Austin Packer Bulletin - 09/13/2024

Serving 561 students from Kindergarten through 8th grade, this year's program saw significant improvements in reading and math, alongside high satisfaction levels among participants.

Academic Achievements:

• Reading Improvement: Overall performance in reading saw a notable 14.2% gain, with scores rising from 47.5% to 61.7%.

• Asian Students: Achieved the largest improvement with a 17.2% increase (from 51.0% to 68.2%).

• Black Students: Experienced a significant gain of 17.6% (41.7% to 59.3%).

• Math Performance: Students improved by an average of 13.5 percentage points in math, from 51.8% to 65.3%. The Number Worlds Math curriculum was particularly effective, showing remarkable progress across various demographic groups, especially among Asian and Special Education students.

Program Highlights:

• Student Engagement: 92% of students enjoyed their summer school experience, and 87% reported learning something new. Furthermore, 95% made new friends, and 79% wanted to return next year.

• Teacher and Staff Impact: The program, supported by 50 staff members, including teachers, lead teachers, paraprofessionals, and substitute teachers, received high praise. 100% of staff appreciated the professional development, and 96% felt their work aligned with the District's mission and vision. Additionally, 96% of staff members indicated they would be eager to return next summer.

• Community Involvement: Eight AHS students volunteered as teacher aides throughout the summer, and the addition of Future Teacher and African Student Association volunteers further enriched the program.

• Program Integration: This summer, the program successfully integrated the Packer Profile through daily journal prompts, engaging activities, and weekly guest speakers from the community. The extended hours (8:00 am - 2:30 pm) and connection with the Kids Korner initiative allowed for more comprehensive academic and social programming.

Feedback Summary:

• Students: 98% rated their teachers positively, with 69% marking them as Excellent.

• Staff: 83% of staff were satisfied with teaching summer school, and 96% of enrichment teachers felt their work enhanced the program.

Jessica Cabeen, Principal of Alternative Programming, commented on the success of the program: "The 2024 Summer School program has been a tremendous success, thanks to the dedication and hard work of our lead teachers, classroom teachers, support staff, and student volunteers. Their collective efforts have not only elevated our students' academic performance but also enriched their overall experience. Our teachers and support staff have gone above and beyond to create a supportive and dynamic learning environment, while our student volunteers have brought energy and enthusiasm that has truly made a difference. We are immensely proud of what we have accomplished together and look forward to continuing this success in the future."

Thank you to our staff, who made this a successful summer school session! Their hard work, dedication, and support greatly impacted our students and their learning. We couldn't have done it without them!

Sincerely,

Dr. Joey Page, Superintendent

The safety and security of students and staff are our top priority in Austin Public Schools. We use the Standard Response Protocol (SRP) developed by the I Love U Guys Foundation. The uniform classroom response to an incident is a critical ingredient in the safe school recipe. Weather events, fires, accidents, intruders, and other threats to student safety are scenarios planned and trained for by the school and district administration and staff.

A uniform, planned, and practiced response to any incident is the foundation of a safe school. The SRP is action-based, flexible, and easy to learn. It rationally organizes tactics for response to weather events, fires, accidents, intruders, and other threats to personal safety.

The SRP's development is ever-evolving, created with extensive collaboration between experts such as first responders, public safety, schools, districts, and communities. Its tactics are data-driven, researched, and based on experience and contemporary practices.

Open communication among the school, parents/caregivers, and students is crucial. We encourage everyone to help provide a safe, secure, and welcoming learning environment by involving our entire school community. Thank you for partnering with us to keep our District prepared and safe. If you would like to learn more, click here.

Strengths Identified

Austin Public Schools (APS) provides comprehensive special education services that serve various student needs. Here are some key strengths identified in the recent audit shared with the School Board:

1. Wide Range of Services: APS offers diverse educational programs, including a thorough transition program to support students moving from school to post-school activities.
2. Exceptional Teachers and Staff: Our District is fortunate to have experienced special education teachers and staff, particularly in literacy and math, who bring a wealth of expertise to their roles.
3. Strong Leadership and Teamwork: Effective leadership and collaboration among our staff create a positive and supportive work environment, fostering strong teamwork that benefits students and staff.

Challenges Highlighted

While the audit highlighted many strengths, it also identified several challenges that APS needs to address:

1. Higher Identification Rates: APS has a higher percentage of students receiving special education services than the state average, which raises concerns about over-identification.
2. Disproportionality: The District faces issues with the over-representation of students of two or more races in the Emotional Behavioral Disorder (EBD) category.
3. Teacher Shortage: As with districts across the state and nation, recruiting and retaining special education teachers continues to be a significant challenge for the District.

