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Backpack Online - April 28, 2023
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April 28, 2023
Above & Beyond Awards recipient profiles
Above & Beyond Award recipient: Jacob Southmayd
Jacob Southmayd, a special education teacher at Dayton Elementary School, has been recognized as a 2022-23 Above & Beyond Awards recipient. He has found innovative ways to meet the needs of the students and utilize technology to best serve both students and staff on a day-to-day basis.
“Working with my co-teachers, paras, classroom teachers, and administrators, we tried out-of-the-box ideas that had never been seen at our school before to address social and emotional needs,” Southmayd said. “It took all of us to make the risks worth the rewards and our students express daily how much love and support they feel, knowing that we see them as more than just another student in the system.”
Southmayd has worked for the district for four years; previously serving as an explorations/core teacher at Brookside Elementary School, and a fourth grade teacher at Lincoln Elementary School for the Arts. Everyday, he sets up the technology needed for the teachers and paras to be successful in their classrooms. He also implemented the use of Google products for teachers and paraeducators to collaborate electronically and increase efficiencies, which gives the teams real-time updates on students to provide support when needed. Read more about Southmayd.
Above & Beyond Award recipient: Minh Strusz
Minh Strusz, principal at Hoover Elementary School - Biomedical, Health Sciences and Engineering has been recognized as a 2022-23 Above & Beyond Awards recipient. Strusz is a dedicated educator who partners with students, families and her staff to provide meaningful and memorable learning opportunities that will engage and initiate positive change-makers.
Strusz, a 1996 Champlin Park High School graduate and former student at Monroe Elementary and Jackson Middle School, is in her sixth year at Anoka-Hennepin. She spent four years as the curriculum integrator at Hoover before moving into administration.
“What I’ve learned as a principal, is that it’s not about me and won’t ever be,” Strusz said. “It’s about prioritizing the students at Hoover and to do that, I have to listen to and understand the needs of the staff and families.”
The “we” over “me” approach has led to a supportive and collaborative working and learning environment at Hoover. Strusz has implemented a shared leadership model where she works with her talented team of dedicated and knowledgeable educators who are all-in when given a chance to be a part of a collective to solve problems for Hoover students, staff and families. Read more about Strusz.
Above & Beyond Award recipient: Bill Underwood
Bill Underwood, a teaching and learning specialist working in special education technology, has been recognized as a 2022-23 Above & Beyond Awards recipient. For the last year, Underwood has led a migration to a new software solution for student data within special education. His extensive preparatory work, training sessions and support after implementation has led to a smooth transition for staff.
“This year has been the most challenging and rewarding year in my career,” Underwood said. “The transition to the new software has encouraged many discussions on how we track and monitor student needs…which allows educators to do the vital work they do with our students.”
Underwood had a goal to make the new process more efficient for staff so they could focus on teaching. He met with key groups to identify all the district's priorities in regard to documenting students' achievement and needs and then communicated those ideas to the software company to come up with the final solution. Read more about Underwood.
Above & Beyond Award recipient: Jacque Weidner
Jacque Weidner, a special education teacher at Lincoln Elementary School for the Arts, has been recognized as a 2022-23 Above & Beyond Awards recipient. Weidner made a mid-trimester move from River Trail Learning Center to Lincoln, a school that was facing staff shortages in its DCD centerbase program. Through her experience, work ethic and caring attitude, the program at Lincoln flourished with more stability for students and staff.
“I believe it is imperative to have a partnership with students and their families to help students reach their full potential each and every day,” Weidner said. “I did my best to maintain a positive attitude and trust the process of change. I am proud that we have come so far at Lincoln and recognize we still have a lot of work to do. I look forward to it!”
Weidner has worked 21 years in Anoka-Hennepin and in her career has taught special education at the elementary, middle and high school levels, and in transition education (18-21 year olds). She ensures her students are successful by creating as many opportunities as possible, both in the classroom and outside the school walls. She has been rewarded by having several families of former students reach out to show their gratitude. Read more about Weidner.
University Avenue Elementary named a Top Magnet School in the nation
The Magnet Schools of America named University Avenue Elementary School - Aerospace, Childrens Engineering and Science a Top Elementary Magnet School in the United States for 2023. The honor was presented at a special ceremony held Saturday, April 22 at the Magnet Schools of America (MSA) National Conference in Dallas, Texas. View the MSA Press Release.
University Avenue ACES Elementary School is an elementary magnet school with a STEM for students in kindergarten through fifth. UAE is one of 26 elementary schools serving approximately 600 students in the Anoka-Hennepin School District. The school is located in Blaine, Minn., and is a part of the Northwest Suburban Integration School District (NWSISD), which is a consortium of seven school districts in the northwest metropolitan area. Nearly 25% of students at UAE are enrolled through a lottery process facilitated by NWSISD.
