Those of us who served as parent members on the advisory task force during the Superintendent search process last time will remember Jerry as part of BKB Associates. He is a professor at MN State University, Mankato, and has quite a record of accomplishment in education. He can be reached at jerry.robicheau@mnsu.edu; 507-389-5091. He will serve as Interim for the next several months until a new permanent Superintendent can be hired. He will be spending 25% time on the job. For the record, Dr. R. will NOT be part of the contracted BKB search team, and will have input into the search process only as appropriate to his role as Interim Superintendent. The vote to appoint was unanimous.
Category Archives: EMID Board
EMID Board Meeting, 11/17
Just in case you were eager for the next EMID Board meeting, it’s tomorrow: Wednesday 11/17 5:30pm at Harambee.
The agenda includes the Superintendent’s report (which will include an update on her “90-day Entry Plan,” an item called “Restructuring of Leadership Team,” and an update on the “High School Transition Fair”), a report on EMID’s “Adequate Yearly Progress” under No Child Left Behind, and the first reading of new EMID policies on harassment, bullying, and hazing.
The full (two part!) PDF board packet for the meeting can be found here: part 1, part 2.
Board votes to kill feasibility study for Crosswinds 11-12
Today the EMID Joint Powers Board (our version of a school board) voted to affirm that: “After significant listening and gathering of stakeholder input, it is recommended that the Board not conduct a feasibility study to expand grades 11 and 12 at Crosswinds.” Chair of the Board, Bruce Hagerty, emphasized repeatedly that this action was not intended to shut the door on the notion of 11-12 at Crosswinds, but was only a “very narrow” action to kill the feasibility study. Read on for the gory details, including a few other bits of news from the board meeting.
EMID Board to Decide on 11-12 at Crosswinds, 10/20
The next EMID Board meeting is, fittingly, at Crosswinds School this Wednesday, 10/20, at 5:30pm. It is fitting that this is one of the rare board meetings at Crosswinds because the board is actually making a decision of vital importance to Crosswinds’ future. On the action agenda is the “High School Feasibility Study.” Dr. Cassellius is asking the board to drop the whole idea of 11th and 12th grade at Crosswinds
After significant listening and gathering of stakeholder input, it is recommended that the Board not conduct a feasibility study to expand grades 11 and 12 at Crosswinds. It is further recommeneded that the Board discuss the overall grade configuration for the EMID schools within its upcoming strategic planning.
The full board packet (PDF) is available on the EMID website.
Other items of interest to families may be an update on the Statewide Task Force on School Integration, the approval of the permanent contract for Crosswinds Principal Bryan Bass, and the Annual Report on Curriculum, Instruction and Student Achievement.
All in all, an ambitious agenda, well worth attending if you have the time during this break-week. Remember, the meetings now start at 5:30pm and this one will be at Crosswinds!
Notes from 9/15 EMID Board Meeting
[Thanks to Jeff Syme for sharing these notes. …Eric]
Very interesting meeting tonight, and very long… 5:30 to nearly 8:30, and then an hour-long work session on strategic planning. All 10 Board Reps were present as well as a dozen parents and additional staff. Here is a quick summary for those who couldn’t attend. (One man’s opinion from 10 pages of notes, but please talk with many others to gain the broadest insight on all these affairs.)
The headline is: Nothing was voted on or off the table, and the next four weeks will be crucial. Read on for the details. Continue reading
Cassellius Recommends Removing 9th & 10th Grades from Crosswinds
The EMID Board packet for next week’s board meeting includes a “Summary of Vision and Organizational Changes” from Dr. Brenda Cassellius, Superintendent of EMID. The board meets at Harambee on Tuesday 8/24 at 6pm and we urge parents who care about this issue (or anything else on the board agenda) to attend. Cassellius is recommending that 9th and 10th grades be removed from Crosswinds.
Dr. Cassellius’ Reception Monday, 7/12
Please reach out to each and every Crosswinds parent that you know and make sure that they know that there is a ‘welcome’ reception Monday evening, July 12th at 6:30pm, for the new EMID Superintendent, Dr. Brenda Cassellius. This will be an excellent way to introduce her to the Crosswinds Family and to show her how supportive our families are.
Do you want 11th and 12th at Crosswinds?
I you would like to see 11th and 12th grade at Crosswinds, so that your kids could have their full high school years here, then please take a look at our grade structure task force pages. This won’t happen without some very active parents, so lift your voice if you want to see it become a reality. We have put talking points and sample letters on the website. Take a look!
The next opportunity for face-time with the EMID board will be Wednesday, 17 March, at Harambee. Even just being present can help the board understand our support.
EMID Off the June Agenda
Alert! The EMID item has been removed from the June 23 school board meetings of Distict 622 and Roseville. The superintendent of 622, Pattie Phillips, has refused to bring the item to the board this months since she could not get the final wording of the MDE/EMID/Roseville/622 agreement for the board agenda which was sent out last week. The item will now appear, we are told, next month. Roseville, which does not usually have a July meeting, will nonetheless call a special meeting of the board in July to consider this matter.
Bottom line: none of the plans have changed since the “summit meeting” of these four parties earlier this month. Only the date of the relevant board meetings has changed to July. There is no need to attend these two board meetings this month for EMID issues.
Shari Thompson has noted that even if 622 were to pull out of this agreement at this late date, MDE has assured EMID that transportation for any legacy 622 kids currently enrolled in EMID schools would be fully covered. If this were to happen, those kids would just be, technically, “open-enrolled” instead. It is unlikely to come to this, though. Everyone expects 622 to honor the principals and elements of the agreement with MDE and Roseville and EMID on 6/4.
For it’s part, EMID will go ahead with its announcement to parents on 6/24. They feel parents really need to know about this resolution and can’t wait for a set of July board meetings. So those of you in 622 should expect letters next week.
Summit with 622 and Roseville generates results
A meeting this morning of the superintendents of ISD 622, Roseville, and EMID schools with a representative from the Minnesota Department of Education has produced an agreement on how the three districts will structure the attendance of district 622 students at EMID schools. This agreement will be considered for ratification by the 622 and Roseville boards of education on Tuesday, June 23rd.
The agreement states that any 622 student currently enrolled in an EMID school will be allowed to “age-out” of EMID. This means they can continue to attend EMID schools through the completion of the EMID curriculum at Crosswinds. Their transportation costs will be covered by the state with no charge back to the families.
Siblings of current EMID students from 622 will be allowed to “open enroll” in EMID schools though an arrangement with the Roseville schools as EMID’s fiscal host. Their transportation will be paid for by EMID, but EMID will charge families a portion of those costs back ($250/year/student up to a family maximum of $600/year, all charges waived for families of kids receiving free or reduced lunches).
Any other students who want to attend EMID schools from district 622 will also be welcome to open enroll on the same terms as siblings, even if nobody in their family has previously attended an EMID school.
Again, just to be very clear: this agreement has not yet been ratified by the school boards in question. It is a very positive development, but we will have to await actions of these boards for final word. EMID plans to send out notices to families on June 24th, after the agreement has been ratified.
This is a much more positive result than many were expecting. It demonstrates that 622 is not intent on preventing attendance at EMID schools and it underscores the wonderful support we are getting from Roseville as our fiscal host. If you are available on the evening of Tuesday, 6/23, it would be great to attend one or the other of these two district board meetings to both ensure the agreement is ratified and to thank these school boards for their support of our kids being able to continue attending EMID schools.