Areas for Improvement

The audit also pointed to several areas where APS can enhance its services:

Curriculum and Instruction

1. Enhanced Tier 1 Instruction: There's a need to improve core instruction to ensure that all students, including those with disabilities, have access to rigorous, grade-level content.
2. Achievement Disparities: Students receiving special education services at APS have lower reading and math achievement levels than state averages, indicating a need for targeted instructional support.
3. Co-Teaching and Universal Design for Learning (UDL): Implementing co-teaching strategies and Universal Design for Learning can help create more inclusive learning environments, benefiting all students.

Resource Allocation and Management

1. Special Education Spending: The District is implementing several strategies to reduce the number of students qualifying for special education services, enhancing overall system efficiency and effectiveness. These efforts will also help alleviate budgetary pressures.
2. Job Satisfaction: Some special education staff members have expressed concerns about the stress of paperwork and administrative tasks. We are continuing to implement and enhance strategies to address these concerns, which can improve job satisfaction, boost morale, and strengthen staff retention across the District.
3. Third-Party Billing (TPB): There are opportunities to increase revenue through improved third-party billing practices and procedures, which can help offset some of the District's higher special education costs.

Federal/State Compliance

1. High Compliance: While APS consistently meets due process requirements, some staff members have mentioned that the workload to maintain compliance can be demanding.
2. Over-Identification: The audit highlights issues with the over-identification of students, particularly those of two or more races and those identified as Emotional Behavioral Disorders (EBD), indicating a need for more accurate and equitable practices.

Moving Forward

The findings from this audit provide a clear path forward for APS. By leveraging our strengths and addressing the challenges and areas of improvement, we can continue to provide high-quality special education services that meet the needs of all our students. The District is dedicated to using these insights to drive meaningful improvements and will work collaboratively with staff, students, and families to implement the necessary changes.

🏀 Congratulations to former Austin High School Boys Basketball coach Kris Fadness on being named a 2024 Minnesota Basketball Coaches Association (MBCA) Hall of Fame inductee.

Coach Fadness was the head varsity boys basketball coach for 25 seasons, leading the team to multiple state tournament appearances and directly impacting the lives of countless student-athletes along the way. “I feel blessed and lucky to have coached for as long as I did,” said Coach Fadness. “I’m incredibly thankful to have been around good people who have given me so much.”

While developing a winning culture was a big part of Coach Fadness’s legacy, he always made it a point to highlight the importance of demonstrating a strong work ethic, passion, and desire for everyone to be their best. “I love the game and being able to share it,” said Coach Fadness, “but what I hope carried through with our players was my presence and commitment to them rather than the outcome of a contest.”

Coach Fadness and the 2024 Hall of Fame inductees will be honored at the MBCA Hall of Fame ceremony on Saturday, October 26, at 2:00 PM at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Minneapolis. Ticket information can be found at http://www.mshsca.org/boysbasketball.

“I like to think [this incredible honor] means I did things the right way,” said Coach Fadness. “And I’d also like to give a big shout-out to my family, who allowed me to follow my passion.”

🎻 The AHS Symphony Orchestra has been selected to perform at the Minnesota Music Educators Association (MMEA) Convention in February!

This is the fourth time the orchestra has been selected for this prestigious honor during the tenure of AHS Orchestra Director Gene Schott.

This time around, Mr. Schott is going to use the performance to honor the Connection, Collaboration, and Community of Austin. The performance will highlight:

• our past and present by celebrating and involving our past and present music educators in our performance,
• our community partnerships by involving MacPhail, the Hormel Foundation, the Austin Symphony Orchestra, and the Austin Music Boosters (among other outside groups), and
• our future by embracing and celebrating our community and its diversity both as it is now and for what it will be in the future.

At Austin Public Schools, our mission is to inspire, empower, and accelerate every one of our learners, and we know that the only way for us to reach this goal is through the efforts of all our incredibly hard-working staff.

In this week’s Staff Spotlight, we’re highlighting Sumner Elementary School Grade 2 teacher Angie Jannsen.

"Angie is passionate about helping students read, is a caring teammate, and a leader in our building. She always has a positive and hopeful attitude that inspires students and staff to keep going every day!"

Congratulations!

If you’d like to nominate an outstanding Austin Public Schools staff member for our weekly Staff Spotlight, please take a moment to fill out the form at https://www.austin.k12.mn.us/district-resources/aps-staff-spotlight. It only takes a minute and can truly make someone’s day. Thanks!

