With the starting date for school just around the corner, school board members of Independent School District (I.S.D.) 166 met for over three hours on August 17 at the Jane Mianowski Conference Center to plan for the new year.
Highlighting the meeting was the graduation report from K-12 principal Adam Nelson.
Official graduation rates released by the state of Minnesota are built on lagging data, meaning they are based on the previous year’s class. This means that during the summer of 2017, the Class of 2016’s graduation rate has been finalized and released to the public. This year’s (Class of 2017) graduation rate will not be released until the summer of 2018.
“Cook County High School’s official Native American graduation rate was 100 percent for 2016. Minnesota’s statewide graduation rate for Native American students was 52.6 percent for 2016,” said Nelson, who attributed the success to the kids, and the collaboration between the school and the Grand Portage RTC.
Cook County High School’s official graduation rate was 87.8 percent for 2016. Minnesota’s statewide graduation rate was 82.2 percent for 2016. But Nelson said Cook County’s graduation rate should have been higher.
“We had three students listed in the ‘unknown’ category who counted against our graduation rate. Technically these were transfer students and should not have counted against us. “Unfortunately, the state data that was pulled was inaccurate. If the correct data would have been pulled our overall graduation rate would have been 93.5 percent. We are working on making sure that all student data is calculated and factored in correctly,” Nelson said.
Advanced Placement (AP) courses and testing and College In The Schools (CITS) continues to grow, Nelson said. In 2013-2014 the school offered three AP course and six CITS courses. In 2016-2017 the school offered 11 AP courses and nine CITS courses.
“The high school failure rate (semester grades) decreased by 6.1 percent from 2013-2014 to 2016-2017,” Nelson said. The middle school failure rate (quarter grades) fell by 9.6 percent for 2013-2014 to 2016-2017, added Nelson.
Assistant Principal Bill DeWitt reported that the pancake breakfast fundraiser for Early Childhood Education raised $2,180. DeWitt thanked the following contributors: Trail Center, Gene’s IGA, Johnson’s Foods, Cook County Co-op, Mogul’s Grille, Java Moose, Lori Backlund, Carie Jansen, Sandy Taenzer, Pam Foster, Sara DeWitt, and the entire community for the success of the event.
Superintendent Dr. Crandall said contract negotiations are continuing with the principals, individual contracts, as well as with the Cook County Education Association.
He also said, “The summer cleaning crew has done and is continuing to do outstanding work in our building.”
Summer work projects completed include installation of a new elementary gym floor, a new cafeteria floor, new tile in the elementary education rooms, new camera systems, the roof project, and work has started on building a new school bus garage and rebuilding the playground, said Dr. Crandall.
School board chair Sissy Lunde said a yearly pass for $45 would be sold to kids who want to attend the After School Lounge. The fee will cover the cost of the program, she said.
During community comments Kyler Hoskins addressed the board, asking for the Booster Club to be included in the interview process when it came time to look for a new activities director, a title that will replace athletic director (AD). The AD position is now held by Pam Taylor who is in her last year at the school. Taylor was asked if the next hire should be a head coach. Taylor advised the board that because of the volatility in sports schedules due to inclement weather in the winter and spring, she thought it unwise to hire someone who is a head coach during those seasons.
School board member Jeanne Anderson said she thought it would be a good idea to bring the Booster Club into the conversation about any new hire of activities director, but didn’t think the board should allow the club to submit interview questions. Board chair Sissy Lunde agreed with Anderson, but more discussion will follow at upcoming meetings. Goals for the year
The school board and administration set four goals for the school year. . Goal 1: Cook County Schools will build a positive school-community climate conducive for student learning, effective teaching, and community pride. . Goal 2: The Cook County Schools will increase academic achievement for all students throughout the school district. . Goal 3: Effectively manage the school district’s resources and ensure fiscal responsibility when implementing school district expenditures and allocation of resources. . Goal 4: Ensure timely and cost-effective delivery of quality special education services. New hires
Brooke Youngdahl was hired to be the new ECSE/ECFE teacher.
CCHS school nurse Alison Heeren and Mark Abrahamson, who is also a registered nurse, were hired to teach nursing assistant and medical terminology courses at school. Students who take these classes, which should start in the winter, will be eligible for college credit through Mesabi College. Heeren said when the students had completed the nursing assistant training, they would be ready to go to work.
The program will be funded through the Applied Learning Institute.
In other school news
. Heeren also reported that the football team would be trying to eat healthy food on away trips. My Sister’s Place was partnering with the team and will prepare food that the kids could eat coming home after games. This would allow the team to get home an hour to an hour and a half earlier than they do now because they won’t stop at a restaurant. Heeren also said the meals would be healthier for the kids. If this works well, other teams would be included in the future, she said.
. John Pearson, a custodian at the school, tendered his resignation due to health issues. Based on his performance while working for the school, Dr. Crandall said Pearson would be welcomed to apply again for a position in the maintenance department if his health issues were resolved and there was an opening.
. Recently retired school bus driver Jim Shinners wrote a letter to the school board praising the work of maintenance director Tom Nelson. “It is my hope that the district fully values the commitment and integrity of Mr. Nelson. I believe the students benefit immensely from his presence. I think the district is fortunate to have an employee of his caliber and it was a pleasure to have the opportunity to work for him.”
Nelson was recently named Cook County Citizen of the Year for those very traits.
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