All Means All Newsletter
November, 2022
District Report Card Results
The 2021-22 school year State Report Cards were released on November 15, 2022 to the public. Northland Pines has scored “Exceeds Expectations” every year since the 2015-16 school year, except for 2019-20, when no report cards were produced. Analyzing individual school data, there are many celebrations, areas of strength, and areas needing improvement. The District is currently looking at trends of statewide assessment data, local data, and attendance rates to evaluate current practices and drive action-planning steps. As part of our own data dig, a local trend, also noted statewide and nationally, was the much higher than normal number of teacher and student absences throughout the 2021-22 school year. We understand that State Report Card data is one snapshot of time. Still, we value the results as part of our story and use this information to evaluate our practices and work to increase student proficiency and growth rates.
The state report card is divided into four priority areas: Achievement, Growth, Targeted Group Outcomes, and On-Track to Graduation. Achievement compares students’ level of knowledge and skills against state standards. Growth is how rapidly students gain knowledge from year to year. Students are compared to similar students across the state using a “Value Added” model. Targeted Group Outcomes focus on students within the bottom quartile of scores. This is a mini-report card for this subgroup. On-Track to Graduation indicates how successfully students are progressing toward completing their education, scored by chronic absenteeism, attendance rates, 3rd grade ELA scores, and 8th grade math scores. It is also important to note that each school’s priority area is weighted differently depending on how many students are experiencing poverty. Group size also determines how many priority areas are scored. Eagle River Elementary School is the largest elementary school within the Northland Pines School District and, therefore, the only elementary school large enough to score in all four priority areas. Land O’Lakes Elementary and SOAR High School do not have the number of students necessary to be issued an accountability report card. Therefore, the schools submit their own local data that is reviewed by the state, demonstrating satisfactory progress.
As we focus our continuous improvement efforts on Collaborative Teams (CTMs), Universal Design for Learning, and Responsive Classroom, we are designing learning experiences to leverage the unique strengths and interests of our students. We proactively plan for learner variability and create real-world relevant experiences for our students in joyful classrooms. Thank you for how hard you work every day to positively impact our students’ lives and educational journeys. We know how tough the last few years have been for staff, and we appreciate your efforts to support our school community! At Pines, we strive to provide rigor, relevance, and relationships for our students; we strive to improve every day.
We will foster a safe and postive school culture through collaboration and relationships
Girls Power Night
For twelve years, Northland Pines Middle School staff members have graciously donated their time and energy (and sacrificed a night of sleep) to plan for and host "Girls Power Night." This year, this fantastic event occurred on Friday, November 11th, in the Northland Pines Middle School and High School building. Over 40 middle school girls participated in community-sponsored events throughout the evening, including Martial Arts, canvas painting, crafting, stretching, and hair styling. Staff chaperones and high school student mentors led team building and other fun activities, including a scavenger hunt, line dancing, volleyball, karaoke, cooking, and team building. The event is intentionally designed to provide unique opportunities for girls to engage in positive, healthy activities, strengthen their relationships with one another, and strengthen their relationships with staff. It is an incredibly unique and powerful event that would not happen without our dedicated team, led by Faith Schneider and our supportive community members. Many staff members who could not be directly involved this year donated much-needed supplies and snacks. A sincere thank you goes out to Faith Schneider, Tara Petrekis, Michelle Richards, Abby Wolf, Kaitlyn Nellessen, Sarah Leckel, Laura Lorenz, Alyssa Hecke, and Patty Discipio for making Girls Power Night possible for our students!