University ACES has been recognized multiple years by MSA as a Magnet School of Excellence, which is only awarded to a select group of magnet schools in the country. In February, UAE was one of just 24 schools nationally to earn this recognition, earning the award for the second time in recent years.
District and school representatives attended the conference along with nearly 1,500 other magnet school teachers, principals and administrators from across the country to learn and share best practices in curriculum and instruction, technology integration, school leadership and magnet school design.
To learn more about University Avenue Elementary School, visit ahschools.us/university.
University Avenue Elementary celebrates with students
On April 28, University Avenue Elementary celebrated the award with an all-school assembly. The event was led by students and was attended by Erin Heers-McArdle, Anoka-Hennepin School Board Treasurer, Dr. Kate Maguire, interim superintendent, Dr. Mary Wolverton, associate superintendent for elementary schools and Dr. Annette Ziegler, director of state and federal programs and elementary schools.
District graduation rates continue to outperform state average
Graduation rates for students in the Anoka-Hennepin School District continue to outperform the state average for 2022, graduating 86.3.% of all seniors in four-years. Anoka-Hennepin continues to outpace the state graduation average overall by 2.4% and outperforms the state in all but one student group. Student demographics in the Anoka-Hennepin School District closely mirror averages across the State of Minnesota.
The 2022 overall district graduation rate dropped 2.7% from the recent all-time highest district graduation rate in 2021, returning to graduation rates similar to the two previous years.
The 2022 results included an 80.2% graduation rate for Black students, the highest rate in district history and a number that outpaces the state average by 6.7%. Blaine High School led the district with 92% of Black students graduating in four years, a 2.5% gap from their White student group. Four of five high schools have a Black-White graduation gap of 7% or less while the districtwide Black-White gap narrowed to 8.5%, considering all traditional and alternative schools.
Anoka-Hennepin students continue to stay in school yielding an overall dropout rate of 2.3%, compared to the state average of 4.5%. Both Andover High School and Champlin Park High School generated a dropout rate of less than 1% of students and Blaine High School dropout rate was 1.6%.
Graduation rates are one of the five main data points used to measure student performance in Minnesota’s World's Best Workforce monitoring system. Other key performance indicators include kindergarten readiness, reading well by third grade, reducing performance gaps between student groups and college and career readiness.
To view the four-year high school graduation rates for the district and five traditional high schools, visit our website.
High school staff collaborate to help prepare students for life after graduation
Anoka-Hennepin teachers and staff play a critical role in preparing students for life. Career and college specialists from each of the district high schools collaborated for two events in 2022-23 to provide families with the opportunity to explore a variety of college, career and military options for post-graduation.
Not one path after graduation will be the same, making exposure to the different options during high school a priority. On April 22, Blaine High School (BHS) welcomed families for the second event of the year, the “Education, Employment and Enlistment Spring Spectacular.”
These two events invited all high school students and families from across the district to explore higher education institutions, employers and multiple military branches. Additionally, financial aid sessions were offered to support families in completing the FAFSA or the Minnesota Dream Act application. Between the two events there were an estimated 600-700 people in attendance. Read more about the collaborative effort. View photos from the April 22 event.
Let’s Talk About It - Teens and alcohol safety
by Rebecca Velline, Chemical Health Prevention Specialist
April is alcohol awareness month. As we approach the end of April with summer break around the corner, now seems to be the appropriate time to speak on teen alcohol safety. In the United States, one person dies every 45 minutes from drunk driving crashes, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported. As a parent myself, drunk driving and alcohol abuse are just a couple of the fears I have for the health and safety of my children.
A lot of celebrations are upon us with prom and graduation coming up. This time of year is so exciting for our students, especially our seniors. While planning for these celebrations consider the following tips:
- Have an open conversation with your teenager. Building an environment where your teen feels comfortable asking questions even the uncomfortable questions. I find asking open ended questions rather than yes or no questions can assist in an honest conversation. At least 7 million kids as young as 12 drank alcohol in the last 30 days.
- Setting clear ground rules in writing with consequences explained. Writing and explaining the rules can assist in preventing miscommunication. Explaining the real examples of why the rules are in place.
- Host a party of your own without alcohol. Show the kids that we can have fun and celebrate without alcohol. I always say if we are not having fun sober, we will not stay sober.
- Create a safety plan for kids going out. Teaching our children what would make the celebration unsafe and when to call for a ride.
Read the full entry on teens and alcohol safety in the latest chemical health blog, Let's Talk About It.
Substance Use Community Resource Event to be held Sat., May 6
Presented by Anoka County Chemical Health Collaborative
The Anoka County Chemical Health Collaborative welcomes members of the community to attend an educational gathering focused on substance abuse and community wellness. Prevention and assistance resources will be available to those struggling, or those with loved ones struggling.
