School Board Update
September 2024
September 2024 School Board Meeting Recap
Items Approved by the Board
Superintendent Update - Dr. Rudolph
We are off to a great start to the 2024-25 school year! I am so humbled and grateful for the many, many hours that staff and leaders have put in to prepare to welcome students and families back to school. Beginning in June, our Leadership Team met throughout the summer, attending full day professional development and training events that grounded us in our strategic plan, coordinated operations, and extensively planned for the school year.
The past several weeks have highlighted the hard work and dedication that all Bluejacket staff have committed to starting a new school year. At our all staff back to school gathering, I spoke about five strategic priorities that we will all be focused on throughout the 2024-25 school year. In no particular order they are:
- 2.2 - Ensure a welcoming and inclusive school community that exemplifies the Bluejacket Character Traits.
- 2.4 - Enhance relationships with community members to support student and community success.
- 2.6 - Create inclusive environments where diverse viewpoints and perspectives are respected and encouraged.
- 3.8 - Enhance workplace well-being for all staff.
- 3.9 - Ensure a comprehensive process for training (and supporting) new employees.
I am so proud to report that not only have these district-wide priorities been embraced, but also put into action. So many stories of intentional actions to welcome, engage, collaborate, solution seek, and support have been shared and celebrated. We are certainly on our way to an amazing school year, and it is because of the collective efforts of our Bluejacket staff! THANK YOU!
Administrative Services & Human Resources
By: Shawn Kirkeide
Hiring
It has been another busy start to the year in terms of onboarding and hiring. To date, we have hired over 100 staff members for this school year. Our staff have done such a nice job onboarding all of these new employees with a positive and welcoming attitude. We are setting an example of strategic result statement 2.2 Ensuring a welcoming and inclusive school community that exemplifies our Bluejacket Character Traits.
Trainings
With the start of the new school year, the HR team gets the chance to do multiple training sessions for many of our staff in different departments. These trainings include all of the mandatory training, which are Bloodborne Pathogen, Employee Right to Know, and Seizure Training. We also provide a refresher on policies and highlights in the employee handbook. Those that did not receive the in-person training are asked to complete the training modules within one Google Form called 2024-2025 Cambridge-Isanti MANDATORY Trainings. The deadline to complete the trainings is Friday, October 25, 2024
Finance & Operations
Finance
We are anticipating another successful year ahead. As we enter levy season, there is a quick turnaround from the Minnesota Department of Education to finalize our preliminary tax levy. A key priority for us is minimizing property tax increases for our community. While we have limited control over the levy process, we are committed to doing everything within our power to reduce property taxes. Last year, an unexpected tax increase occurred due to the State shifting funding responsibilities to the local level, but we do not anticipate a repeat of that situation this year. We have successfully completed the summer parking lot construction project, which was finished on time, within budget, and has received positive feedback from both staff and the community. Additionally, we have implemented new finance, payroll, and HR software—an extensive project that will ultimately help us provide improved service to our staff. While there are still some issues to resolve, we remain optimistic about the system’s potential.
Transportation
The Cambridge-Isanti Transportation System is off to a strong start this year, easily our best start in five years. The new parking lot designs have been well-received by drivers and parents. This will greatly improve traffic flow and increase safety for our students and families. We've had a successful driver hiring campaign, bringing in six new drivers while only losing a couple over the summer, resulting in a solid retention rate. We've also moved our second-tier morning transfer hub to IMS, which has positively impacted student behavior and performance.
Food Service
We are pleased to welcome students back for another school year. The storms from a couple of weeks ago presented challenges, as our commercial refrigeration equipment struggled with two power outages in a short period. We extend our gratitude to the weekend security team for their assistance over Labor Day weekend in ensuring operations were restored smoothly. Significant progress was made in staffing over the summer, leaving only one school currently operating with a staffing shortage—CIHS is doing an excellent job, and we are confident the gap will be filled soon. This year also brings important changes in how we engage with preschool students, as well as key updates to our cybersecurity procedures. We look forward to a successful and productive 2024-25 school year.
Building & Grounds
We have successfully completed the summer parking lot projects. We redesigned and reconstructed the middle school parking lots. We added a new high school parking lot. We also repaved and repair our lots across the district, improved sidewalks, and increase handi-cap access. We plan to finish the high school lots next summer.
Technology
Despite a delay in shipping, all 6th-grade students received upgraded Chromebooks at no additional cost, thanks to an agreement with Lenovo. The tech team, with help from ECMECC’s Erin Eberhardt, ensured the devices were ready for the first day of school. Over 50 classrooms are transitioning from projectors and Smartboards to 75-inch high-definition TVs, providing clearer displays for learning. With Michael Porta's new role as Data and Assessment Coordinator, the department was restructured, and James Klimek took on the role of Network Security Coordinator while pursuing his CISSP certification. This shift enhances cybersecurity for the district and allows Tech Director Ray Sperl to focus on technology integration. Additional staffing changes included Tim Martin becoming District Technician and Troy Jacobson moving to a building technician role.
Community Education
By: Christina Thayer Anderson
Thank You to our Generous Donors
We have an incredibly supportive community that has donated thousands of dollars worth of supplies for students, families, staff, and our schools this fall. Local organizations, community groups, and many families have donated everything from basic school supplies to brand new backpacks to snacks for classrooms. Thank you to all of our donors and community members for your generous support!
Preschool and ECFE First Week
Preschool and ECFE Classes started this week. This ensures we can get our K-12+ students started before we add our youngest learners and their caregivers to the mix. It was a great first week of school! We welcomed nearly 400 preschool students and over 200 ECFE participants into programming. Thank you to our early learning teams and all staff and administrators who stepped in to assist in this first week of welcoming our youngest learners to our Bluejacket community!
Teaching & Learning
Workshop Week Training Success!
Catalyst Training - EC-8 Licensed Staff (Strategies 1.7, 2.1)
I wanted to send a huge thank you to Kim Sagan for all of her efforts and work to organize and support our Catalyst training. This was a huge lift, it was so well organized, and the feedback has been tremendous. It is easy to see our staff was hungry for more and excited to start implementation.
PLC Development- High School (Strategy 1.8)
Another huge shout out to Jared Dyrdahl and his support of the high school in working on PLC development. They grounded their work in some relevant data and worked on Smart Goals, Umbrella Goals, and Personal Goals.
Student Support Services
By: Dr. Julie Williams
It has been a great start to the school year as we welcome new and returning students into the classroom! We are busy working on establishing routines, building relationships and working on skills and strategies with each student so they are ready for learning.
Back to school workshop week provided an opportunity for staff to come together and collaborate and engage in learning. The IA group had Raelene Ostberg present and share strategies for promoting self-control and mastering stressful moments. It was great to participate and see the strategies staff plan to take back to classrooms with kids!