Albert Lea Area Schools board members used three hours Friday afternoon for a state of the district update, discussing the year in review as well as challenges and opportunities the district has ahead.

Here are some of the highlights:

 

Human resources

While application numbers are rising incrementally for positions listed at elementary and secondary levels, Executive Director of Administrative Services Kathy Niebuhr said there are still distinct shortage areas for the district: special education, speech language pathology and unlicensed custodians with specialty areas (electricians, plumbers, carpenters).

Of 307 licensed teachers, five accepted voluntary intradistrict moves while 11 were moved to another school involuntarily. The vast majority of those who were moved involuntarily were special education staff in moves necessary to balance licensure and case loads within buildings as students shifted, Niebuhr said. Other involuntary shifts also occur when grades either expand or condense grade level sections.

The district did not place any teachers on an unrequested leave of absence this year, Niebuhr reported.

For the upcoming year, Niebuhr said human resources in the district will focus on determining open positions as early as possible, continuing to work on integrating staff and continuing to strengthen its teacher mentorship work.

School board member Kim Nelson asked Niebuhr to include a human resources goal addressing concerns raised after two key administrators left the district. One of those administrators, Nelson said, shared a reason for leaving was the school board. Nelson asked the district to look at culture changes not just in its activities, but the whole culture of the district as well as how the board works with the administrative team.

 

Teaching and learning

For the first time, the district has reached the reporting threshold for American Indian students, said Executive Director of Teaching and Learning Mary Jo Dorman. That threshold is 20 students, Dorman said.

The district will now receive state and federal funding through Title VII funding through the U.S. Department of Education. Dorman said she is still determining appropriate uses for those funds.

Additionally, the district will begin a parent group for those whose children are American Indian to collaborate and receive feedback on how the district can support their students.

The district is also considering trauma-sensitive practices and the steps it can take to move forward in that vein, Niebuhr said. Trauma-sensitive schools acknowledge many students have experienced trauma, which can in turn impact their experiences at school.

The district is looking at other school districts who have already taken these steps and reaching out to discover best practices, Niebuhr said.

Furthermore, the district received support from the Minnesota Department of Education in English language instructional practices. MDE school support specialist Amy Young will return in the fall to work with all staff and teachers to ensure teachers understand the needs of multilingual learners, Dorman said. Dorman said the schools especially need to get their English language students more involved in speaking during the school day.

 

Activities

Activities Director Paul Durbahn set a goal to bring back middle school boys’ and girls’ basketball this winter, Albert Lea Area Schools Superintendent Mike Funk said. Funk said he is unsure how much of a competition schedule the teams would get, as the state’s schedules are likely already made.

Durbahn also has plans to establish a leadership council of junior and senior athletes, though younger captains are also invited to attend. The council will talk about culture change, Funk said, and Durbahn is developing a curriculum to work with students on the council.

It comes at a time when the Minnesota State High School League — and Durbahn himself — is focusing on purpose-driven athletics and a culture change within district activities programs.

Part of the focus from the MSHSL’s perspective is connecting students with caring adults. School board clerk Jill Marin said connecting with caring adults increases resiliency in children and helps create successful students and human beings. It is important to have a positive model, she said.

“I think there’s some growth we have in that area,” Marin said.

School board treasurer Neal Skaar said he is excited about the concept of purpose-driven activities. The purpose, he said, is simple: to generate an environment where students achieve success. But in order to do that, Skaar said, the district needs to define what success means.

Last year, 45% of the student body was involved in at least one activity, Funk reported. There is the potential for more students to have participated, as the count only includes activities for which students have to register with the Minnesota State High School League. Some clubs at the high school do not require registration with MSHSL, Funk said.

 

Special education

The addition of the Austin Albert Lea Special Education Cooperative is part of the reason transportation bills have increased, said Albert Lea Area Schools Director of Special Services Tami Alphs. Albert Lea has 24 students at the cooperative. These students are not counted in the approximately 750 students counted in the district’s special education numbers, which Alphs said the district will be working to decrease this year.

The biggest challenge is a staffing shortage felt not only in Albert Lea, but by special education programs across the state, Alphs said. She said she still has positions to fill for the upcoming school year, and applications are not rolling in.

However, Alphs reported the district has had more success than most in bringing in funds through third-party billing, a reimbursement to the district — routed through Minnesota’s Medical Assistance insurance — for some services they provide to students receiving special education services. In the past school year, Alphs said the district brought in around $700,000 this way.

 

Technology

The district will replace over 800 of its Chromebooks over the summer as it begins a schedule of replacements for its oldest devices. Niebuhr said the district plans to retain devices until they are 6.5 years old — as long as Google will update them. The district is also ordering over 150 desktop computers to replace office staff computers as well as computers in a lab at Halverson Elementary School.

There are 3,254 one-to-one devices in the district, Funk said. Approximately 500 of those are iPads used with kindergarten, first and second graders.

Between sixth through 12th graders, an estimated 700 repairs were done on Chromebooks last year, Niebuhr said. On average, there were five repairs a week done at the elementary level, she said. Approximately 15 are lost per grade at the secondary level.

She said the district is exploring what it would mean to let students keep their devices during the summers, an idea Nelson said she thinks is a good one. Especially due to snow days like this year, time at the end of the year can be critical in getting assignments done and turning in Chromebooks three days before school ends may leave students with assignments still to finish another way, she said.