In the Know - May 6, 2024
Two district educators named finalists for national Presidential award
Two Anoka-Hennepin educators have been named finalists for the Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST).
- Math: Sarah Donovan, a third grade teacher at Hamilton Elementary
- Science: Krista Wyvell-Fink, a fourth grade teacher at Rum River Elementary
Why it matters: The PAEMST are the highest honors bestowed by the U.S. government specifically for K-12 science, technology, engineering, and mathematics teaching. The awards were established by Congress in 1983 and the President recognizes around 100 exemplary teachers each year. The award recognizes teachers who have deep content knowledge of the subjects they teach and the ability to motivate and enable students to succeed in those areas.
What they’re saying: Donovan loves seeing math through the eyes of her students and the curiosity and excitement they bring each day, and Fink has a sign in her classroom that reads “We do magic here, we call it science.”
💻 Read the full story to hear more from nationally-recognized teachers, Donovan and Fink.
Middle school programming is under review, your feedback needed
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
Feedback options: Anoka-Hennepin staff and families will have the opportunity to learn about options and provide feedback through an online form or at upcoming community meetings:
Community Meeting #1: Northdale Middle School, 11301 Dogwood St., Coon Rapids. Monday, May 13 from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m., brief presentation at 6:15 p.m.
Community Meeting #2: Educational Service Center, 2727 Ferry St., Anoka. Tuesday, May 14 from 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m., brief presentation at 7:45 a.m. Enter at Door 1.
Community Meeting #3: Jackson Middle School, 6000 109th St., Champlin. Wednesday, May 15 from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m., brief presentation at 6:15 p.m.
Online feedback option: An online feedback form and video link to view the presentation will be available May 13. Remain alert for a follow-up email with these resources.
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.
Did you know? Staff can now specify a preferred name
❗Anoka-Hennepin staff members can request a preferred name. A preferred or chosen name is any name you choose to use other than your legal name.
What it impacts: Changing your preferred name will impact your district email address, staff login and Google account and your staff ID badge.
How to make a change: The process will take approximately one week.
- Log in to A-H Connect with your staff login/password.
- Select “Skyward” from the menu of applications.
- When browsing employee access, select “Preferred Name.”
- Read the instructions and click “start.”
- Enter your preferred first and last name.
- Select “complete and review” and “submit form.”
What’s next: Stay alert to your email. Labor Relations and Applications and Connection Services will review your request and send you an email from 506help@ahschools.us with details about navigating the change. You will receive the email when your request has been processed along with your new credentials and effective date.
Questions? Contact 506help@ahschools.us or 763-506-HELP (4357).
Take action: Add “Emergency Contacts” in your employee profile
🚨 Preparation is the key to effective response in the event of an emergency. The school district works to clearly communicate potential safety issues with families and staff members as soon as possible, and it’s important to know each staff member’s preferences in the event that your family members need to be reached for support.
Why it matters: If and when you need support at work, the district will call the Emergency Contacts in your employee profile.
Take action: Anoka-Hennepin Schools has a system in place to respond to emergencies. Update your emergency contact information online, now. Blue emergency cards will still be available as an option for staff to provide more detailed health information for emergency purposes.
- Log in to A-H Connect with your staff login/password.
- Select “Skyward” from the menu of applications.
- When browsing employee access, select “Emergency Contact.”
- Read the instructions and click “start.”
- Follow instructions to enter your Emergency Contacts.
- Select “submit form.”
Your employee profile is updated immediately.
How it works: If you have multiple Emergency Contacts, the district will call the first listed contact before attempting to reach the additional emergency contacts. This information is a confidential personal record and is only provided to others on a need-to-know basis. Your emergency contact's personal phone number is private data, treated accordingly, and only used in an emergency.
Questions? Contact 506help@ahschools.us or 763-506-HELP (4357) if you need help with your staff login/password.
Upcoming informational sessions for University of St. Thomas Work and Learn Program
Anoka-Hennepin and the University of St. Thomas (UST) have a partnership that provides hands-on experience to support success in future teaching careers.
The Grow Your Own and Work and Learn programs aim to recruit, prepare, retain and support highly qualified paraprofessionals and Tier 1 and Tier 2 teachers to become Tier 3 licensed special education teachers. The program offers an affordable, accessible and accelerated program to earn an Academic and Behavior Strategist (ABS) License and Master’s degree in two and a half years.
UST is offering informational sessions:
- Monday, May 20, 4 p.m. - Join the Zoom meeting
- Thursday, June 6, 4 p.m. - Join the Zoom meeting
Three district schools recognized by Project Lead the Way
Three schools from Anoka-Hennepin have been recognized by Project Lead the Way (PLTW) for their commitment to helping students own their education by increasing student access, engagement and achievement in PLTW programs.
- Secondary schools: Blaine High School - Center for Engineering, Mathematics, and Science (BHS) and Coon Rapids High School - Center for Biomedical Sciences and Engineering (CRHS) were both named PLTW Distinguished High Schools. BHS and CRHS are the only two high schools in the state of Minnesota to receive the award.
- Elementary schools: Monroe Elementary School - Mathematics, Science and Children’s Engineering was named a Distinguished School Launch.
