The intricacies of school finance are quite extraordinary. Did you know school districts receive 10 percent of their state revenue after the fiscal year closes? For ISD 166 that means that over $400,000 is not available for our school during the fiscal year. This delay in funds makes managing cash flow very difficult, especially without a sizable fund balance. Many... READ MORE >
Minnesota Help Me Grow is an initiative to provide developmental services for children birth through age 6 free of charge. Brain research has advanced our understanding of how children’s brains develop. Today, we know that the brain rapidly develops between conception and age 3 and continues to change quickly through the age of 8. These early years of brain development... READ MORE >
Do you remember paying art fees, music fees, lab fees, shop fees, athletic fees, technology fees, academic enrichment fees and buying $20+ of “back to school” supplies when you were in school? I don’t. Fortunately, Cook County School District does not implement all of these different fees, but we do incorporate some. Why? Because the basic education formula has not... READ MORE >
The impact of No Child Left Behind legislation will forever be debated in the world of education. Regardless of how you feel about the legislation which started the flood of tests our children are now required to take, isn’t the idea of every child learning how to read, write and do math what we all should strive for? Teaching is... READ MORE >
Welcome back to school! This phrase creates all kinds of emotions in the children and adults directly impacted by “the day after Labor Day.” Excitement, stress, relief, anxiety, happiness, sadness and many more emotions are observable during the transition from summer break to a new school year. As a superintendent, I am always excited to start a new year and... READ MORE >
The student count in Cook County appears to be stabilizing! Based on census data, projections indicate the county student population will be approximately 590 through 2017- 18. Although this is a decrease of approximately 100 students countywide since 2004-05, the stabilizing trend is very encouraging. Cook County School District was severely impacted by the countywide decline of students and the... READ MORE >
With summer vacation rapidly approaching, I begin to worry about the summer slide. This isn’t the hot metal slide many of us remember from our childhood playgrounds, those have been replaced with much safer materials! Rather, it is a real academic phenomenon students experience to different degrees. The three-month summer vacation is based on an antiquated school calendar designed to... READ MORE >
Have you noticed the silo is gone? Good farming silos are built to protect contents from the outside, even to the point of excluding air. Military silos are located underground as housing for guided missiles, the goal being to hide the contents from the outside. “Silo Mentality” is a contemporary phrase used to describe an individualistic mind-set focused on keeping... READ MORE >
Wouldn’t it be nice if successful learning occurred just by being inside a school building? Unfortunately, it is not that easy. “Seat-time,” the amount of time students spend in a classroom, is not a good predictor of achievement. Learning is a complex process, requiring much more than sitting at a desk. Financially, schools are struggling. Like seat-time, money does not... READ MORE >
Standardized testing is not new to public schools. Many of us remember Iowa Basics and the days spent with No. 2 pencils, filling in ovals. In Minnesota, the Iowa Basics have been replaced in most schools with the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments (MCAs). Every three years the MCA tests are updated, so a Roman numeral is included in the name; MCA... READ MORE >
