Raider Update
December 4, 2022
Message from the Superintendent
Good afternoon Raider Families,
I recently presented the State of the District to the school board. The link to the slides can be found here. We have really had a great school year, so far and some highlights from the presentation include:
Strong schools = Strong communities Our schools are a bedrock for our community. We currently have 4138 students, 569 staff and there are 24 languages spoken in our district. Our partnerships with the community include everything from our PTA's to the senior center, to Rotary, to the United Way, to the City of Hastings, to Dakota County, and more. Our collective effort allows for amazing things to happen in our schools at all levels, everyday. COVID’s impact on our kids In line with national and state trends, our students’ standardized testing scores dropped as anticipated, however we are already demonstrating progress. As I have shared many times, mental health is an area we are really focused on in order to support academics, and as a district we have been very purposeful in deploying additional support and resources at all levels and for all students. How our kids are doing We know we have areas to continuously improve upon, however some good indicators that we are heading in the right direction include data from last school year: 76% of secondary students passed all of their classes, 649 credit were recovered at the high school, we stayed under 10% for chronic absences, 70% of our elementary students were reading at grade level, we maintained a 22 average on the ACT, and our graduate rate came in at 95.6%. Local funds for our schools are critical We have two locally approved operating levies which support classroom learning, supplies and staff. One of these will expire in 2024 if not renewed by voters in November 2023 - which would mean a loss of at least $2.6 million per year. Budget pressures include the fact that state funding has not kept pace with inflation for the past 20 years, resulting in a funding gap for us of $5.6 million this year alone. In addition, critical special education programs cost over $3 million more than the district receives from the state and federal governments. Thank you for past support! Five years ago, our residents approved bond funding for building improvements across the district. We are proud to report that, thanks to the interest earned on the bonds, rebate programs, and projects coming in under budget, over $7 million in additional projects will be completed without affecting the taxpayer's levy rate. This means the district is returning more improvements to our community than originally promised! Looking ahead, together According to our recent demographic study, lower birth rates and reduced housing turnover, means fewer kids in our schools, although many fixed costs will remain the same. To address this, we have worked hard to live within our means, right-size our district and reduce our budgets by over $3 million over the past three years. At the same time, we developed a Strategic Plan to serve as our “north star” with three key strategic anchors to guide the work of district leaders, the school board and our staff: Engaged Learners Effective Operations Communication and Collaboration Improved communication with our community Our schools belong to our community. We have developed new and improved ways to ensure our residents know what’s happening in our schools, including periodic postcard mailings, regular district updates in our Community Education catalog, a weekly eNewsletter, increased social media presence and more stories in our local media. It is important to us that you are aware of the ways we care, empower, and achieve. Together, we can ensure that students stay at the heart of all we do. Thank your support, opinions, and feedback, and thank you for sharing our #RaiderPride!
Bob McDowell, Ed.D.
Superintendent
2023-2024 Kindergarten Registration
Information for registering your 2023-24 kindergartener will be mailed out in early January. Additional information regarding an opportunity to visit our school and meet kindergarten teachers will also be included in that mailing.
Hastings Public Schools
- Kennedy Elementary (K-4) 651-480-7221
- McAuliffe Elementary (K-4) 651-480-7390
- Pinecrest Elementary (K-4) 651-480-7280
- Hastings Middle School (5-8) 651-480-7060
- Hastings High School (9-12) 651-480-7470
- Hastings Alternative Learning Center 651-480-7690
- Tilden Community Center 651-480-7670
*If you need any assistance in translating the Raider Update, contact us at kgorr@isd200.org.
Website: www.hastings.k12.mn.us
Location: 1000 11th Street West, Hastings, MN, USA
Phone: 651-480-7000
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hastingspublicschools