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
• FY2026 Transportation Diesel Fuel and Gas Bid
• CIS Land Sale to MnDOT
• Memorandum of Understanding between C-I Schools and Education Minnesota
• Policies in Final Action

By: Dr. Nate Rudolph

Over the past month, our office has continued to lead and support several important initiatives aligned with our district’s strategic priorities and end-of-year operations. Here are several key areas of focus:

Graduation and Year-End Celebrations

Planning is well underway for our end-of-year ceremonies, with particular focus on celebrating the Class of 2025. In addition to final walkthroughs and upcoming graduations at ABE, Riverside, and CIHS, we’ve had the opportunity to celebrate several important milestones. This includes Decision Day, military and athletic signing events, and the Dollars for Scholars Scholarship Reception—where our community generously awarded $253,850 in scholarships to this year’s graduating class. These moments reflect the collective impact of our school community and serve as powerful reminders of the bright futures ahead for our students.

Staff Appreciation and Recognition

This month, we’ve been celebrating the incredible contributions of our staff through Teacher Appreciation Week, School Lunch Hero Day, and our annual Bluejacket Celebration event. These moments underscore the importance of recognizing the people who make our schools welcoming, safe, and effective learning environments every day.

Hiring and Staffing for 2025-26

Hiring season is in full swing across the district. Our leadership team has been deeply engaged in selecting high-quality candidates to fill open positions, with a focus on instructional strength, student-centered mindsets, and alignment with our district values. We are excited to share that we have finalized our administrative hires for the year. We are proud to welcome Mrs. Rachel Kasper and Mr. Eric Bjurman to our Bluejacket family. Rachel will be serving as our new Director of Special Education and Student Support Services and Eric is hired to be our next Cambridge Primary School Principal. We are excited for them to officially start these roles in July.

Legislative Advocacy and External Partnerships

We’ve continued our advocacy efforts at the Capitol alongside fellow public school leaders and the Minnesota School Board Association (MSBA) leadership. These conversations are focused on advocating for sustainable funding (especially as they relate to state mandates), increased flexibility, and supporting the needs of school districts like ours.

Facility Task Force and Future Planning

This month, we concluded the final session of our Facility Task Force, a group made up of committed community members, parents, staff, and local leaders. Over the course of several meetings, this group engaged in thoughtful, data-informed conversations about the long-range facility needs of our district. Their work has helped identify priorities, explore potential solutions, and build shared understanding around the opportunities and challenges ahead. We are grateful for their time and partnership, and their feedback will play a key role in shaping the next steps of our strategic facility planning process.

“in partnership with our community, is to EDUCATE, EMPOWER and INSPIRE - EVERY STUDENT, EVERY DAY to achieve their full potential.”

By: Shawn Kirkeide

Emergency Preparedness

As part of our ongoing efforts to strengthen our district’s emergency response protocols, we will be conducting a Standard Reunification Method mock event this summer.

A key component of effective crisis response is the safe and accountable reunification of students with their parents or guardians during or after a school emergency. The Standard Reunification Method, developed by the “I Love U Guys” Foundation, offers a well-established framework to help schools and districts plan, practice, and successfully implement reunification procedures.

This event presents a valuable opportunity for our leadership team, district-level staff, and local law enforcement partners to collaborate, refine our procedures, and enhance our collective readiness to support students and families in the event of a critical incident.

Bluejacket Celebration

All nominations are in and the votes have been counted! We are excited to celebrate the exceptional contributions of our staff at the annual Bluejacket Celebration on Wednesday, May 28 at 4:30 PM in the Performing Arts Center.

During this special event, we will recognize our retirees, honor staff for their years of dedicated service, and celebrate the many individuals who make a positive impact across our district.

We hope you will join us for this meaningful and memorable occasion!

By: Christopher Kampa, CFA

Finance

We are closely monitoring ongoing legislative developments, as they are expected to significantly impact school operations over the next two years. While the previous legislative session resulted in what many consider a historic increase in school funding, it also introduced a number of new mandates that have created financial strain for districts across the state. Thanks to our strong financial position, we remain one of the few districts not facing budget cuts. However, maintaining this stability will be challenging without some relief from the legislature, and we remain hopeful that adjustments will be made to ease the burden of the more impactful mandates. It appears that the legislature and the Governor are close to an agreement, but it is unlikely they will be able to do so by the May 19th deadline, which will require a special session to wrap things up.

Transportation

Since the start of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) investigation on April 29, our team has responded with focus and efficiency, making excellent progress on the required documentation. We are now completing the final piece, which will lead to an updated USDOT registration. The review resulted in only minor violations—a strong outcome that reflects well on our operations, especially in comparison to reports from other districts and contractors. We’re using this opportunity to strengthen our procedures even further. At the same time, our state fleet inspections are going very well, with positive feedback so far. While we’ve had a few driver departures recently, our team has worked proactively to maintain coverage and ensure smooth operations through the end of the school year. Planning for summer is off to a great start, with an enthusiastic response from drivers eager to support our summer routes.

