In the Know - January 6, 2025
Payroll Changes for the 2025-26 school year
Beginning July 1, 2025, Anoka-Hennepin Schools will be making changes to some payroll practices that will impact how many employees will be compensated and need to record their work time. The changes are aligned with fiscal best practices and the payroll practices of most other school districts and employers. They are intended to streamline our payroll operations and ensure greater accuracy and efficiency in processing payments.
📖 Read more about payroll changes for the 2025-26 school year.
Becky Brodeur named deputy superintendent, new cabinet position and leadership structure
The Phase 2 budget reduction and realignment plan approved by the School Board on November 25 includes a reduction of the superintendent’s cabinet from 11 positions to a five-member team and the addition of a Deputy Superintendent position, an appointment extended to Becky Broduer who is currently serving as associate superintendent of middle schools and student services.
With 25-years of Anoka-Hennepin experience and an demonstrated commitment to students, staff, and community served, Broduer is uniquely positioned to provide leadership in this critical role. Prior to her current leadership position, Brodeur served as principal of Andover High School, assistant principal roles at Coon Rapids High School, Sandburg Middle School, and Jackson Middle School and as an administrative intern at Crossroads Alternative High School. Broduer began service to Anoka-Hennepin in the classroom as a science teacher at Roosevelt Middle School and Andover High School.
This new deputy superintendent position will supervise the assistant superintendent for elementary schools, assistant superintendent for secondary schools, executive director of learning and achievement, and executive director of student support services amongst other responsibilities.
Amy Oliver, assistant superintendent of elementary schools
Amy Oliver has over 20 years of leadership service in Anoka-Hennepin including principal at Monroe Elementary, assistant principal, curriculum integration coordinator, and teacher. Ms. Oliver will provide strategic leadership and management for all elementary schools within the district focused on supporting school principals in achieving academic excellence, ensuring operational effectiveness, and aligning school-level practices with district-wide goals.
Dr. Annette Ziegler, assistant superintendent of secondary schools
Dr. Ziegler has over 20 years of leadership service in Anoka-Hennepin including principal at Coon Rapids High School and Coon Rapids Middle School, assistant principal at Anoka High School and Sandburg Middle School. She currently serves as Director of Elementary Schools/State and Federal programs providing oversight for several principals, summer school operations and other administrative leadership responsibilities. Dr. Ziegler will provide strategic leadership and management for all secondary schools within the district focused on supporting school principals in achieving academic excellence, ensuring operational effectiveness, and aligning school-level practices with district-wide goals.
Brian Duffy, executive director of learning and achievement
Brian Duffy has 15 years of leadership service for Anoka-Hennepin Schools including director of Employee Services, director of Employee Development & Evaluation and Qcomp, assistant principal, coach, and curriculum support teacher, elementary music teacher, and band director at Coon Rapids High School. As executive director of learning and achievement, Duffy will oversee K-12 curriculum design and instructional innovation. The executive director ensures that all teaching initiatives align with organizational goals and meet rigorous educational standards.
Mary Kling, executive director of student support services
Mary Kling has 6 years of leadership service for Anoka-Hennepin Schools including principal of elementary student conduct, assistant principal, and special education supervisor. Kling has also served as a student services coordinator, special education supervisor, and teacher in Osseo, Elk River, and Big Lake Schools. In this position Ms. Kling will be responsible for the planning, coordination, and evaluation of special education, school counseling, health and wellness programs, behavioral interventions, and other initiatives that support student success.
District to host hiring event for operational and student support positions Jan. 16 at Champlin Park High School
The Anoka-Hennepin School District will host an in-person hiring event for operational and student support positions Thursday, Jan. 16 from 3:30-5:30 p.m. at Champlin Park High School. The hiring event will take place in the school cafeteria located at 6025 109th Ave. N (Enter Door E4).
Anoka-Hennepin Schools is a great place to live and work. Our communities work together to provide residents with safe and friendly neighborhoods, high-quality schools, a wide range of business and economic opportunities, beautiful parks and abundant recreational activities.
Join us to learn about employment opportunities and have a same-day, on-site interview for various positions. Participants are strongly encouraged to begin filling out applications ahead of time at ahschools.us/jobs and come prepared to interview with hiring managers.
💻 Learn more about the Jan. 16 hiring event at Champlin Park High School.
Peer connections engage learning in middle school health classes
📝 Every month, 140 high school students from Anoka and Coon Rapids high schools link up to support sixth-graders in over 30 health classes across the district, all thanks to a 25-plus year partnership with the University of Minnesota Extension’s 4-H “Youth Teaching Youth” program.
