I.S.D. 166 running into staffing shortages, COVID cases

I.S.D. 166 Superintendent Chris Lindholm noted in his November school board report that when it came to staffing, “Overall, things are moving forward as planned however we are operating with zero redundancy or backup. One food service staff member, one bus driver, one admin out sick and we have to shut down parts of our organization.”

Lindholm called for, “Anyone that can commit some energy to serving as a bus driver, a food service employee, or a sub in any of our roles is strongly encouraged to contact the district office. We are looking forward to any and all to join our team to make sure students continue to learn, grow, and find their passion.”

When it comes to dealing with COVID-19, Lindholm said the last month has presented challenges. “Last week on Thursday, principal Myers, public health, and our office staff had to call on about 80 students about being in close contact (of whom many were vaccinated and didn’t need to quarantine). That’s a heavy workload… We are pushing through it, but it’s clear that folks are wearing thin. With the 5-11 age group now getting vaccinated, I am hopeful we can turn a corner and finally start discussing a dial back strategy. We will continue to watch the data.”

Also noted by Superintendent Lindholm was that the school district had been cited by the Minnesota Department of education (MDE) with disproportionate achievement and discipline data when analyzed by certain sub-populations.

“This is not likely news; however, we are now at the point where we need to start developing and submitting improvement plans. I will be working with our leadership teams over the next couple of months to craft next steps and to clarify who is leading the work, what the plans are, and how the board will be brought up to speed.”