News and events - Oct. 4, 2024
October 7 - No school - Staff Development Day
October 17 & 18 - No School, MEA Break
November 5 - No School, Staff Development Day
Conference dates: October 29 & November 7, 2024
Time: 3:45 PM – 7:45 PM
We are excited to announce that our upcoming Parent-Teacher Conferences will follow an Arena Style format this year. This means that all teachers will be located in one of our gyms, or other nearby location, and parents do not need to sign up for a specific time in advance. Instead, conferences will operate on a first-come, first-served basis.
Teachers will be stationed on the east side of the building.
We encourage parents to park in the east parking lot and enter Door #4.
A detailed list of teachers and their exact locations will be provided closer to the conference date.
If you are unable to attend the conferences on October 29 or November 7, please reach out to your child's teacher directly to arrange an alternative meeting time.
We look forward to seeing you there and appreciate your ongoing support!
The JMS Halloween Activity Night will be held on Friday, October 25. There will be a DJ, games, karaoke, and all students are invited to participate in a costume contest. Costumes must be a non-violent theme and need to be appropriate for middle school.
Tickets are $5 and will be sold before school during the week of October 21 - 25. Tickets will not be sold at the door on the day of the activity night.
The 6th grade activity night starts immediately after school until 5 pm. 6th grade students will have time to change into their costume after the school day, before the activity begins. Costumes are not allowed during the school day. Tickets for 6th graders will be sold at door 58. 6th grade students need to be picked up in the East Pool lot by 5:10 pm.
The 7th/8th grade activity night will be from 6 - 8 pm. Tickets for 7th and 8th graders will be sold at door 3. 7th & 8th grade students will need to be picked up in the East Pool lot by 8:10 pm.
Activity Night is for JMS students only and all JMS rules apply. We hope to see you there!
Jackson Middle School has been recognized in the H2O for Life yearbook as a Milestone School. 6th graders participate in a Penny War and have raised over $19,000 and impacted 1,800 students in South Sudan and Uganda over the past eight years. Way to go JMS 6th graders, we can't wait to see how much this year's 6th graders raise.
Join us at the JMS Observatory to look at stars, the moon, constellations, and anything else we can find in space. Public viewings will be held , along with special event nights, as long as the sky is clear, when something of interest is happening in the sky above us. Weather is always an issue so if it is cloudy, raining, or snowing, the public viewing will be cancelled. Dress for the weather
as the temperature of the dome is the same as that of the outdoors.
Please check the Observatory page on the JMS website at 6:00 p.m. on viewing dates to make sure viewing has not been cancelled.
October 8, Tuesday, 7:00 – 9:00pm
October 10, Thursday, 7:00 – 9:00pm
October 14, Monday, 7:00 – 9:00pm
October 16, Wednesday, 7:00 – 9:00pm
Directions to the Observatory
Yearbooks for the 2024-2025 school year are now on sale. Prices will increase on December 1 so take advantage of the reduced prices and buy soon.
Books were in high demand last year and sold out quickly, so make sure you reserve yours now!
A number of factors converged in early 2024 that led to the need to reduce district expenditures by $26 million. Anoka-Hennepin acted quickly in the spring to plan a two-phased budget reduction and realignment process.
Phase 1: $5.1 million in central administration and services were reduced for the 2024-25 budget in an effort to mitigate the impact of additional cuts for the 2025-26 budget.
Phase 2: The district is currently determining a solution to address a $21 million budget reduction gap. Community meetings were held Sept. 25 - Oct. 10 in combination with a feedback process on two recommendations. A final decision is expected in November.
Factors impacting the district budget: The elimination of federal pandemic relief funds, higher than budgeted employee contract settlements, the impact of inflation on transportation and other operations, limited new revenue from state and federal sources and new requirements without funding support have developed a need to reduce expenditures by $26 million by the 2025-26 school year.
Proposed solutions: Anoka-Hennepin Schools have followed School Board direction to provide a reduction plan that cuts away from the classroom, particularly for the district’s youngest learners. The draft budget solution recommendations impact central services before schools with 53 percent of the reductions taking place at the district office/central services area, and 47 percent impact at the school level. The board is also studying a plan that would make additional central services and administrative cuts but spare reductions in schools allowing community members to decide on that impact through a levy referendum election in the fall of 2025.
Two options have been proposed for School Board consideration:
Option 1: $21 million total reduction.
Option 2: Make additional central services/administrative reductions and authorize an operating referendum election in the fall of 2025.
Looking ahead: Following robust community feedback for an initial draft plan, draft proposals are expected to be shared at the Monday, Oct. 29 school board meeting and eventually adopted at the Monday, November 25 school board meeting. This timeline is required ahead of key planning decisions on student registration and staffing decisions prior to the 2025-26 school year.
Provide feedback: School Board expectations provide for a process that encourages robust community and staff input prior to approval of the final recommendation.
Community meetings were held Sept. 25-Oct. 10.
View the community meeting held at Coon Rapids High School on Sept. 25, which was live streamed and archived on the district YouTube channel. The same presentation will be given at the following four community meetings.
Learn more: ahschools.us/budget