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Administrator’s Corner by John Double

Over the next six weeks, Albert Lea Area Schools will be gathering community input to help shape the district’s future. In this article, I’ll highlight two key opportunities for you to share your thoughts. Please know that every time we ask for your input, it’s a valuable chance to help guide our decision-making.

The first opportunity focuses on our search for the next superintendent. We invite students, caregivers and community members to participate in a survey to share what qualities and priorities they would like to see in the district’s next leader. To assist with this process, the school board has partnered with the Minnesota School Boards Association (MSBA), which will compile and summarize survey responses for the board’s consideration.

To access the survey, visit our website and click the “Superintendent Search” button on the homepage. From there, select the “Public Survey” tab to find the survey link. All responses will remain anonymous, and participants are not required to answer every question for their input to be included. Please submit your response by Feb. 19.

The second opportunity for community input is the Community Needs Assessment conducted by Albert Lea Area Schools Community Education. This survey will be similar to the one we conducted in the past, allowing us to analyze trends, measure growth, identify new needs and gather valuable insights to guide future programming. We are eager to evaluate how the updates and changes made over the past few years have impacted our community.

While the survey is still being finalized, we encourage community members to stay tuned for its release in the coming weeks. The results of our previous survey helped shape programs, foster collaborations to address community needs, identify shared challenges with other organizations and build strong partnerships across the region.

This new data, alongside findings from the Freeborn County Public Health/Mayo Clinic Health System – Albert Lea Community Needs Survey and the Age-Friendly Freeborn County Assessment, will provide a comprehensive perspective to help us plan for the future.

Your voice matters, and your participation in these surveys will help shape the future of our schools and community programs. By sharing your thoughts, you are playing an essential role in guiding decisions that impact students, families and the broader community. We sincerely appreciate your time and effort in providing this valuable feedback. Please take a few moments to complete these surveys and encourage others to do the same. Together, we can ensure that Albert Lea Area Schools continues to

Gather, Discover, and Grow to meet the needs of all those we serve. Thank you for being an engaged and active part of our community! Go Tigers!

John Double is director of Community Education.