May 20, 2024

The district is conducting a review of middle school programming this spring and summer, a process last undertaken when the district shifted from a semester-model to a trimester-model at the middle school level in 2009.

The overall goal: Middle school programming seeks to improve academic outcomes and create caring and challenging learning communities that meet the needs of young adolescents and work toward the district’s strategic priorities. The process will result in recommending changes to middle school programming with the following desired outcomes:

• Improve student achievement

• Improve student behavior

• Reduce costs while maintaining high-quality exploratory programming

Community engagement opportunities: The district hosted community meetings May 13-15. Families are encouraged to participate in the process. Read the full story on the district website to view presentations, a handout shared at the meetings and access the family feedback form.

The bottom line: The district is committed to continuous improvement with the goal of improving outcomes for students. This program review is considered part of the district’s normal curriculum review process, which could lead to budget efficiencies to maintain quality while effectively delivering education for students.

Timeline: School Board direction is expected this summer so that work to implement the changes in the middle school model would be ready for staff and students for the fall of 2025.

Kamar Sati, a junior at Champlin Park High School (CPHS), is one of 17 students from across the U.S. and Africa to be named to the Bezos Scholars Program. Bezos Scholars have traditionally inspired change on issues such as mental health awareness and advocacy, civic engagement, STEM education, environmental justice, refugee and immigrant rights and more.

Why it matters: As a Bezos Scholar, Sati will participate in a year-long leadership development program that amplifies youth voice and action by supporting scholars as they produce real-world projects aimed at positive change.

What it looks like: Sati will participate in virtual sessions twice each month and will attend the Aspen Ideas Festival for a week of leadership activities and workshops led by innovative global leaders. Throughout her senior year, Sati will help the cohort plan, develop and launch impact projects before ending the program with a celebration and opportunity to be a part of the program’s alum network.

#AHschools impact: Sati has made a positive impact in her school community at Champlin Park High School. 💻 Read the full story on Sati being named a Bezos Scholar.

Providing the academic planning students and families need often goes beyond the school year. Counselors at each of Anoka-Hennepin’s comprehensive high schools are continuing an option to fill that gap with regular office hours two days a week over the summer months.

A counselor will be available for walk-in service or appointments to assist students from 8 a.m. to noon on Tuesdays and Wednesdays starting June 17 and continuing through August 14 at Andover, Anoka, Blaine, Champlin Park and Coon Rapids high schools. The week of June 17-21, counselors will be available on Monday, June 17 and Tuesday, June 18. Service will not be available the weeks of June 24 through July 5 over the holiday.

The expanded hours aim to provide a consistent time for customer service to students and families. Counselors are also available the full week following the school year and the full week prior to the school year starting. Students are encouraged to contact their counselor for exact availability prior to the end of the school year.

With a welcoming drum introduction to an impactful closing pipe ceremony, American Indian Education students from throughout Anoka-Hennepin were honored in a special event held May 13 at the Educational Service Center in Anoka.

While culture and tradition were on full display, the event motivated students to focus on their future. Seniors were presented with a custom print called "Oh the places we've been, oh the places you'll go" created specifically for the class of 2024 by Chelsea Smith, an Anishinaabe culture artist from the Bois Forte band of Chippewa based in Minneapolis.

The class of 2024 includes 76 graduates involved in the American Indian Education program.

📖 Read more about the ceremony.

📷 View phots from this year's American Indian Education senior honoring ceremony.

At Jackson Middle School - A Specialty School for Math and Science (JMS), students in eighth grade participate in a capstone project at the end of the school year. Students choose a topic and decide whether to work alone or in a group.

About the project: The goal of the project is to bring learning into the real world and students are asked to choose an issue that is important to them, research the issue, and then create an action plan to make an impact.

The impact: The foursome researched the impact of teen pregnancy and created a plan for a donation drive to support students in the district’s Compass Teen Parenting Program (TPP).

They connected with administrators in the TPP program to learn more about how they support students and items in need. They reached out to local organizations and eventually created a promotional flyer to solicit donations for their cause. They connected with neighboring Oxbow Creek Elementary School and displayed their flyers during the school’s Arts and Academics Expo to reach more of the community.

💻 Learn more about the capstone project.

With the spring sports and activities season wrapping up, here’s a look at who’s heading to state, and how they fared when they performed and played. Also included is information about post-season awards gathered by student-athletes and coaches.

🎳 Adapted Bowling

The Minnesota State High School League Adapted Bowling state tournament was held Friday, May 10 at Bowlero in Brooklyn Park. Singles, doubles and team championships were awarded in three divisions: Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Cognitive Impairment (CI) and Physical Impairment (PI).

🏅 Top finishers:

• Fherlish Ann Constantino won the girls' singles championship with a two-game score of 471.
  
• Fherlish Ann Constantino and Joel Wamberg won the doubles championship with a two-game combined score of 889.
  
• Griffin Monson and Shai Hargest placed third in doubles with a score of 876.
  
• Lila Hall placed third in girls’ singles with a score of 446.

Donors to the Anoka-Hennepin Educational Foundation (AHEF) recently funded $30,889 in the first round of grant funds for school projects and students for the 2024-25 school year. These funds are in addition to the $24,000 in perennial grants that AHEF funds each year. A second round of grants for the 2024-25 school year will open in August and awarded in October 2024.

Through AHEF, donors funded the start-up costs of high school competitive cooking teams (AH ProStart Competition Teams), the materials to launch a K-5 Community Education Braille class for sighted students to build understanding and empathy, and a grant to bring more books in other languages to all K-12 libraries across the district. A list of the 16 grants awarded is below.

“Our donors make these grants possible,” said Tess DeGeest, executive director of the AHEF. “Thank you to everyone: teachers, administrators, staff, parents, and community partners, for making these equitable and innovative experiences possible for our students.”

• School Board meeting set for Monday, May 20, 2024.
• Live coverage for upcoming high school graduation ceremonies.
• District to being budget reduction and realignment process this spring.
• Register for Community Education summer classes and activities.

To translate this information to another language, please click anywhere on the message to open it in a web browser and at the top of the page, select your language from the dropdown menu.