The 10 priorities

There is an interesting column today on the "trap" of labeling our kids:

Labeling children may begin in early childhood, and within the public school and medical communities, diagnoses have become widespread to the point of spawning hundreds of support sites online for parents of children who may have ADD, ADHD, ODD, ASP... The list goes on and grows every day. More recently, attributes like weight and even shyness have been brought into the potential 'disorder' arena.

Malcom Gauld, president of Hyde Schools, has an interesting set of priorities that focus away from labeling and toward a "character culture. Read it all.

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Summer diversions

If you see this graphic (left), it means there is another edition of Reading Roundup at the District home page. We've asked staff to provide us with some of their favorite summer literary diversions and the response has been super. So super, in fact, we are going to have to pace ourselves.

We hope to put up new suggestions, for people of all ages, about once a week for the summer. Maybe more.

Whether you're laying in the sun, fishing, at the beach, or engaging in the time-honored summer tradition of doing nothing, doing it with a book makes everything more interesting. And wait until you see some of the suggestions we've compiled...

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Not cut, but burdened

Politics in Minnesota has a nice summary of how Governor Tim Pawlenty's cost shifts will affect public schools:

If, as expected, Pawlenty seeks to duplicate the size of the nearly $1.8 billion shift proposed by the House this session, he’ll have to delay payment of at least 27 percent, and perhaps as much as 36 percent, of the school aid money. The reason for the uncertainty and the gaping 9 percent disparity is because it is not clear whether the governor has the authority under to also shift property tax revenues that go to school districts, as the Legislature has done when utilizing the larger aid shifts in recent decades.

What will the delay mean for public education? Borrowing. And borrowing means interest payments. Charlie Kyte explains:

Kyte says the interest charges will amount to $30 per pupil per school year, which, in addition to all the staff time spent securing and monitoring the loans instead of educating children, is the equivalent of 500 first-year teacher salaries statewide each year.

So, while public education ostensibly escaped the chopping block as part of the state budget, it really didn't. More public education resources will have to be directed at paying interest, and not at educating kids, in the future.

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Hard to replace

The District homepage now has a short tribute to the 16 staff members retiring this year, including School Board member Donna Setter's speech to staff commemorating the occasion. It's hard to fathom the - yes - centuries of combined experience lost to the District this year.

I feel fortunate to have been here to witness their departure, and to know how much their service has meant to this community over the years. What a great group!

Whatever their next chapter, I hope it will be as rewarding as this ending chapter has been to the families and communities they have served.

Best wishes to you all!

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Looking back

North Branch's local newspaper has put together a video slideshow of the graduation ceremony. Check it out.

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Another year comes to a close

Today is the last day of school for most students at NBAPS. Last night we graduated the largest class in district history, 293 students, and we are so very, very proud of each and every one of them. We look forward to seeing the impact they will have on our world in years to come.

To staff and students, best wishes for a wonderful summer. I hope you are able to make the most of it.

Reflecting on the year that now was, it has been a truly memorable one, and next year promises to be even better.

Thanks to everyone; staff, students, families, and the community at large, for the wonderful support we receive on a daily basis. Such a successful year is not possible without the kind of team effort we have hear. It is both humbling and inspiring to be a part of.

Thanks again!

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