on “Data center” and then
“Minnesota report card.” n
Math
Reading
Science
Anoka-Hennepin 64.2% 65.7% 60.0%
State of Minnesota 55.5%
59.7%
50.7%
Five seniors named National
Merit Scholarship semifinalists
Five Anoka-Hennepin seniors have been named
National Merit Scholarship semifinalists, and each
are now in the running to earn one of the 7,500
scholarships of up to $2,500 for college.
Yazzmine Zaccardi
PAGE 2
Last year Blaine High School’s Alexis Wagenfeld
earned the title of National Merit Scholar, and
a number of other students earned college and
corporate-sponsored scholarships. n
The students: Blaine High School senior Ryan
McGregor; and Champlin Park High School seniors
Sarah Magner, Jack Nightingale, Connor Preston, and
Georgiana Stammer.
The five Anoka-Hennepin students join
approximately 16,000 semifinalists nationally who have
an opportunity to become National Merit Scholars.
Nationally, 2,500 will earn the most prestigious prize
— a one-time $2,500 National Merit Scholarship by
being named National Merit Scholars. Another 5,000
will receive college and corporate-sponsored National
Merit Scholarships ranging from $500 to $2,000 per
year.
Students take advantage of world language
certificate, seal to earn credits before college
Anoka-Hennepin students who demonstrated
proficiency in another world language in addition to
English now have the chance to earn college credits for
their skills.
In early 2019, the Anoka-Hennepin School Board
approved the offering of bilingual seals and proficiency
certificates to the transcripts of students who have
demonstrated fluency in another world language in
addition to English. The entire offering was facilitated
by the state of Minnesota, and by earning the
Minnesota World Language Proficiency Certificate,
students receive two semesters of college credit at a
Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MnSCU)
institution. Those who earn the gold bilingual seal will
earn three semesters of college credits at a MnSCU
institution, and those who earn the Platinum seal got
four semesters worth of college credit.
All told, in the first year, Anoka-Hennepin had 14
students earn the platinum seal, 65 earn the gold
seal, and 53 earn the Minnesota World Language
Proficiency Certificate.
Kim Pavlovich, the district’s director of secondary
curriculum and instruction, said she’s thrilled the
district can now offer the certificate and bilingual seal
to students who speak multiple languages.
“It’s just so wonderful to be able to offer something
like this,” Pavlovich said. “It sends a powerful message
of inclusivity, and it showcases the commitment
the district has to recognize language diversity as a
strength within our community.” n