XPERIENCE
| SPRING LAKE PARK SCHOOLS
SPRING 2026
SHARP PENCILS. BLANK PAPER. BIG IDEAS.
Writing skills grow with the young student, from creative and narrative to research and informative writing
DESIGNING THE FUTURE OF CAREER AND COLLEGE PATHWAYS
After gaining insight from the community and nationwide trends, the next phase is underway
CARES BRINGS DEEPER
MEANING
TO SCHOOL VALUES
Shared values across elementary schools are practiced each day
WINTER ATHLETICS & ACTIVITIES HIGHLIGHTS
Standout moments across athletics, co-curriculars and the arts
SpringLakeParkSchools.org/Experience
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FEATURE STORIES SPRING 2026
SHARP PENCILS. BLANK PAPER. BIG IDEAS.
Every elementary student in Spring Lake Park Schools will spend a lot of time at school today writing. Second graders are writing a paragraph. Students must follow the required elements, while also paying attention to vocabulary words, transition words and punctuation. It’s a lot to think about. As skills progress, students move on to journaling, informative and creative writing, narratives and research. With each pencil scratch and key stroke, the foundation is being laid. Read more online.
DESIGNING THE FUTURE OF CAREER AND COLLEGE PATHWAYS
It was 2018 when three Career and College Pathways launched at Spring Lake Park High School — Technology, Engineering & Design; Health & Human Services; and Business & Entrepreneurship. This fall, a team engaged students, families and industry partners to gather their insights. At the same time, they looked at Minnesota and national workforce trends as well as similar programs across the country. A design team is now preparing to come together to design the next phase. Read more online.
CARES BRINGS DEEPER MEANING TO SCHOOL VALUES
For some elementary families, the CARES acronym has become familiar. For others, especially those new to SLP, it’s a new acronym. CARES stands for Cooperation, Assertion, Responsibility, Empathy, and Self-Control. Together, these shared values, aligned to career and life competencies, form the foundation of how elementary students and staff treat one another at school. These values are practiced each day - it’s language shared by everyone in the building. Read more online.
WINTER ATHLETICS & ACTIVITIES HIGHLIGHTS
It’s been another season filled with standout performances and meaningful milestones. With seven girls’ winter sports, seven boys’ winter sports and 50+ student-led clubs and co-curricular activities at Spring Lake Park High School, our Panthers continued to shineincluding a trip to State for our girl’s hockey team! Here are just a few highlights, more online.
National Signing Day
7 student-athletes signed national letters of intent
Girls Hockey
Section 5AA Section Champs, State Runner-up
Nordic Ski
Finished 3rd in conference
Alpine Ski
Girls & Boys Team placed 2nd in conference
Math Team
Placed 2nd in division
SO MANY REASONS TO BE
FOLLOW US Get frequent updates by following our Spring Lake Park Schools accounts on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Flickr social media channels! Here are just a few highlights to show what the community has been engaging with recently.
Centerview’s Kindness Crew, reporting for duty! These incredible students spent many days spreading positivity in many different ways to classmates and staff around their school.
The Epic Game Design classroom has grades 7-8 students collaborating through hands-on projects that blend coding, art and design. Here they create fully playable games in one class period, using only paper and simple supplies.
When wind chills plunged near 30 below zero in late January, custodial teams were already at work behind the scenes - monitoring boilers, checking for frozen pipes and clearing icy sidewalks before sunrise. Thank you for keeping us safe!
Local businesses were welcomed into the gym, transforming it into a bustling career center! High schoolers explored a wide range of future opportunities across various business sectors and interacted with industry leaders at pop-up booths.
OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE COMMUNITY
SLPHS THEATER SPRING MUSICAL: LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS
SpringLakeParkSchools.org/TicketOffice
Saturday, April 25 - 7 p.m. | Thursday, April 30 - 7 p.m. Saturday, May 2 - 7 p.m. | Sunday, May 3 - 2 p.m.
Little Shop of Horrors is a hilarious, heartfelt tribute to ’60s horror and girl-group charm delivered by SLP High School’s theater program. Big laughs, catchy Motown-inspired music and a peopleeating plant - it’s irresistible fun with a touching core.