The Substance Use Community Resource Event will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, May 6 at the Anoka County Sheriff’s Office, 13301 Hanson Blvd. NW, Andover. Presentations will include:
- "Hidden in Plain Sight" exhibit, for parents to learn about items to be aware of.
- Vaping presentation to learn about trends, health risks and how to prevent use of.
- Displays of vaping devices, drug paraphernalia and narcotics to learn what they look like.
- Opportunities to ask questions.
District students sweep state bus safety poster contest
Four Anoka-Hennepin students selected to compete in national school bus safety poster contest
All 10 of Anoka-Hennepin’s entries into the 2023 Minnesota School Bus Safety Poster Contest won their respective grade-level competition and four district students won their grade-level division and were selected to represent Minnesota in the national school bus safety poster contest.
Vanna Vang (kindergarten, University Avenue Elementary), Luke Dorsey (second grade, Madison Elementary), Sebastian Bojorge (fourth grade, Madison Elementary), Avery Dikken (fifth grade, Andover Elementary), Brielle Whitney (seventh grade, Oak View Middle School) and Andrew Beasley Wells (eighth grade, River Trail Learning Center) all earned first place in their grade level.
Samantha Formosa (first grade, Madison Elementary), Abdullah Muhamed (third grade, Madison Elementary), Avrie Siedschlag (sixth grade, Coon Rapids Middle School) and Molly Siedschlag (ninth grade, Coon Rapids High School) were Minnesota division winners and have been selected for the national poster contest.
Visit the district website to view the award-winning posters.
Eighth graders assemble for choir ensemble
Eighth graders from the six Anoka-Hennepin middle schools joined together for an 8th grade choir festival April 4 at Blaine High School.
All of the choirs worked individually on two songs that we rehearsed and performed together at the festival under the direction of Blaine High School Choir Director, Alyssa Ellson. Each school then had the opportunity to perform an additional song.
“The festival was a fantastic experience for the students and they learned a lot about how to be better singers and performers,” said Ruth Morgan, choir director at Jackson Middle School. “It was a celebration of singing and of making beautiful music with others.” Read more about the festival.
Anoka Middle School for the Arts and the Ordway partner for community art event
The Flint Hills Family Festival, presented by the Ordway brought a free art experience to Anoka Middle School for the Arts April 27. The free community pop-up event featured interactive art making and a performance by Ensō Daiko, a loud, energetic performance group that combines music, dance, culture and pure athleticism.
For more than 20 years, the Flint Hills Family Festival has brought communities together through the power of the arts, welcoming over a million students, teachers, and families since its conception in 2001. School week is May 30-June 2 and the Family Festival is June 2-3.
The interactive art making was conducted with visual artist Jimmy Longoria. Working in small groups, students cut, mapped out and stuck down colorful 3M sticker sheets in various colors, finishes and opacities to create a collage of flowers in vases.
Attendees made flower art using tissue paper and pipe cleaners.
The event concluded with a performance from the drumming group, Ensō Daiko.
Middle school students compete in Robotics Challenge
Spectators lined the cafeteria at Oak View Middle School on Saturday, April 22 for the Anoka-Hennepin LEGO Robotics Challenge.
Multiple teams from five of the six middle schools competed in the weekend tournament. A pit area was set up for students to practice and make improvements to their programming. Then, they took their robots to the competition tables to perform their official challenge missions.
In the Performance Runs, teams have three chances throughout the late morning and early afternoon to have their robots navigate the playing field to score points. Only the highest score counts for each team. The robots always start from the base, but the missions that each team chooses to complete, and how they complete them, are what make the Robotics Challenge an exercise in strategic thinking and planning.
The students also took their robots to the technical station where they were judged for Teamwork and Robot Programming and Robot Design/Engineering awards. Here, teams run their robots through paces on a competition table, show their computer programs to judges and are interviewed about how they decided on the robotics solutions. Teams are evaluated on their teamwork and cooperation in this area, as well as their pit practice and performances.
Robotics is an after-school Community Education program for students in grades 6-8. Volunteers donated time and talent to officiate, judge, officiate, set up computer operations and help with scheduling. Organizers say that without their help, there would not be a tournament.
For results and photos from this year's event, visit the Anoka-Hennepin Community Education website.
Additional District News
- Action of the School Board: April 24, 2023.
- Parent Engage 360 Podcast Episode 32 Part 1: School Resource Officers working in partnership with Anoka-Hennepin schools.
- Universal School Meals program to being in the fall of 2023.
- New $225 substitute teacher rate at select sites and on Fridays now in effect through the end of the school year.
- School Board voted to amend 2022-23 school year calendar.
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This e-newsletter is published by Anoka-Hennepin Schools. It's sent to Anoka-Hennepin families and community members who subscribe on a weekly basis during the school year, excluding breaks (and periodically during the summer). Questions, comments or concerns about the Backpack Online e-newsletter? Contact us.