This month’s meeting, held at William Kelley Schools, featured three students relaying their experiences from the recent trip to France, taken by 18 juniors and seniors this last March. They visited several locations, including Paris, Tours, and Omaha Beach, one of the sites of the World War II Normandy landings. “I was really impressed by my classmates,” Christina Kaiser, a senior, said. “They were able to take on these challenges by themselves, they were able to go forward, and even when they were scared, they were still able to achieve what they set out to do.”
Stella LaPointe, a junior, added that “this trip, for many of us, was the first time we’d left the country, and that can be a very challenging experience, especially without our parents. But doing it with all of our peers and amazing teachers made it a breeze.”
While in France, the students were highly encouraged to use French during activities such as ordering food and asking for directions. Sierra Geatz, a junior, explained that “All of us that were on the trip had been in French [classes] 3 to 4 years. Even with that, the idea of speaking French in its native country, for myself at least, was a little daunting.” But despite that, she noted: “When I made the effort to try, those that I talked to were very kind, and I would walk away feeling, like, really good.”
Christina Kaiser concurred, stating, “It is so important for us as high schoolers to learn how to be confident when we’re speaking to people. Going forward to college, or to a job, we’re going to meet so many new people that we may not know how to connect with; they may be from another country, they may speak another language. But having gone to France, we now have the experience and we have the confidence to be able to connect to these people.”
The students studied art and history on their trip, traveling to the Louvre and several historical sites, a few of which were shown to Board meeting attendees via a photo reel, with the students providing further context. Their enthusiasm for where they had been and what they had seen shone throughout, and several times they expressed gratitude for the trip and what they had learned from it.
One lesson, according to Stella LaPointe: “Sometimes things are scary or difficult, but if you push through, you will learn that you can do hard things.”
One of the major business decisions during this meeting concerned the use of MnMTSS (Minnesota Multi-tiered System of Supports) in the district. MnMTSS is a framework supported by the Minnesota Department of Education aimed at overall improving schools and students, with its use divided into five sections: infrastructure for continuous improvement, family and community engagement, multi-layered practices and support, assessment, and data-based decision making. Lake Superior has been using MnMTSS since June 2024, when they secured a 2-year grant for a coordinator; part of the reason for MnMTSS being brought up during this session was because of it being due for renewal by the Board.
MnMTSS coordinator Tawnyea Lake presented an assessment of MnMTSS’s progress over the last two years she has worked with the district. This included spending much of the first year setting up a plan and infrastructure for how to improve the district and spending the second year implementing larger changes. This resulted in a small payoff being seen by the end of the first year and notable improvements near the end of this latest school year. Lake next covered future plans if the district continues its aid from MnMTSS: increasing family and community engagement and multi-layered practices and supports ranked highest in their next priorities.
The help of the MTSS coordinator has been paid for via a grant in the past, and although there is cautious optimism over the grant’s renewal, it wasn’t yet a sure thing as of this meeting: the grant is due to be approved by the end of May, but as of May 12th, it was still in process. Later in the meeting, the Board discussed renewing Tawnyea Lake’s contract, with some back and forth due to the grant still being up in the air. The principals and other members advocated for the renewal, stating that the benefits of the coordinator’s direction were worth the price. Minnehaha Principal Shane Johnson stated that the MnMTSS framework builds a “streamlined, unified process” between all schools in the district, and Tawnyea helps us do that work.” William Kelley Schools Principal Dan Johnson agreed, adding that continuing without the help of the coordinator would “put a lot of pressure on the admin team and the teachers to fill that in.” The Board unanimously approved the contract renewal, continuing their use of MnMTSS.
Lake Superior School District’s graduations are right around the corner on Friday, May 29th, with William Kelley High Schools’ at 5:00 pm and Two Harbors High School following at 7:30 pm. School Board members Tracy Tiboni and Dean Korri plan to attend the William Kelley High School graduation, while Norbert Norman and Jeff Radle plan to be at the Two Harbors High School graduation.
Lake Superior School District Business Manager Tanner Spawn covered a revised budget for fiscal year 2026 as well as an initial budget for fiscal year 2027, both of which were approved by the board. He was generally positive with so many projects being wrapped up and higher than projected revenues in 2026, but warned that LTFM (Long-Term Facilities Maintenance) projects would be a concern in 2028. Current and upcoming LTFM projects include the Silver Bay bus garage, Two Harbors High School pool filter system repairs, Minnehaha tunnel drainage, and mechanical system improvements at both William Kelley Schools and Two Harbors High School; further out, roofing projects at Two Harbors High School, William Kelley Schools, and Minnehaha Elementary will be due to be taken on starting in fiscal year 2028.
The Board also approved a long list of grants and donations spanning from January 2025 to March 2026 and accepted with regret the retirements of: Tim Reppe, Two Harbors High School PE and Health teacher of 32 years; and Michelle Ketola, who has served many roles at William Kelley Schools for 20+ years. Michelle was in attendance for the meeting, and Board Chair Tiboni commented that “she will leave large shoes to fill,” while Superintendent Gina Kleive called her “the heart” of William Kelley.
Reports began with Minnehaha Principal Shane Johnson speaking of having a final school year celebration of Dilly Bars on the beach on June 2-3 and the latest PBIS (Positive Behavior Interventions and Support) event of Game Day with popcorn and juice. They are also starting a new tradition with Moving Up Day, which will allow students to meet their teacher for the next school year and has already garnered positive feedback from parents.
William Kelley Schools Principal Dan Johnson spoke on construction projects and unclogging drains. “It’s always interesting, these old buildings, what we discover as we make improvements,” he commented. He also thanked everyone involved in the schools and community for their support to fund the trip to France. He also extended another thanks to Michelle Ketola for her knowledge of “every single family in this building.”
Community Director Brett Archer started by complimenting the district’s “fantastic” ECFE (Early Childhood Family Education) program, which recently won the Innovative Programming Award for Small Schools from the Minnesota Association of Family and Early Education. There are a few new projects planned for this summer, including a joint marching band between Silver Bay and Two Harbors that is being assembled, the Northshore Mariners Summer Camp for Silver Bay kids, and Little Agates Summer Camp in Two Harbors for preschoolers. Little Mariners Child Care Center has been witnessing some financial turnaround after considerable efforts, and they are cautiously hopeful of further improvements.
Superintendent Gina Kleive noted there will be no immediate renewal of a lobbyist at this time due to time constraints, but having a lobbyist working on behalf of the school district will be necessary going forward, and they are still considering the Costin Group. She also covered the push for a seasonal recreation tax adjustment to help fund the district. Note: Two days after this School Board meeting, on May 14th, Senator Hauschild secured a new budget agreement that includes this adjustment, stating it would “ensure communities in Northern Minnesota receive fairer support for their local schools.”
Kleive relayed a message from the tech director stating that they are working on tech infrastructure stability issues, which have included network problems in all three buildings. The district has applied and been accepted for funding to improve the schools’ internet connections.
