JANUARY calendar

South Washington County, MN Your CITY and DISTRICT meetings time to get organized January Meetings There is something about January that makes us reflect, assess and reorganize. January is the month of FRESH beginnings and RENEWED hope. Finance has been the topic of the day at meetings around town, and I will give a brief

“Achievement & Integration” DEFINED

A&I The Cultural Foundation of Excellence Today in South Washington County Schools PART 1 The Districts Pathway to Equity The GREENHOUSE analogy is an illustration of the school district function in its community. In it the SEED is the heart. The SEEDLING is the student. The ROOT is the soul. The SOIL is the family. The WATER is the teacher… Who does the A&I program feed? Does it feed the WHOLE of the child OR the WHOLE of the Govt school system? Let’s look at its foundation to find out.

DECEMBER calendar

The long awaited ruling by Administrative Law Judge, Jim Mortenson, over amendments proposed to MN Teacher Licensure and the required pedagogical standards, has finally been released. All but three of the rule changes proposed in the 86-page report were approved. It is sad. Most of the negativity, polarization, sexualization, and racially charged language remains firmly planted in the new licensure standards.

The Transparency Series

PEOPLE – LANGUAGE – VISION of 833 South Washington County Schools What does it mean to be transparent? I use the illustration of A GARDEN GREENHOUSE. For the purposes of this series, the greenhouse represents a school district’s function in its community, the policy and procedure it establishes to achieve that function, and its ability to communicate that process transparently out to the community.

Tightly Knit

A PEOPLE I am Thankful for Over the past year I have immersed myself in city, district, and state matters. I have thrown myself into the middle of political campaigns. Not because I am particularly political, but because I have begun to recognize the importance of regular citizen engagement in politics. What if the goal of an election is not to “win” an election”, but is to bring together our people?