In the Know - July 29, 2022

July 29, 2022

The In the Know e-newsletter has a new look for the 2022-23 school year, and it comes with a number of benefits:

• Translation: A translation tool is available for those wishing to receive information in another language. Recipients may click anywhere on the message to open it in a web browser and at the top of the page, select a language from the dropdown menu.
  
  

• Accessibility: Built-in tools for readers to increase font size, if needed, or utilize a high contrast viewing mode, incorporating ADA compliance.

Schools will also move to the new e-newsletter platform, Smore, by December 1, 2022. The Communication and Public Relations team is currently working with schools individually to develop a training plan and timeline to make the switch. This will give schools the opportunity to send e-newsletters, event information and emergency messages in a format branded to their own school.

E-news contacts will also notice benefits:

• Designs unique to each school: E-newsletters, event information and emergency messages are designed in a consistent format, branded to their own school.

• Ease of creating and editing: The concise format makes creating professional messages simple, and team folders allow for collaboration.

• Streamlined contact lists: Messages will be sent through the Blackboard Mass Notification tool, which utilizes up-to-date contact information for families.

• Email and text message capability: Send messages by both email and text with a few clicks using the same interface.

• Analytics and readership data: To help school and district leaders better understand how to more effectively communicate with their school communities.

Opportunities to share feedback will be available soon. Stay tuned!

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

Topics will also include guidance on how to navigate difficult conversations and how to share important school climate themes with school administrators. This information could inform school support programming, curriculum, or school practices for teachers/staff to listen at any time that is convenient.

Six episodes are currently available to listen to, with an additional 33 episodes set to be added to the podcast resource by the beginning of the 2022-23 school year.

The SupportingYoU Podcast is brought to you in partnership with Allina Health and made possible by a grant funded by the Anoka County Children and Families Council.

Listen by visiting ahschools.us/supportingyou.

The Anoka-Hennepin School District has updated its school handbook for the 2022-23 school year. Parents/guardians will be required to view and sign off on the handbook as part of the district’s back to school verification process through A-HConnect, and families can preview the School Handbook now for important information and updates about the upcoming school year.

To access the forms through A-HConnect, click on the lock icon and log in at the top right corner of any district or school website. Then, select "my student information." For login/password assistance, call 763-506-HELP or email 506help@ahschools.us.

The Fit for the Future plan, which was supported by voters in 2017 when the community approved a request for new funding to make the plan happen, promised to create safe and secure learning environments by removing all portable classrooms across the district, construct additional schools and classroom space, provide solutions for maintaining quality schools at every building in the district, and address class sizes at every level.

Many of the major projects were completed at the start of the 2019-20 school year, including the opening of Brookside Elementary School in Ramsey and Sunrise Elementary School in Blaine.

Also as part of the Fit for the Future plan, all district schools are beginning to see a number of science, media center, and special education improvements being implemented. Those projects are scheduled to be completed by the start of the 2023-24 school year.

Sites receiving media center updates this summer include Adams, Andover, Crooked Lake, Evergreen Park, Franklin, Hamilton, Jefferson, Lincoln, Madison, Monroe, Morris Bye and Sand Creek elementary schools, as well as Anoka Middle School for the Arts - Washington Campus, Jackson and Roosevelt middle schools.

In the summer of 2023, the following schools will receive media center updates: Dayton, Eisenhower, Hoover, Johnsville, McKinley, Mississippi, Oxbow Creek, Ramsey, Rum River, University, Wilson elementary schools and Coon Rapids, Oak View and Northdale middle schools.

Classroom additions are also on the schedule for the summer of 2023 at Sunrise Elementary and River Trail Learning Center at L.O. Jacob. Community members may also see capital projects happening at school buildings and outdoor athletic facilities across the district. Learn more about the projects.

The Anoka-Hennepin School District is considering a plan to repurpose the use of Franklin Elementary School in Anoka due to declining enrollment, available classroom space in neighboring schools and to maximize efficient use of taxpayer dollars.

The repurposing plan would maintain Franklin as a school facility that would serve students in the Bridges and Pathways special education programs. These students are currently served from leased spaces in shopping malls in Andover and Coon Rapids. Current Franklin attendance area students would attend neighboring elementary schools as determined through the boundary adjustment process this fall and and also remain in the attendance area for Anoka High School and Anoka Middle School for the Arts. Read more details.

Families and community members are invited to learn more about future possibilities for Franklin Elementary School and provide feedback at a community meeting scheduled on Wednesday, August 3 from 6 to 7 p.m. at the Anoka-Hennepin Schools Educational Service Center, located at 2727 N. Ferry Street in Anoka. Enter at Door 7. A presentation will be shared at 6:10 p.m. If you are unable to attend in person, the meeting will be streamed live on the school website: ahschools.us/franklin.

Ellie Pruess, recent Andover High School graduate, recently took part in her last meeting as a student member of the Anoka-Hennepin Educational Foundation's board. Read about her experiences serving on the board and how it shaped her future plans to serve the community.

• Obit: Jill Parent, former teacher at district COMPASS program, has passed away.
• Action of the School Board, July 11.
• District to participate in summer food service program.
• Parent Engage 360: Summer safety podcast.
• District to host hiring event Aug. 15 for operational positions.
• 2022-23 calendar published.
• Text message alerts for A-H staff.
• Summer COVID-19 mitigation.

To translate this information to another language, please click anywhere on the message to open it in a web browser and at the top of the page, select your language from the dropdown menu.