There will be a Welcome Reception for our new Crosswinds Interim Principal, Bryan Bass.
Wednesday, August 18
6:30 pm
Crosswinds School
Please come to meet Bryan and, as importantly, have him meet you. Pass the word to all Crosswinds parents, friends and families. If you want some background reading, MinnPost ran a story about Bass back in June.
EMID Superintendent Brenda Cassellius asked that we share this message with EMID Families.
Families,
Last week I sent an e-mail informing you that Crosswinds Principal Anne Andersen and Crosswinds Assistant Principal Roger Kocinski have decided to retire. Since that announcement, I have met with staff, parents, and the site council at Crosswinds to better understand what characteristics they feel are most important in a new leader and to determine our next steps.
Overwhelmingly, staff and parents suggested we hire an interim principal to quickly get off to a great start to the school year. They also suggested posting the position and interviewing as soon as possible in order to secure our next leader.
Crosswinds staff expressed wanting a principal who knows urban and suburban youth as well as someone with tough love, consistent discipline, and connectedness with students and families. Someone who will push teachers, but also be supportive. Someone who can be flexible yet make the hard call. Someone who understands IB and MYP and can help with instruction and assessment. Someone inspiring.
The parents want a person who knows teenagers and can relate to their many developmental needs. They want someone who is a good communicator and has demonstrated experience with parent engagement. They also want someone who brings a high level of integrity and understands diversity. They also want a tough love kind of person.
I considered these desired qualities in a school leader and made several inquiries within the Twin Cities educational community. After careful consideration, I have selected Bryan Bass, former principal of Brooklyn Center High School, as interim principal for Crosswinds. Bryan is an experienced instructional leader and respected high school principal. At BC High School, he decreased suspensions, increased the number of graduates going on to post-secondary education, and partnered with the community to open an onsite clinic of wrap-around services so students could get things such as eyeglasses and medical exams.
Despite this long list of accomplishments, the federal No Child Left Behind rules forced Brooklyn Center to replace Bryan after the school failed to make “adequate yearly progress” quickly enough to satisfy the government¹s guidelines. I want to address this issue directly. I have complete confidence in Bryan’s abilities to ensure we have a great start and don¹t lose ground in the weeks ahead. He is a “no excuses” educational leader – as am I. We both believe in high expectations for all of our students and we understand that transformational change takes time. While I believe accountability is key in improving our schools, I also know a school¹s success hinges on a community of teachers, principals, students, and those who support learning.
We will post immediately for the permanent position and begin interviews mid-September. I have carefully weighed all the options before us and feel placing a strong interim at Crosswinds and taking our time to find the best person for the job is the prudent course of action. Bryan has agreed to the interim position for as long as needed while we search for our next permanent principal. I have attached his resume for your review.
Please join me in welcoming Bryan Bass to our community of learners at Crosswinds. A welcome reception will be held Wednesday, August 18 at 6:30 PM for staff and parents. Those who are unable to attend next week are invited to meet him at our open house on September 2.
Sincerely,
Brenda
Anne Andersen announced on Friday that she and Roger Kocinski will both be leaving Crosswinds next week. While this news is very sudden and upsetting, every indication is that this is truly a decision that Anne and Roger have made for personal reasons. There does not seem to be a deeper political undercurrent here. Even so, the news is shocking and our new superintendent and the staff of the school will have their work cut out for them to get the new school year started with vigor, enthusiasm, and a sense of direction.
Toward that end, Brenda Cassellius is calling a special Crosswinds Site Council meeting on Tuesday, 8/10, at 6:30pm. We all realize this is short notice, but time is of the essence. Here is the topic…
I see three options for leadership next year:
1. Hire a permanent principal (this is unlikely to yield the best candidates given the late date)
2. Hire an interim
3. I am an experienced middle and high school administrator as is our new Director of Teaching and Learning and we could work collaboratively with a team of teacher leaders in a new modelI am considering all three and want your feedback and input. We have much work ahead of us and we need to use this change to our advantage to create the best outcomes for our children.
If we do it intentionally and together we will find excellent solutions!
Meanwhile, please take a moment to share your thanks for a job incredibly well done with Anne and Roger. They will be sorely missed, but the work they have done to set a course for our school should serve us all well for a long time to come.
Crosswinds Site Council meeting on Monday (4/5) will be a particularly eventful and interesting one. Carl Wahlstrom and two board members will be at there to listen to parents and give an update on the task force progress. It will also feature a representative from the U of MN to talk about the Bush initiative that will bring many student teachers to Crosswinds. Site Council meetings are open to all parents, so whether you’ve been to one before or not, please feel welcome to join us at 6:30pm Monday at Crosswinds.
Please join the Parents + Students for 11th and 12th Grade at Crosswinds page on Facebook. They are trying to build a list of “100 reasons that adding 11th and 12th grade at Crosswinds is a good idea” and can use your help!
If any members of this group do not have Facebook accounts and are interested, it is free to sign up and there are no ongoing fees. It is a great way to stay connected with your student and their and his friends through media they are comfortable with. If you don’t have a Facebook account and want us to post ‘challenge responses,’ please feel free to email them to Christopher Porter.
To make things a little easier on everyone, we decided at our meeting last night to set out a regular meeting date for the whole school year. So, mark your calendars!
EMID Families will meet on the first Tuesday of every other month. The change from Wednesday and to bimonthly takes into account the feedback we got from our survey last month. We also decided to alternate between Harambee and Crosswinds. The dates are:
Tuesdays at 7pm…
More details about each meeting, including what room to look for, will be sent out prior to each meeting.
The EMID Joint Powers Board meets on Wednesday April 16 at the Crosswinds School (Water House). The “work session” starts at 6pm and includes a presentation about Crosswinds by principal Roger Kocinski and a discussion of the video recording proposal raised by an EMID Families member last month. The board meeting itself starts at 7pm and includes budget, computer use, bullying, and integration plan agenda items. Don’t forget this week’s meeting is at Crosswinds (not Harambee).
A note in the unofficial minutes from yesterdays’ Site Council meeting at Crosswinds:
Report on the breakdown of current student enrollment by district:
- 52% St. Paul (District 625)
- 18% North St. Paul/Maplewood/Oakdale (District 622)
- 11% South Washington Co. (District 833)
- 5% Roseville (District 623)
- 4% White Bear Lake (District 624)
- 2% Mahtomedi (District 832)
- 2% Stillwater (District 834)
- 1% Inver Grove Heights (District 199)
- 1% South St. Paul (District 006)
- .03% West St. Paul (District 197)