Being Fiscal Stewards

Public Schools are an essential part of our country. School boards throughout the United States have a great responsibility to be excellent stewards of the taxpayer dollar and to provide an excellent education to students. The New London-Spicer School Board takes that job very seriously and they reaffirm their commitment to fiscal accountability and excellent education formally every year.

Every January, by formal resolution, the school board directs school district administration to provide them with a list of options for reductions in programs and positions along with explanations of why the cuts should be made. In pursuit of an effective, efficient, and meaningful budget, the administration meets and solicits feedback from staff to identify areas in which expenditures could be reduced while minimizing the impact on educational opportunities.

Those areas are identified through the review of programming, enrollment, class sizes, interest in course offerings, efficiency in operations, and all other expenditure areas. This process is followed annually regardless of the financial situation of a school district and is an important step in addressing the overall state of the district while managing taxpayer dollars wisely. In simple terms, the district is not going to spend money if the spending isn’t necessary for the improvement of educational outcomes for our learners. We want as much of our budget as possible to directly impact our students.

Since the 2005-2006 school year, the New London-Spicer School District has made more than $3.5 million in expenditure reductions. These reductions were made out of necessity due to past declining enrollment, the financial condition of the school district, and several other factors. Of the $3.5 million, more than a half-million dollars in budget reductions were made over the last two years, and nearly $1 million in reductions were made for the upcoming school year in order to maintain a balanced budget. These reductions were made even with increasing enrollment over the past five years.  In essence, the school board has worked diligently to run the district efficiently with the overall goal of keeping our taxes low. 

Just like with personal, family, or business budgets, the School District is constantly looking into our financial situation and finding ways to make adjustments as needed. We adjust when necessary to avoid spending on programs and other things that are no longer part of our plans and keep the focus on our students by providing meaningful educational opportunities for them. While the latest round of cuts will increase class sizes, reduce programming, and lengthen bus times, our school board, district administration, and the entire staff take the mandate given to efficiently utilize tax dollars very seriously. 

For a list of budget reductions for our school district, please visit the following link: https://bit.ly/nlsreductionshistory

What is ALICE?

What is ALICE?

The safety of our students and staff at New London-Spicer Community Schools is our number one priority. Since 2010 there have been numerous school shootings across our country. Research of these events has assisted in developing a more tactical approach to ensuring our students are safe. This research has led to the development of the ALICE Training Institute, which New London-Spicer has pursued to improve our safety efforts.

The ALICE Training Institute recognized that in 98% of school shootings, there is a single perpetrator. The research also indicated that a one-size-fits-all approach to facing this tragedy of locking down was ineffective. Therefore, the following practices are endorsed through the ALICE Training Institute for maximum safety.

Alert - Get the word out! An armed intruder is in the building as opposed to the use of code words. Use clear, concise language to convey the type and specific location of the event.

Lockdown - Good starting point. We will continue to lock down students in secure areas when appropriate and use an enhanced version of our existing lockdown process, which will call for additional steps to secure and protect.

Inform - Continuation of using clear, concise language to convey the type and specific location of the event. Communication keeps the perpetrator off balance and allows for sound decision-making.

Counter - Apply skills to distract, confuse and gain control. (Only used at the Middle/High School level.)

Evacuate - Leaving the area to reduce the number of potential victims.

The philosophy of ALICE is to use technology and information so that staff and students can make informed decisions in a crisis, remove as many people as possible from the danger zone, and provide realistic training so that those involved have a better chance of survival.

Mr. Juhl, Mrs. Akerson, Mrs. Illies, and Deputy Holmquist, School Resource Officer, have recently been certified as ALICE Trainers. Many of our staff have received initial training on ALICE. Over the next year, our students will receive age-appropriate training to utilize ALICE should a crisis arise here at New London-Spicer. Each year, we work to train our students on responding in case of a fire, severe weather, or emergency situations. ALICE is a way to be better prepared in an active shooter situation. If you have any specific questions regarding ALICE, please contact Deputy Holmquist at 320.354.2252 ext 2613.

Opportunities Abound!

As a school district we're often asked why we no longer offer vocational courses for our school students. Our enthusiastic response is always the same, "We do!" The implementation of accountability tests such as the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments over the past several years has put an emphasis on math, reading, and science. Although those subjects are important, so are the vocational courses. This article will be focused on the vocational offerings we provide here at New London-Spicer.

The New London-Spicer School District provides the following course offerings for our students which provide exposure to life-long skills.

