In the Know - September 16, 2022

September 16, 2022

Rapid enrollment growth in portions of the district - Blaine, Champlin and Dayton - is requiring some attendance boundary adjustments at the elementary level and in the Blaine area at the middle school level to ensure quality education for all students, maintain class size ratios and provide stability for families, students and staff.

Boundaries at the elementary level were last approved by the School Board in the fall of 2018, and implemented in the fall of 2019, with the goal of a five-year commitment to the approved boundaries. Due to the rapid growth in areas of the school district, the boundary process was moved one year earlier to meet the needs of our community.

The Anoka-Hennepin School Board is seeking community feedback on proposed attendance boundaries now, which would be finalized and approved for the 2023-24 school year. Proposals and maps will be released at community meetings held Sept. 14-22.

• View meeting dates.
• View FAQs.
• Complete a survey, provide feedback: ahschools.us/boundaryfeedback

Community meetings were held at Champlin Park and Coon Rapids cluster schools earlier this week. Watch the Champlin Park cluster meeting, watch the Coon Rapids cluster meeting.

Get more insight into the boundary change plan, watch the video:

Through Office Depot’s Start Proud!® Program, all students at Monroe Elementary School - Mathematics, Science and Children’s Engineering and Evergreen Park Elementary: STEM School of Innovation received backpacks filled with school supplies.

Office Depot distributed 1,000 backpacks stocked with notebooks, composition books, crayons, pencils, highlighters and more last week and held a special event at Monroe on Sept. 9. The donation and event were facilitated by the Anoka-Hennepin Educational Foundation (AHEF).

“This donation was meaningful to our school community because it made starting school stress free from a financial perspective of having to provide school supplies,” said Amy Oliver, principal at Monroe. “I took many calls from families who were excited to hear that supplies and a backpack were being provided for their student(s).”

The high-energy event included music and some dancing to help Monroe students get excited for the school year.

Learn more about the Start Proud event.

View photos and watch this news story from CCX News about the event.

Anoka-Hennepin Schools, with support from the district’s employee wellness program, Where Wellness Matters, will offer flu shots at several schools and sites Sept. 26-Oct. 13.

Employees are required to schedule appointments to attend and complete an immunization screening questionnaire when registering (photo of UnitedHealthcare insurance card required). Members of an Anoka-Hennepin UnitedHealthcare health insurance plan may receive the flu shot without a co-payment at one of the available sites. All employees that are not covered by an Anoka-Hennepin health care plan may receive a flu shot for $45, which may be paid at the clinic site via cash or check.

Employee family members age 7 and above, who are enrolled in district plans, may receive the flu shot at any of the clinic dates. Family members ages 3 to 6 years old will have the opportunity to receive the shot on family designated dates only.

Read more about the clinics and register.

The Anoka-Hennepin School Board is seeking community input as they begin the process of hiring a new superintendent. Community input meetings are set for Tuesday, Sept. 27 at 6 p.m. at both Champlin Park High School and Coon Rapids High School. Stakeholders can select the meeting site that is the most convenient, they will both follow the same format.

Dr. Kenneth Dragseth and Dr. Antoinette Johns from the firm School Exec Connect will organize the meeting to determine the strengths, challenges, and the characteristics or skills to search for in the next superintendent. Additionally, anonymous written feedback can be provided to the consultants by completing a survey at ahschools.us/superintendentsearch. This information will be used to develop a profile of the desired skills and characteristics in the next superintendent. All replies will be anonymous. Please submit feedback by Oct. 4.

The Anoka-Hennepin School Board will conduct interviews and complete the superintendent hiring process by early December. The new superintendent will begin service with the 2023-24 school year.

Anoka-Hennepin and Allina Health have partnered to provide district teachers and staff with a library of resources to support employee health and mental wellness.

New episodes of the SupportingYoU podcast have been added and cover the topics of: compassion, adding meaningful structure to the workday, visual imagery and gratitude.

Listen to the SupportingYoU podcast to learn how you, an educator, can help support student mental wellness in your classroom.

Listen by visiting our website at ahschools.us/supportingyou.