Background: PLTW is a national program that creates engaging classroom environments by empowering students to develop and apply in-demand, transportable skills by exploring real-world challenges. Through pathways in computer science, engineering, and biomedical science, students not only learn technical skills, but also learn to solve problems, think critically and creatively, communicate, and collaborate. PLTW also provides teachers with the training, resources, and support they need to engage students.
PLTW Launch is an elementary Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) curriculum designed for PreK-5 grade levels that taps into students’ exploratory nature, engaging them in learning that feels like play, and encourages them to keep discovering.
Takeaway: BHS and CRHS are the only two high schools in Minnesota to receive this award this year.
- This is the seventh straight year BHS has been recognized by PLTW
- It's the fifth overall and fourth straight for CRHS to earn the award.
- Monroe has earned this recognition in five consecutive years.
Adams Elementary takes learning outdoors through the Minnesota School Forest Program
🌲 Adams Elementary School in Coon Rapids was recently entered into the Minnesota School Forest Program through the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR). A School Forest is an outdoor classroom where teachers and students explore the natural world to teach core subjects.
About the program: Adams is one of around 150 schools statewide in the School Forest Program, and schools in the program range from rural to urban, preschool to university-level and public and private schools.
🌏 Why it matters: The program is designed to increase outdoor education activities at schools and improve forest stewardship in schools and communities. The DNR provides professional development for staff to help teachers use their school forests and offers site management assistance to ensure school forests are used for many years.
🤝 Community partners: On April 25, students at Adams received a donation of 30 outdoor desks hand-crafted by Michael and Pam Pagelkopf to use while learning in the school forest. The desks are made of wood and feature a clipboard for completing assignments, and a desk to store writing utensils or other materials while being used outdoors.
During the first activity with the new outdoor desks, students participated in a scavenger hunt and took turns planting red maple saplings throughout the designated school forest area.
District middle school students serve on All-State choir
Each academic year, the American Choral Directors Association of Minnesota (ACDA-MN) selects a special honor choir. The mission of this program is to provide enriched singing opportunities for students in middle school.
Twelve students from Jackson Middle School - A Specialty School for Math and Science; three students from Anoka Middle School for the Arts and one student from Oak View Middle School were named members of the 2024 ACDA-MN State Honor Choir program.
Students performed with the All-State Choir on April 6 at St. Michael/Albertville High School Minn. Seventh and eighth graders performed with the All-State Choir on April 6 at the same location.
The opportunity is open to all students who want to audition. The students worked before and after school hours to prepare their music for the event. More than 2,400 students audition each year for placement into the honor choir program with over 950 selected.
Pictured, JMS students: SSA - Rose Callan, Abby Vang, Britta Moll, Melody Yang, Caroline Pha, Johanna Kirkham, Rebekah Timm.
Morris Bye student’s passion project makes a big difference
After being inspired to come up with a passion project by her talent development teacher Janeen Burow, Morris Bye Elementary fourth grader Leah Doyle thought big and made a major impact.
🌏 More on the story: Doyle created a plan for a schoolwide event at Feed My Starving Children (FMSC) and arranged everything from raising money for buses, permission slips, parent chaperones and bag lunches.
With the support of Burow and her fourth grade teacher Mackenna Frederickson, Doyle brought a total of 103 Morris Bye students and chaperones to FMSC in Coon Rapids. Together, the three fourth grade classrooms packed 19,656 meals which is enough to feed 54 children for one year.
What they're saying: “I knew this would be a big project but I was happy to help her make it happen,” Burow said. “She communicated her project with her teachers, met with the principal to get permission and asked questions about how to organize the field trip.”
Doyle also personally recruited many of the adult chaperones, including reaching out to the Coon Rapids VFW for support.
Compass program and Northdale Middle School AVID students participate in financial literacy simulation
Students enrolled in the district’s Compass and Northdale Middle School’s AVID programs recently participated in a financial literacy simulation where students experience a hands-on approach to learning about personal finance management.
💵 Financial literacy: Students were given a “new identity” for the day, which included information about their job, family size, income and debt. Next, students visited nine stations to purchase real life necessities, such as a residence, mode of transportation, food, clothing, home items, and more.
The next and most important task students faced was building a budget based on their income and debt. They set up savings accounts and deposited funds for emergencies and future savings with the goal of having up to $100 in their account after purchasing all of their necessary supplies.
Each of the nine stations were staffed by volunteers or family and friends of staff members from Compass.
📣 What they're saying: “We are not sure who enjoyed the experience more, the students or the volunteers,” said Erica Dahlin, assistant principal for the Compass program. “Our students took on the roles and responsibilities of their characters seriously and asked real-life questions of our volunteers during the exercise.”
Students were faced with real-life situations and walked away with a better understanding of decision-making and financial responsibility
School letters presented to three Anoka-Hennepin figure skaters
Andover High School junior Ashlee More, Anoka High School junior Maisie Stover and Andover High School sophomore Lauren Rockers were presented school letters during a special ceremony held during the Coon Rapids Ice Show on April 27 at the Coon Rapids Ice Center. The skaters were recognized with a school athletic letter in 2024.
Anoka-Hennepin Schools coordinates with area figure skating programs and clubs to recognize skaters who meet U.S. Figure Skating criteria to receive school recognition for their achievement and hard work. Cindi Shore, district figure skating advisor and math teacher at Champlin Park High School, presented the honors.
