School Board Update

Each month the school board is presented with non-action and action items for their consideration. A few noteworthy items that were approved at this month's meeting are included here.

Items Approved by the Board

• Gifts and Donations
  
• FY26 Long-Term Facilities Maintenance Ten-Year Plan
  
• Memorandum of Understanding with the City of Isanti for the School Resource Officer Program
• 2024-25 Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL) Membership Resolution
• Athletics Agreement between Cambridge-Isanti Schools and Art & Science Academy
• Athletics Agreement between Cambridge-Isanti Schools and Cambridge Christian School
• Designation of Identified Official with Authority for the MDE External User Access Recertification System
• Code of Conduct and Student Handbooks
• Revised Designated Time and Place for Regular and Special School Board Meetings/Study Sessions for 2024
• Policy 404 - Employment Background Check
• Policy 428 - Respectful Workplace
• Policy 430 - Staff Leaves and Absences
• Policy 502 - Search of Student Lockers, Desks, Personal Possessions and Student's Person
• Policy 531 - The Pledge of Allegiance

As you can see in many of the admin reports, summertime at the ESC continues to be busy! We are working hard to prepare for the 2024-25 school year. This includes working through transitions in leadership, staffing, and even systems such as Powerschool, Educlimber, etc… I am so proud of our ESC Team and the hard work that they engaged in behind the scenes to make sure that everything is ready to go when all staff return in August. Most specifically, our Finance, Human Resources, and Community Education Teams are managing and leading many areas of transition and transformation.

We are also preparing our facilities and making great progress on our parking lot projects throughout the district as well as cleaning and repairing our facilities in preparation for the fall. Our Building and Grounds Teams are working diligently, as always, to make sure that our students and staff have the very best.

Last week, we were able to participate in the Isanti Rodeo Days Parade. This is always a highlight of the summer and so fun to engage with thousands of families, children, and community members who come out to celebrate summer and our great communities! We have so much to be thankful for and proud of and I greatly appreciate all who work to make our district an amazing place to be! GO BIG BLUE!

By: Shawn Kirkeide

Onboarding and Orientation Advisory Committee

As part of the strategic plan result statement 3.9 Ensure a comprehensive process for training new employees we have developed an Onboarding and Orientation Advisory Committee. This committee has met multiple times these past few months to develop onboarding and orientation procedures to help our employees feel included and have been given the resources they need to become successful within their position. We are in the process of creating checklists for district level, building/department level, and position specific. We are also discussing the off-boarding process and continuous connections throughout the year.

By: Christopher Kampa, CFA

Finance

As part of our strategic plan, we were tasked by the community to create an innovative comprehensive master plan for our future facility and programming needs. We commissioned a demographic study and met with city and county leaders to identify future community growth and related needs. We surveyed our community and met with district staff to gather feedback on facility needs. Over the next year, we will partner with our community leaders to develop a long-term facility plan that is both fiscally responsible and addresses the needs of our students and the community.

Transportation

We are moving 18 vehicles to auction, which will help clean up our lot! Additionally, we are recycling a lot of outdated technology to improve our interior spaces. Our techs have been busy at iState preparing new buses for the upcoming school year. Routing is still underway for the new school year. ESY and Targeted Service routes have started this week, and we are actively recruiting at relevant community events.

Food Service

Summer is progressing smoothly in Food Service! We were thrilled to see our final numbers after the first year of Minnesota Free Meals for All - our hardworking staff served an additional 306,000 meals compared to last year! Planning for the next school year is underway, including our annual mailings of educational benefits applications, collaborating with our financial auditors, and learning new software systems.

Building & Grounds

Parking lot projects have started at each location and are making good progress now that the rain has slowed. The new lot at the high school is scheduled to start on Monday. The track surface is complete, and we are waiting for the required 10-day cure time before beginning the striping. The surface turned out great. We will be holding an auction soon, and the auction company will be taking pictures at each school this week.

Technology

The ERATE cabling project continues, with the crew finishing the rough-in at CIHS and moving on to CMS, IIS, and IPS. We are also starting a new project to develop and configure our use of Microsoft Azure and Intune, aiming to implement multi-factor authentication on desktop computers for greater cybersecurity and better inventory tracking and management of our Windows desktops and laptops. The cases for the 2024-25 student Chromebooks have already arrived, and the Chromebooks are scheduled to arrive at the end of July. We will work to get them enrolled in our Google domain and cased for this year's 6th-grade class.

By: Christina Thayer Anderson

Thank You Volunteers

This year, more than 1,175 volunteers were active in supporting our schools, students, and staff. These dedicated individuals donated 10,995 hours of their time to this important work, supporting everything from school events to district-wide committees to classroom projects. We are so fortunate to have a generous community committed to supporting the success of our students and school district. A special thank you to the Community Education Advisory Council, an amazing group of volunteers who come together eight times throughout the year to provide input and feedback on the work and future of community education.

Summer Programs Update

Summer programming is in full-swing in Community Education. From ECFE in the Park to Adventure Center to aquatics, drivers education, and enrichment and recreation programming - our teams have been busy keeping youth and adults engaged and active this summer. In the past two weeks alone, we have had more than 1,200 youth and adults enrolled in programs and classes! A huge thank you to our staff teams and leaders who choose to spend their summers working in these programs and providing important and meaningful opportunities for learners and community members of all ages.

By: Dr. Jason Bodey

For the past three weeks, I have been transitioning into the role of Assistant Superintendent of Teaching and Learning. During this time, I have had the privilege of working closely with Dr. Damiani, gaining valuable insights into both this position and the district. I know that I have big shoes to fill! I so appreciate the warm welcome from everyone I have met, and I am committed to doing everything possible to ensure a seamless transition. I look forward to this coming school year and contributing to this school district and the community.

In other updates, the Teaching and Learning department is pleased to welcome new members to our team. Jared Dyrdahl joins us as the Curriculum Coordinator, and Michael Porta joins us as the District Assessment Coordinator. I have enjoyed getting to know both of them and already know we are very fortunate to have these talented individuals on the team. I want to thank the rest of the current and departing Teaching and Learning team for their help and support as we onboard these new members.

By: Dr. Julie Williams

Extended School Year

Extended School Year started Tuesday, July 9. School districts are required to address extended school year (ESY) services according to Minnesota Rule 3525.0755. On an annual basis, the IEP team must discuss and make a determination if the student is entitled to ESY based on one of the following: a significant regression, to maintain self-sufficiency or unique needs of the student. ESY is then held during the summer months so that we can support skills as outlined in the student’s IEP.

ESY is taking place at Cambridge-Isanti High School and Woodland Campus and is serving PreK-Transition age students. We have 103 students registered to attend! We know summer can get busy for our families and are flexible with attendance as we want students to attend as much as they can, while still enjoying time with their families.

Along with following the learning goals discussed in each student’s plan, we have added additional fun activities for the students to look forward to. This helps our students practice their social skills in a variety of environments.

Although ESY is a great time for students, it requires additional work and flexibility from staff as they get to know new students and have a group of students with many unique needs in one classroom. Given this, the staff that works ESY are amazing! They always go above and beyond to support all our students!