<>Contract Renewal
Charter schools operate on three year contracts with their Sponsors and our contract is due for renewal this spring so we are busy preparing for a visit by our Evaluation Team in March.  On Wednesday and Thursday, March 9th and 10th we will have a team of evaluators in the school.  As I am sure you will understand this is a very important matter to our school.  In order for the Minnesota Department of Education to extend our charter we need to have our contract renewed by our sponsoring district. 

For the past eight weeks or so a team of the teachers and some parents have been involved in a Self-Study of the programs and functions of the school.  The Self- Study is almost completed and the first draft is at the editors as I speak.  The Evaluation Team will receive a copy of this Self-Study by March 1st, in preparation for their visit later in March. 

We have put together a very fine team of evaluators who have much experience with charter schools and traditional public schools.  We have selected this team carefully and each member has a particular role to play in the evaluation:

  • <>Bonnie Jean Flom (past Principal of Nerstrand Elementary School) Bonnie Jean will be responsible for School Culture, Community, Personnel and Social Curriculum
  •  <>Terry Tofte (former Superintendent of Northfield Schools)  Terry will be responsible for Curriculum and Academic Goals and progress <> 
  • <>Scott Flemming (former MACs Leadership, Accountability and Governance Project.  Scott will be responsible for evaluating our Governance, Accountability and Administration
  • <>Cecelia Dodge (former MDE Special Education Funding Supervisor) Cecelia will be responsible for Special Education evaluation

<><>As you can see, each member of the team is an expert in their own right in the area that we have assigned to them.  We expect their feedback to be very valuable to the school and to the Northfield District.  We are really looking forward to spending a couple of days with them here at the school.

  <>The days of the visit are very important as we want our Team to feel welcome at the school and have all their needs attended to.  In the next few weeks we will be planning the visit very carefully.  If you would like to know how you might be involved in this process please speak to me. 

We had a great night at the Grand last week, wonderful music and lots of laughter with good friends.  Thank you to those of you who came.  We raised about $250 for the library.  Many thanks to Pam for organizing the event. 

<> <>Re-Enrollment!
March 1st is the last day for re-enrollment.  We have a long waiting list and need to know your intentions for your child for next year.  The teachers and I will begin placement decisions in early March and if your re-enrollment form is not in, your child’s name will not be included.  Don’t miss this date!  If you have concerns about placement for next year please put your concerns in writing.  We have guidelines in the School Handbook regarding placement requests.  We do not honor requests for specific teachers but ask you to describe your child’s needs or learning style, not your preference for a particular teacher.  In a school as small as ours those kinds of requests are not helpful.  We appreciate your wisdom here. 

 

Have you been to vote at Great Harvest yet?  Today is the last day, so if you haven’t been yet you need to go today!   We need your vote as we can make much money for the school if we win.