BY THE NUMBERS
$145K
RAISED BY THE PANTHER FOUNDATION’S WEEK OF GIVING
THE PANTHER FOUNDATION RAISED $145,000 DURING THE PANTHERS FOR A PURPOSE WEEK OF GIVING FUNDRAISER
$36K RAISED BY THE PANTHER FOUNDATION FOR CAREER AND COLLEGE PATHWAYS THE PANTHER FOUNDATION RAISED $36,000 FOR THIS YEAR’S FUND-ADREAM FOCUS ON CAREER AND COLLEGE PATHWAYS
80+
EMPLOYERS AT THE ANNUAL HIGH SCHOOL CAREER FAIR
HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS HAD THE CHANCE TO INTERACT WITH MORE THAN 80 VENDOR BOOTHS AT THE ANNUAL CAREER FAIR IN THE GYM
37 COURSES SPAN THREE IN DEMAND CAREER PATHWAYS AT THE HIGH SCHOOL, WITH 14 OFFERING COLLEGE CREDIT
PLAN YOUR SUMMER WITH COMMUNITY EDUCATION PROGRAMS
SpringLakeParkSchools.org/CE-Register
Slide into summer with programs for grades K-12. We have athletic camps with SLP coaches, field trips, community experiences, enrichment programming, child care options and more. There’s plenty of summer fun, learning and growing with Spring Lake Park Schools. Explore summer options online.
FINAL SHOW OF THIS SEASON: THE SUITS
SpringLakeParkSchools.org/Liveon65
Monday, May 11, 7 p.m. | SLPHS Fine Arts Center
The Suits are comprised of four dynamic gentlemen performing four genres of hit music from the ‘50s through the ‘80s: Motown, Doo Wop, Pop and Rock. Fusing smooth choreography and tight harmonies with exciting showmanship and fun audience interaction, this production will give you a night to remember! Tickets are available online.
PARKER SULLIVAN SENIOR
Teamwork and problem solving are real world things we have learned from the construction trades class. We have had to communicate, divide tasks and trust each other to do our part. You learn quickly that success depends on working together and not everything goes according to plan. Sometimes we may make a mistake and we have to figure out how to fix it. That mindset –learning how to adjust and improve – is something so important far beyond high school.
To our community: In this issue of SLP Experience, we share an update on a project underway to support the next phase of Career and College Pathways. Over the last nine years, Spring Lake Park High School’s pathways have grown to 37 courses across three high-demand job sectors and become a benchmark program for high schools across the state. In the most recent graduating class, 92 percent of students had taken at least one pathways course and 85 percent have taken more than one.
We have a strong foundation in place to support each student in exploring next steps on their path to college and career. And, this is the time to do a deep review of what we have in place to ensure we are able to adapt to the ever-changing environment we live in. We need to make sure we continue to align student learning with evolving industry trends, technology advances and workforce demands.
In connecting with a variety of business, industry and community partners, we have some clear takeaways. Adaptability, continuous learning and willingness to embrace new tools are determining the employability of our graduates. I hope you’ll take a few minutes to review the insights we’ve gathered. We look forward to sharing next steps beyond this soon.
We don’t wait until high school to prepare students for their future. Students start learning and practicing some of the life-ready skills employers tell us are important early in their schooling. In our elementary schools, cooperation, assertion, responsibility, empathy, and self-control – or CARES – form the foundation for how students learn to treat staff and each other. Take a minute to see CARES in action.
Our youngest learners are also laying important academic foundations. In this issue, we explore writing. You may be surprised to learn that first graders are writing their own books. Second graders are writing paragraphs with topic sentences, supporting evidence and a conclusion. Fifth graders are tackling their first research papers. The work is impressive and these skills will help students write their next chapter.
We’re not standing still. Each day presents a new opportunity for personalized learning, growth and success. Thanks, as always, for your support of Spring Lake Park Schools where we’re always learning as we look to a future of possibility for each of our Panthers.
ABOUT US
Jeff Ronneberg, Ed.D Superintendent
SCHOOL BOARD
Tony Easter, Chairperson
Amy Hennen, Vice-Chairperson
Melody Skelly, Clerk
Sam Villella, Treasurer
Marilynn Forsberg, Director
Kelly McClellan, Parliamentarian
Allie Schmidt, Director
We serve more than 6,100 students from Blaine, Fridley, Spring Lake Park and surrounding communities. Our students are engaged in personalized learning experiences as they discover who they are as learners.
Parker spoke about his Pathways experience at the Panther Foundation’s Panthers for a Purpose event in February.
XPERIENCE
View the archive of past issues from this school year and read full stories online at
SpringLakeParkSchools.org/CE-Register SpringLakeParkSchools.org/EC SpringLakeParkSchools.org/TicketOffice
Find a spark this summer with programs for grades K-12. Registration is open for athletic camps with SLP coaches, field trips, community experiences, enrichment programming, child care options and more. Learn new skills, discover talents, and have some fun! Register online.
Registration is now open for early childhood programs, including award-winning preschool. Through creative, hands-on activities, young explorers develop the skills and behaviors for successful learning. Full and partial day options available at five convenient locations.
Over two weekends at the end April and beginning of May, catch Little Shop of Horrors on our awardwinning high school stage. Then, the Live on 65 performance series wraps up the year on May 11 with The Suits performing hits from Motown, Doo Wop, Pop and Rock. Tickets online.