The program trains eligible high school students to teach lessons to younger students about healthy living while developing leadership and public speaking experience and engaging in opportunities for career exploration. Student leaders are selected and named “Teen Teachers” at the start of each school year and participate in a full day of training. Once a month, Youth Teaching Youth teams at each high school regroup to develop teaching schedules, refresh their knowledge on the current topic of focus and plan for the upcoming lesson.
📘 Read more about Youth Teaching Youth.
📷 View photos from a recent visit to Oak View Middle School.
Northdale Middle School WEB leaders engage in winter fun with Eisenhower elementary students
❄️ Eighth grade WEB leaders at Northdale Middle School (NMS) welcomed kindergarten and first grade students from Eisenhower Elementary School on Dec. 16 and 17 for a fun-filled hour of winter activities.
Students teamed up to create winter arts and crafts, including a winter wonderland scene and ornaments. The projects were inspired by Maureen Wright's book “Sneezy the Snowman.”
WEB stands for Where Everyone Belongs, a national mentoring program that typically works with sixth graders at the school. Each middle school has teachers serving as WEB Advisors and eighth grade students volunteering at WEB leaders to mentor younger students.
📷 View photos of students working together on winter arts and crafts.
Stepping up for the pups and families in need at Hockey Day Coon Rapids
🏒🐾 An annual celebration in the Coon Rapids community featured a special donation benefitting Alexandra House and their new Linus’s Pet Haven to support families in crisis who have pets. Members of the Champlin Park/Coon Rapids girls hockey (CPCR) and Spring Lake Park/Coon Rapids boys’ hockey (SLPCR) programs created and donated over two-dozen pet beds to support Linus' Pet Haven, which is set to open in January 2025.
Alexandra House is a dedicated refuge created to support victims/survivors of violence which will now be able to support those facing the impossible choice between personal safety and leaving their beloved pets behind through this new program.
CPCR and SLPCR teams provided the donation to Alexandra House during a special donation ceremony held on the outdoor rink at the Coon Rapids Ice Center during Hockey Day Coon Rapids on Saturday, December 14.
Preparing for the 2025-26 school year: Enroll, or explore school choices in Anoka-Hennepin Schools
⏰ Families have many choices for their student’s education. Now is the time to discuss plans for the upcoming school year.
What Anoka-Hennepin families can expect: Students currently enrolled at an Anoka-Hennepin school are assigned to attend school based on their home address. Students transitioning to elementary, middle or high school next year received an initial placement email the week of Dec. 2, 2024, indicating the assigned school for each student.
❓Why it matters: Anoka-Hennepin wants to confirm plans for the upcoming school year with families as soon as possible to ensure a smooth transition to middle and high school.
Families that live outside of a school or district attendance area can act now to request an in-district transfer or open enrollment application for the upcoming school year.
If your family plans to stay at the school they are assigned to based on your home address, no additional action is needed.
Acing Authorship: Sixth-grader publishes novel, inspired by his fourth-grade classroom
📝 As a fourth-grader at Sunrise Elementary School, Hayuu Seeroo spent time drafting stories in his fourth-grade English Language Arts (ELA) class. It was there that his dream to become an author was inspired - and became a reality this fall as he started sixth grade at Roosevelt Middle School in Blaine.
📘🔎 Seeroo’s book, “Agent Ace,” is now available in bookstores and online, but also in the Sunrise Elementary School library - where Hayuu’s family donated copies of the book.
Krista Cullen, his fourth-grade teacher, is now reading the story with her current class. “It’s an honor that Hayuu was inspired in my class, but his accomplishments are also a testament to all of his teachers and his family who have supported him in this journey,” Cullen said.
Chamber of Commerce ribbon cutting celebrates Alley & Ave in Downtown Anoka
🎉 Anoka-Hennepin’s student-focused Alley & Ave retail boutique is now open in Historic Downtown Anoka, building employment skills for students and value for shoppers. The Anoka Area Chamber of Commerce held a ribbon cutting December 5 to welcome the new store in time for holiday shopping.
🛍️ Alley & Ave is open to the public to shop home decor, gifts and furniture refurbished by students. The store provides hands-on experience for special education students who are part of the district’s work-based learning program, TEAM (Teaching Employability through Assessment and Manufacturing), a program designed for high school and transition-aged students to grow additional skills before seeking paid employment.
💻 Learn more about the new retail store and view photos from the ribbon cutting event.