Agribusiness Education
Wildlife/Natural Resources
Vet Science
Exploring Agriculture
Landscaping
Welding I
Welding II
Mechanical Physics
Agriculture Structures (Yearly construction of a house)
Advanced Metals
Agriculture Coop (Real-life work experiences with local businesses)
Leadership in Future Farmers of America (FFA)
Animal Science
Plant Science

Business Education
Personal Finance Management
Accounting
Computer Science
Desktop Publishing

Family and Consumer Sciences (FACS - Formerly Known as Home Economics)
FACS for Life
Child Development and Parenting
Culinary Arts I
Culinary Arts II
Housing and Interior Design

Industrial Technology (Formerly Known as Shop Class)
Industrial Technology
Woodworking I
Woodworking II/III
Introduction to Robotics
Robotics

As you can see, the New London-Spicer offers a variety of vocational course for our students. Some of the courses offered count as concurrent enrollment courses. In those cases, students remain here in our school district and simultaneously earn high school and college credits. Those opportunities are mutually beneficial to both our school district and students.

Our school district offers the traditional courses in mathematics, language arts, sciences, physical education, social studies, art, music, and band as well. In all, we are extremely proud of the variety of offerings that we have for our students and the well-rounded education we are able to provide. With our district's current financial situation, we are hopeful we are able to continue to provide these course offerings and opportunities for our students.

Welcome Back!

What a wonderful week it has been! Educators choose this wonderful profession to have a positive and lasting impact on student learning and development. We value the opportunity to interact with students and so appreciate the opportunity to welcome many of them back to school in person. Thank you for allowing us an opportunity to provide a safe return to school!

 

This week has been a blur with a flurry of activities while balancing the three learning models. Our staff has an unswerving commitment to providing a high-quality learning experience for all learners. They will seek to make continuous improvements throughout the year and appreciate, more than you can imagine, your grace and understanding. 

 

Welcoming students back is always a wonderful experience. This year’s welcome back was like no other. My favorite story is of a young learner at Prairie Woods. When this learner approached me I greeted him with a “Good Morning” as I asked him to wait at the crosswalk while the buses passed. The learner then asked me, “Is morning recess over already?” I replied, “It is not, are you excited to get over there?” The learner replied, “Yes, I haven’t my friend in a really long time.” That was an emotional experience, one I’ll never forget. I think that sums up the importance of school and social experience.

 

We’ll be in touch.

Looking Back

As I reflect on the past three months it seems as though March 15th was years ago. It was on that day we were informed our district would be entering a new era of education entitled, Distance Learning. Our experience with this had its ups and downs along the way and we are certainly hopeful we can return to school in August as normal.

I personally want to thank all of our staff members for rolling up their sleeves and doing their best to make a less than ideal situation a positive experience for our students and families. In addition, I want to thank our students, families, and community members for their patience, understanding, and support during that transition and throughout the experience.

As a school district we certainly understand that through this experience there were times of celebration but also times of learning and growing. I sincerely appreciate those students, families, and community members who shared their specific needs directly with our staff in an effort to improve our distance learning experience (i.e. instruction, childcare, food service, mental health support, etc..). Your direct communication was important and appreciated.

Here are some points of interest regarding our distance learning experiences:

• We provided childcare for anywhere between 35 and 50 children on a daily basis. 
• We served 41,110 meals during our distance learning period.
• We provided over 100 devices for students in need.
• We provided 45 access points for our students and staff in need.

In closing, thanks to all of you for a wonderful year, have a great summer, and we look forward to seeing you all again soon!

And the winner is...

"Education is an ornament in prosperity but a refuge in adversity."

~ Aristotle

It has been a while since I submitted an article to the Lakes Area Review. Things have been a little out of the ordinary for all of us. With two weeks of distance learning behind us, I have found a sliver of time to compose this article of appreciation.

Over the past two weeks I have been asked several times to describe what we experienced here at New London-Spicer Public Schools. The only response I could think of that would answer those questions is the following.

"It is as though each of us have found ourselves staring in a recently released movie. One we did not audition for, however, we somehow got the part and are all doing our best to win an academy award for our performance."

Although I realize that analogy may not be the best, we want our students to be the "winners" in the end. Those of us drawn to the calling of education are well-prepared to deliver instruction, build relationships, assess outcomes, manage classrooms, and innovate. With that being said, our undergraduate work, graduate work, post graduate work, and other experiences never covered the topic, "How to respond, educationally, in times of a pandemic." With little time to prepare for distance learning, I firmly believe our staff, students, families, and communities did exceptionally well.