Four students from Austin High School have been selected to attend the Global Youth Institute, part of the World Food Prize Foundation. Our students will be among the 150 student delegates from around the world who will participate in the World Food Prize Conference alongside world leaders in Des Moines, Iowa, this October. At the conference, students will have the opportunity to share their researched findings in roundtable discussions with leaders in the fields of science, industry, and policy. They will attend workshops and sessions on global food security, agriculture, and sustainability and participate in the Feeding a Fragile World Simulation to grow their understanding of the world's food challenges.

Students researched a global food security issue to prepare for the Global Youth Institute. In May 2024, they presented their findings at the Minnesota Youth Institute, where their exceptional performance led to invitations for interviews to select delegates representing Minnesota. The students selected to serve as Minnesota delegates from Austin High School, including their research topics, are:

• Chloe Cannon - Poor Infrastructure in Rural Romania
• Makayla Dokpodjo - The United Arab Emirates: Turning Deserts into Greenhouses
• Sabreen Nagid - Political Causes of Starvation in Sudan
• Isabella Rosenthal - Improving Belize's Food Waste and Food Production

The student's participation would not have been possible without the support of their teacher and mentor, Lisa Sanders, and community partners Hormel Foods and the Hometown Food Security Project. To learn more about the Global Youth Institute and the World Food Prize, please visit the Global Youth Institute website Global Youth Institute - The World Food Prize - Improving the Quality, Quantity, and Availability of Food in the World.

The Minnesota Department of Education shared that in “its new accountability system under the Every Student Succeeds Act, Minnesota is increasing its attention to consistent attendance as an important indicator of student engagement and school climate, as well as a significant predictor of academic success." Check out our attendance policy here.

What does this mean at Austin Public Schools?

The data is compelling. Chronic absenteeism significantly impacts student success, with missed school days leading to learning gaps and disengagement. Our data illustrates that Austin Public Schools is dedicated to tackling this issue by identifying attendance barriers and partnering with students, families/caregivers, and staff to create supportive solutions. Each day in school is a step toward greater opportunities, and together, we can reduce absenteeism and keep students on track.

Every Day Counts: Show Up, Succeed, Thrive!

Please consider volunteering for the Nourishing Champions Snack Packing Event on Thursday, September 26. This will be an event where students are able to compete for Battle of Connect points!

Volunteer hours are 8 am to 12 pm at Austin High School. Please register here.

Hormel Foods, United Way of Mower County, and the Hometown Food Security Project are partnering with the Austin High School student body during Hunger Action Month to improve food security for young people in our community. The entire student body will assemble 24,000 snack packs to fuel their peers participating in after-school activities and fill the school's food pantry, ensuring every student has access to a nutritious snack. Additional snack packs will be distributed to local food shelves and other organizations in the community. This packing event also provides an inspiring outlet for students to support each other and their community. During this homecoming week event, our combined student body will dedicate more than 1,600 hours to pack snacks provided by MATTER.

Did you know Austin Activities are using digital ticketing this year? It's true! Check out the link below to purchase your tickets for sports and activities today.

Here's a quick guide on how to Buy, Transfer, and Use our new digital ticketing feature for APS Activities.

Get the app today and make your event experience even smoother!

Creating safe and supportive learning environments is a top priority in Austin Public Schools; foods with peanuts and tree nuts cannot be brought into classrooms. There are many students with life-threatening food allergies, and exposure to a peanut or tree nut product puts many students at risk of anaphylaxis. We need your help to keep everyone safe. Cafeterias have peanut-free tables in every school cafeteria to provide a safe dining experience. Please visit our Food and Nutrition, Health Services, or Annual Notifications for further details.

Do you want to help support Austin High School?

We’ve entered T‑Mobile’s Friday Night 5G Lights, our chance to win a MULTI-MILLION dollar football field 5G upgrade and more. You can help by creating a post on Instagram that includes #Sweepstakes and #FN5GL. Be sure to tag @tmobile and @isd492!

Learn more at https://www.fridaynight5glights.com/5kfridays.

Mayo Clinic Health System patients 3 and older now have 24/7/365 access to care through the Primary Care On Demand mobile app.

Primary Care On Demand, a new app-based virtual care service, offers care for symptoms and conditions like sore throat, rash, cough, aches and pains, upper respiratory infection, sinusitis, urinary tract infection and more.

"Offering Primary Care On Demand for children offers peace of mind to parents, especially for minor illnesses or concerns, without the need to travel to a doctor's office," says Jill Lenhart, M.D., chair of Mayo Clinic Health System Primary Care.

