Education Edition Volume 13 • Edition 1
Independent School District No. 761
A welcome from the superintendent Dear parents and students of Independent School District 761,
I would like to welcome our students, parents and staff to the 2014-15 school year. Each school year brings the anticipation of new opportunities for our students and teachers. A great deal of time and effort was spent during the summer months with teachers working on curriculum and establishing common assessments for grade levels or subject content areas. These efforts will provide better instructional practices for our teachers and better ways to measure our students’ performances in the classroom. This coming school year will be the beginning of all-day kindergarten for all students in the District. A lot of preparation during the last school year has been completed in order for this new opportunity to have a successful start. We all are excited for the opportunity to have our youngest students spend more time with their classroom teachers and have more time for learning. We will start this school year without having to discuss budget reductions or ask our community for more funding. We are very thankful for the support given last November to provide more revenues for our schools. For the next several years, we should
Peter Grant
strategic plan. A strategic plan is the road map for our future to make sure we are delivering the best education we can to our students. Our goal has been to establish a plan we can explain to the public in a clearly defined manner and one that provides measurable outcomes for all of us to understand. This strategic plan process will include an opportunity for the public to comment on before the Board makes official approval of it in October. School will begin on September 2, 2014. We anticipate a student enrollment of 4,800 entering our schools. As you start to prepare your students for another school year, remember that the first week is quite hectic. You will be getting your family schedules re-aligned and we will be doing everything we can to help make that first week be successful. Look for bus schedules coming to your home if your child will be riding a school bus. Be sure your child knows the safest direction to walk to school. Being safe at crosswalks to and from school is critical. Please work with us to help provide the best education we can for your children. We cannot do it alone and we need your help for this to be a successful year.
be able to manage our finances without the significant reductions we have had in the past and to provide our students great educational opportunities. There will be some new faces working in our classrooms this school year. Each year it is difficult to have people retire or move on and then replace them. We feel very fortunate to have hired some great new talent for our classrooms or to provide support for our teachers. We look forward to having new people bring their experiences to our schools and to help us improve. Starting last spring and through the summer, many District employees Submitted by Peter Grant, Superhave been working on creating a new intendent
August 21, 2014
✓CHECKLIST BACK-TO-SCHOOL
School
Immunizations
ARE YOUR CHILD’S SHOTS UP-TO-DATE? To go to school in Minnesota, students must show they’ve received immunization against a number of diseases or file a legal exemption with the school. Documentation of immunization or exemption must be submitted to the school before school begins on September 2nd. Required Immunizations: Kindergarten — Age 6: 5 doses of DTaP, 4 Polio, 2 MMR, 3 Hepatitis B and 2 Varicella (chickenpox vaccine) Age 7 — 6th Grade: At least 3 diphtheria and tetanus, 3 Polio, 2 MMR, 3 Hepatitis B and 2 Varicella (chickenpox vaccine) 7th Grade: At least 3 diphtheria and tetanus (including 1 Tdap), 3 Polio, 2 MMR, 3 Hepatitis B, 2 Varicella (chickenpox vaccine) and 1 Meningococcal 8th Grade — 12th Grade: At least 3 diphtheria and tetanus (including 1 Td/ Tdap), 3 Polio, 2 MMR, 3 Hepatitis B and 2 Varicella (chickenpox vaccine) Beginning 9/1/14, newly required immunizations are in bold.