The Lake Superior School Board approved a recommendation at their meeting last week to hire Gina Kleive as the Superintendent for the LSSD. Kleive steps into the position held by Jay Belcastro who retired earlier this month. Belcastro has served as an educator and Administrator for 32 years and has been the LSSD Superintendent for the past 4 years. Gina Kleive started working in the Duluth School District in 2006, was hired as Assistant Principal at Two Harbors High School in 2022 and moved into the position of Principal when Julie Benson retired earlier this year. She begins her tenure as Superintendent on June 11th. The Board also approved the recommendation to hire THHS Assistant Principal Michael Emmerson to replace Kleive as Principal.
Tanner Spawn, Business Manager for the district, presented the initial budget for fiscal year 2025. Readers will likely remember that the District is facing a budget shortfall of around $500,000. The School Board voted to approve the initial budget as presented. The Board also approved a resolution authorizing the application for the acceptance of Agency Funds for Educational Projects from the Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation (IRRR). While it is uncertain what will be awarded to the district at this time, the hope is to receive some grant funding to help cover some financial needs in the coming year.
The School Board is considering an Internet Acceptable Use and Safety Policy regarding student cell phone use during the school day. An increasing body of research shows that students do better academically and socially when phones are put away during school hours. Both student engagement and academic scores improve when students are not distracted by their electronic devices and teachers are free to teach and support students when they are not having to monitor student cell phone use during class time. While no action was taken on this policy at last week’s meeting, the School Board is considering its adoption.
As the school year has wrapped up, district staff are gearing up for Multi-Tiered Supports Training. MTS provides educators with knowledge to help effectively address student needs in the areas of academic intervention and progress, social emotional interventions, differentiated instruction and small group / collaborative instruction practices, to name a few. Staff will also receive training in support of the Carnegie Math curriculum.
Special Education and Title 1 programs are planned for the summer. Information can be obtained by contacting the District office. Community Education is offering a variety of learning opportunities for the summer including swimming lessons, summer basketball camps, elementary football camp and Drivers Ed classes in both Two Harbors and Silver Bay. Check the Ripple for more information. Community Education Director, Bruce Remme, indicated that there is a need for help with staffing childcare programs for the summer. There is also a need for one bus route driver for the coming Fall.
The next School Board meeting is scheduled for July 16 at 6:00 at William Kelley School.