Access for children and teens

Here are a few things to know about Primary Care On Demand access for children and teens:

• Children and teens 3 to 17 can't use the service by themselves. A parent or guardian with caregiver access must download and log in to the Primary Care On Demand app with their patient portal username and password and then select the dependent who needs care.
• To appear as dependents, teens 13 to 17 must have their own patient portal account, and their parent or guardian must have caregiver access to that account.
• If you don't have caregiver access for your child, you can set up access through the Mayo Clinic patient portal or by calling Mayo Clinic Customer Assistance at 507-538-3879.
• A parent or guardian must attend video visits for children ages 3 to 17.

Download the app

Access to Primary Care On Demand is available only through the mobile app. You can download the app to your mobile device by clicking this link.

If you have questions while using Primary Care On Demand, a support team can help you through the app or by phone at 507-607-5858.

The City of Austin and Mower County are partnering to develop their comprehensive plans in a joint partnership and asking the public for help. An online survey is available where people can offer their vision for the City of Austin and Mower County. This is an opportunity to reflect on what a high quality of life will mean for future generations. Click here to share your input.

The Minnesota Department of Revenue offers two valuable tax benefits for parents who purchase school supplies for their K-12 students: the K-12 Education Credit and Subtraction. These benefits can reduce parents' taxes to increase their refund, but is only available for those who keep their receipts. Purchases for most school supplies, field trips, and musical instruments for school band are eligible. Most Minnesota parents qualify for the K-12 subtraction, which reduces their taxable income. Parents under certain income limits may also qualify for the K-12 credit, which can refund up to 75% of their costs – even for parents who do not owe any taxes. Visit Revenue's website for details.

The Minnesota Department of Health has shared that Minnesota continues to see an increase in measles cases, primarily in unvaccinated children ages 2-10. There have been 40 confirmed cases of measles in Minnesota in 2024 related to the current outbreak, with roughly one-third of cases being hospitalized. Any unvaccinated people who are exposed to measles need to remain out of school and other high-risk activities for up to 21 days to prevent further cases of measles. Because measles spreads easily through the air, even before people may have symptoms, a single case of measles at a school can, and has, led to the entire school being exposed.

Why MDH can ask for this information

• Because measles spreads easily and rapidly and can result in severe disease, it is a serious health threat and is an immediately reportable disease in Minnesota.
• MDH investigates all suspected cases of measles, including identifying any contacts of a measles case that are at risk of developing measles and determining necessary control measures. This disease investigation authority is found in Minnesota Rule 4605.7500 (www.revisor.mn.gov/rules/4605.7500/).
• Schools and childcare settings are required to report under the communicable disease reporting rules found in Chapter 4605 of the Minnesota Rules.
• The law requires reporting of both cases and suspected cases, and anyone who had contact with a person who had measles would be a suspect case and need to be followed by MDH.
• Measles is specifically listed as an immediately reportable disease under Minn. R. 4605.7040 (www.revisor.mn.gov/rules/4605.7040/).

It is important that public health gets information as soon as possible so that it can notify families of the exposure, let families know what they should do if they were not vaccinated at the time of exposure, and let families know how they can contact MDH and seek care if they develop symptoms. If public health can’t get the above information in a timely way, public health may consider other options to obtain the necessary information.

Additional Resources

• MIIC and Schools (https://www.health.state.mn.us/people/immunize/miic/participate/school.html)
• School Immunization Reporting (https://www.health.state.mn.us/people/immunize/ed/school.html)
• Measles Information (www.health.state.mn.us/diseases/measles/basics.html)
• Chapter 4605 Communicable Disease Reporting (www.revisor.mn.gov/rules/4605/

• A Classroom Without Cell Phones
• Podcast: How to reduce chronic absenteeism
• Why Do We Use War Metaphors to Talk About Teaching?
• What you should know about the 'silent epidemic of suicide'
• Teachers carry 9/11 forward for students who weren't there

Please join me and a School Board member at the Coffee House on Main, 329 Main Street North, for coffee and conversation.

Dates:

• 9/16
• 10/21
• 11/25
• 1/27/25
• 2/24
• 3/31
• 4/30

Time:
7:45 AM - 8:30 AM

You can reach me at joey.page@austin.k12.mn.us or call 507-460-1900 to schedule an appointment.

APS offers a wide range of student activities, including competitive athletics, intramurals, academic clubs, fine arts, and performing arts. View schedules and learn more here.

The school district strongly encourages anyone interested to apply to join our teams. Reasonable accommodations are available to access job openings or apply for a job. Click here to learn more.

You can review previous issues here.

Austin Public Schools does not discriminate on the basis of sex and prohibits sex discrimination in any education program or activity. Individuals may report concerns or questions or make a complaint of sex discrimination to the Title IX Coordinator, Sue Stark.