Seeking Educational Equity & Diversity (SEED) in Anoka-Hennepin returns for its 31st year. SEED is a professional development opportunity where staff can deepen their understanding of themselves and others and work toward making our workplace more inclusive.

SEED cohorts meet once a month throughout the school year to take a deeper dive into equity and diversity issues through book studies, articles and films, guest speaker presentations, guided reflections, and intentional discussions. Staff have the opportunity to examine how to improve the educational experience for all students and their families.

Six SEED cohorts are available this year: three in-person sites include Champlin Park High School, University Avenue Elementary and the AHEM union office in the Wells Fargo building at 3200 Main St. NW Suite #360 in Coon Rapids, and two virtual groups: one hybrid site at Oak View Middle School and two online cohorts. You may enroll in any site regardless if you're a teacher or staff in these buildings. Please view the SEED hype video for more information.

Staff who participate in SEED will earn 27 continuing education units. If interested, district staff may enroll to take four semester credits (equal to six quarter credits) through St. Catherine’s University (cost is $750) For dates, times and instructor information, please visit the learning management system (LMS) in A-HConnect on the district’s website. Last year, cohorts filled up quickly, so register soon.

Questions? Contact SEED Coordinators Beth Heimerl (beth.heimerl@ahschool.us) or Beth Popalisky (sweetlilyp@gmail.com).

Four Anoka-Hennepin seniors have been named National Merit Scholarship semifinalists, and each are now in the running for one of the 7,500 scholarships of up to $2,500 for college.

The students: Andover High School senior Eleanor Fredine; Blaine High School senior Adhithya Anandaraj; Champlin Park High School senior Maura Wahl; Coon Rapids High School senior Jesse Ariston B. Co.

The four Anoka-Hennepin students join approximately 16,000 semifinalists nationally who have the opportunity to become National Merit Scholars.

To become a semifinalist, high school juniors entered the National Merit Scholarship program by taking the 2021 Preliminary SAT test, which served as an initial screen of program entrants. The nationwide pool of semifinalists, representing less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors, includes the highest-scoring entrants in each state.

CTN in Coon Rapids recently visited Sand Creek Elementary School to see the new media center improvements at the school. As part of the Fit for the Future plan, district schools received media center updates and this summer, 15 schools received those updates. Next summer, another 13 schools will see media center improvements.

September is National Suicide Awareness Prevention Month, a time to reinforce that suicide is preventable and an effort that benefits from a community-wide approach.

Last January, the Parent Engage 360 Podcast, a tool used by Anoka-Hennepin to provide parents and guardians with knowledge from experts and tools needed to support their children, featured the topic of suicide awareness.

In this episode, host Liz Burgard, Anoka-Hennepin parent involvement coordinator, sat down with Janet Casperson, an Anoka-Hennepin parent, and Julia Messenger, assistant director of student services for mental health and emotional wellness, to provide additional awareness around the topic of suicide.

You will hear one mother’s story and how she has become an amazing advocate and resource in our school community through the loss of her son, Sam. Listen to this episode of the Parent Engage 360 Podcast.

For those who need immediate support, you are not alone. 24-hour support is available by phone by calling or texting the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988 or on the Crisis Text Line by texting MN to 741741.

Two seniors at Anoka High School - Center for Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math (AHS) placed first in the teen division of the Minnesota State Fair Amateur Talent Contest.

Seniors Ashley Wongbi and Olivia Buxton were members of a vocal group that took home the top prize with a cover of Ex-Wives from the musical, Six.

“I’ve spent time singing in choir and doing theater since sixth grade at Anoka Middle School, and my love for it has really pushed me into performing,” Wongbi said.

“My time at Anoka High School helped me to be prepared because I was aware of how to perform from choir,” said Buxton. “My choir teacher taught me how to work with others well, as well as how to use my vocal talent to its fullest.”

Read more about the group placing first.

• Resources available for teachers and staff serving students who have a seizure disorder.
• Franklin Elementary School closure, repurposing plan approved, Bridges and Pathways special education programs to relocate.
  
• Adult school meal prices to increase for the 2022-23 school year.
• AHEF grant applications for the 2022-23 school year.

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