To our students...I'm sorry you are experiencing this unusual situation. We are committed to making this an effective and positive experience for all of you. Our hope is that you return this school year so that we may offer a proper goodbye. Please remember that we are here to support you in any way, always.

To our families and communities...Thank you for your patience, understanding, and flexibility throughout this process. We chose this profession to be in the presence of children as they motivate and inspire us to do our work. The New London-Spicer staff will maintain it's strong commitment to educational excellence and we hope to welcome all children back soon.

To our teachers...When you were called to put together a distance learning plan, you rolled your sleeves up and got to work. Your call to service was to think differently and continue delivering high quality, equitable education for all. Whether it be developing instruction, counseling services, health care plans, individualized education plans, and other coordinated efforts, you met those goals! Your commitment to continuous improvement is admirable.

To our paraprofessionals...You are appreciated! Many of you are working in positions in which you did not apply for but are doing so with energy and passion. You have been amazing in providing childcare, gathering resources, and anything else you've been asked to do. It is clear your commitment to our students in strong!

To our custodians...Thank you for working relentlessly in ensuring our buildings are clean, sanitized, and disinfected. It seems as though your required responsibilities change on a daily basis as determined by current information. I sincerely appreciate your ability to work through these times with an open mind and your strong commitment to adjusting course.

To our food service staff...You had two days to put together a food services program which would provide meals to all children in our school communities 18 years and younger. Each of you jumped right in and got it done. We started with just over 300 meals and are now north of 900 meals daily. Most impressed!

To our office staff...Interpreting new legislation, answering phones, gathering materials, coordinating events, and ensuring strong communication are just a few things you took on to maintain an effective transition. Thank you for providing the necessary work to ensure our planning moved forward.

To our transportation company...Transportation of school age care for essential employees, meal deliveries, and resource delivery is your new normal. With each new challenge, you all responded with, "How can we help?" That simple question during a challenging situation made a world of difference.

To our technology team...Your quick work to ensure our students and staff were well equipped was remarkable. With only eight days you had to make sure all software and hardware were sufficient to ensure experiences for all were positive. 

To our administrative team...Thank you for working around the clock to pull everything together. Your willingness to share openly, disagree, compromise, interject, and reach consensus for the benefit of all New London-Spicer students was outstanding and appreciated.

To our school board...Thank you for trusting in the leadership of our entire staff and supporting our decisions. In most circumstances, you are directly involved in the decision making process but acknowledged that this situation did not have the benefit of time to include you throughout the process. Your support, trust, and confidence in all our staff is appreciated.

In closing, it is clear that putting together the unimaginable is not possible without a team approach. Each member listed above is a vital part of the New London-Spicer Team. Losing just one of those members would be detrimental to our organization. I am thrilled to be on this team!

And the winner is...New London-Spicer Students!

Serving for the Greater Good

"The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service to others."

~ Mahatma Ghandi

From February 17th to the 21st it was School Board Appreciation Week. I wanted to spend some time recognizing those fine folks that have decided to provide a service to the students of our communities. So, let the acclamations begin!

Our elected school board members dedicate approximately 50 hours per year in official meetings related to school district business. These same folks spend much more time above and beyond these scheduled meetings reviewing materials and communicating with constituents. Their jobs are extremely important and our elected board members take them seriously. Here are some highlights of their responsibilities as provided by the Minnesota School Boards Association (MSBA):

As the entity legally charged with governing a school district, each school board is responsible to its community to govern efficiently and effectively. This obligation imposes some fundamental duties on the board.

VISION: The board, with community input, envisions the educational future of its community and then formulates the goals, defines the outcomes, and sets the course for the New London-Spicer School District.

STRUCTURE: To achieve its vision, the board establishes a structure and hires a superintendent to accomplish that vision.

ACCOUNTABILITY: The board is accountable to the community for constantly monitoring the conditions affecting the district as a whole.

ADVOCACY: The board advances its vision by focusing on student achievement, partnering with the community, and being proactive in addressing issues that affect education on local, state, and national levels.

CONDUCT AND ETHICS: The board, as a whole, provides leadership to the community on behalf of the district by conducting its business in a fair, respectful, legal, and responsible manner.

I am thankful that we have seven highly effective school board members ensuring our school district's vision, structure, accountability, advocacy, and ethics are forward thinking and student centered. Thank you for all you do for the students of our communities. You are appreciated! Please thank the following board members when you see them.

Lucinda Dahlberg, Chair
Susan Lange, Vice Chair
Renee Nolting, Clerk
Mark Peterson, Treasurer
Gary Danielson, Director
Cherrish Holland, Director
Nancy Wehseler, Director