2023-24 School Year Off to a Good Start
Administrators and staff, joined by com-munity volunteers, came together in the last weeks of summer to get district buildings ready for the return of students. A hard working cadre of folks moved materials and furniture from storage back into classrooms, cleaned surfaces dusty from construction work and spent the Labor Day weekend scrubbing and waxing floors. By all accounts, those efforts paid off and, as Two Harbors High School Principal Julie Benson commented, The “start of the school year was close to normal.”
There are several initiatives that Lake Superior District administrators and teaching staff will be focusing on as the term gets underway. With the acquisition of new math curricula, there will be training happening to support teachers as they get familiar with the new materials. The primary grade levels will be using Bridges Math while middle and high school students will be using a program from Carnegie Learning. Come October, on site coaches from Carnegie will be providing training to teaching staff and Bridges training will be offered to teachers virtually.
Additionally, staff are studying MCA test data and are working to address deficits in learning brought on by Covid disruptions. While math and reading scores have improved over the past year, they are still below where they should be. All teachers will be working collaboratively in Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) throughout the year to target specific areas of deficit and increase instructional effectiveness through best teaching practices. The district’s World’s Best Workforce goals call for doubling student proficiency scores in the next year and a half and teachers will be working to meet that goal.
Minnehaha Elementary School will be hosting an Open House on September 21st. The public is invited to come see the results of the renovation work that was done over the summer. Homecoming will be held on Friday, September 22nd at Two harbors High School. The football game starts at 7:00 with a dance to follow. There is a shortage of special education staff and administrators are working to address this situation. There also continues to be a need for bus drivers for district routes.
District residents are encouraged to check out the Community Education opportunities and can do so by visiting the district website or by reading The Ripple when it arrives in your mailbox. There are many learning opportunities for all ages being offered this Fall including a Babysitting Clinic, Deep Water Aqua Fitness, Belly Dancing for Beginners, Guitar For Hopelessly Busy People and workshops on Health Care & Retirement and Estate Planning.
The next School Board meeting will be held on October 10th at Two Harbors High School and will commence at 6:00 p.m.