Food Service

The Food Service team is focused on finishing the school year strong and with great energy. As we head into the final weeks, we are actively managing end-of-year planning, including administrative tasks for probationary employees, final inventory counts, and determining which freezers will remain operational over the summer. At CPIS, two major equipment replacements are scheduled, and we've already coordinated with the installers and contractors to ensure a smooth installation process. We're enjoying our remaining time with students and looking forward to a productive and well-prepared summer ahead.

Building & Grounds

We are currently coordinating several important summer projects aimed at maintaining and improving our facilities. As part of our ongoing efforts, we will continue with the exterior door repair and replacement plan across all locations. We are also assessing roof conditions district-wide to identify and address leaks, helping to prevent further damage. Playground inspections and necessary repairs are scheduled to be completed before summer break begins. Additionally, we are evaluating all radiant heat panels at CPIS to determine which units require replacement and to develop a repair schedule accordingly.

Technology

May has been a combination of planning for the end of the 2024-25 and the beginning of the 2025-26 school year. As a team, we are developing our summer plans and projects, including installing new network switches for the Cambridge schools as a part of ERATE. Utilizing ERATE funding will save the district just over $200,000 this next fiscal year. The Isanti schools will receive their new switches after the 2025-26 school year because the funding for this project needed to be spread over 2 ERATE cycles of funding.

Another project that is nearly ready for installation is the replacement of all analog phone lines remaining in the district. The remaining analog lines are currently for fire panels, security systems, and elevators. These will be replaced by a device that runs on cellular service instead of analog service because the phone industry is moving away from supporting analog phone lines as a whole, therefore the expense of keeping and maintaining analog phone service is expensive and continues to rise in cost.

In regards to Cybersecurity, James Klimek, our Network Security Coordinator worked with ECMECC on our district's risk assessment and we received our FISA Report providing us with insights and recommendations to be implemented in the future. One of the most positive results is that our score continues to rise each year that we have conducted the risk assessment. Below is our trend over the last handful of years:

Cybersecurity Maturity Historical Trend

• Year 1 - 440
• Year 2 - 620
• Year 3 - 663
• Year 4 - 691
• Year 5 - 729

By: Christina Thayer Anderson

Celebrating Summer Learning and Community Connections

As we approach the end of the school year, our Community Education team is actively preparing for a full season of summer programming for learners of all ages. From enrichment and recreation to Adventure Center, Early Childhood Family Education (ECFE), driver’s education, and Adult Education (ABE), our programs will continue across school sites, local parks, and community venues. Summer is one of our favorite times of the year—we see students, families, and neighbors engaging in joyful, hands-on learning and building new connections.

In addition to classes and camps, we’re excited to once again participate in local events that bring our community together. Watch for our teams at the Rodeo Days Parade, Kids Day at the Fair, local farmers markets, and Night to Unite. You might also find us popping up in local parks for ECFE in the Park and other outreach activities. We are looking forward to a summer full of learning, celebration, and connection.

Kindergarten Readiness: Gearing Up for K

Our youngest learners are preparing for a big milestone—starting kindergarten! As part of our commitment to strong transitions, our primary schools will host Gearing Up for K this August. Incoming kindergarteners will get to explore their school, visit classrooms, eat in the cafeteria, tour the media center, meet their principal, and play on the playground. It’s a joyful and important step in building confidence and connection for students and families alike.

Adult Education Graduation – June 18 at 6:00 PM

Please join us in celebrating our Adult Education learners as they graduate on Tuesday, June 18 at 6:00 PM. Earning a GED is a powerful achievement—it represents perseverance, courage, and a commitment to personal growth. This milestone opens the door to future education, career pathways, and lifelong opportunities. We are incredibly proud of each graduate’s journey and are grateful for the educators, families, and community members who support them along the way.

By: Dr. Jason Bodey

DILT Structural Changes: Aligning Our Work Through Committee Consolidation

As part of our ongoing efforts to align district leadership with our strategic plan, we are restructuring the District Instructional Leadership Team (DILT) beginning in the 2025–2026 school year. Over the past year, we have gathered input from school leaders, staff, and the Teaching and Learning department. Their feedback made one thing clear—we need to bring greater focus and alignment to our instructional leadership work.

Unified DILT Structure

The updated model brings together K–5, Middle School, High School, and Early Childhood Building Instructional Leadership Teams (BILTs). These teams will work in partnership with Teaching and Learning Coordinators and Building Instructional Leadership Teams across all schools. This structure strengthens vertical and horizontal alignment and supports a more unified instructional vision.

Committee Consolidation

To reduce duplication and sharpen our focus, we are consolidating several district-level committees into the DILT structure:

• Data and Assessment Committee
• District Curriculum Committee
• District MTSS
• Professional Development Team*
• Technology Advisory
• Tier 2 and Tier 3 Team

*A small team will still support PD for non-licensed staff.

This shift brings these efforts into one shared structure with clear leadership, greater coherence, and stronger connection to building-level work. We’re “weeding the garden”—removing duplication, clarifying purpose, and aligning our work to move forward together with greater impact.