Greetings!
The new school year has begun! It seems the fall breezes and the
start of school bring an air of excitement, regardless of one’s
age. I’m sure that most students are ready to return to the
classrooms, albeit just a little grudgingly.
The Spring
Lake Park School District is going through some of the most
exciting times in its 50 year history. Thanks in large part to
the tremendous public and staff support, the District has
produced a dramatic turnaround in its financial stability, and
its budgeted expenditures are aligned with its Strategic
Directions.
This, taken
together with a moderate but steady growth in student
population, has resulted in two consecutive annual upgrades by
Moody’s in the District’s bond ratings, a significant reflection
of their confidence in the district’s financial decisions.
The
District’s professional training opportunities provided to its
staff are done as well as any school district in the state.
Even more important are the many exciting initiatives being
implemented to improve student achievement.
Still, the
most visible examples of these exciting times are the facilities
construction and renovation projects that have already begun,
thanks once again to our very supportive community. The
four-year facilities improvement program will benefit this—and
future—generations of students in major and exciting ways.
This has
been a busy summer filled with lots of meetings and lots of
progress. And, based on the many discussions that I have had
throughout the school district, it has also been an exciting
time for members of the community as well.
For those
who aren’t aware, the school construction this summer occurred
at Park Terrace Elementary School, located in Spring Lake Park,
where four elementary and three kindergarten classrooms were
added, and at Westwood Intermediate School, located in Blaine,
where a new media center was added, and where the old media
center was converted into two regular education classrooms and a
special education area for offices and group instruction.
These
projects will provide additional learning spaces for our
increasing student population.
A New School
Design Team, consisting of school and community members,
completed its study this summer and has already made
recommendations to the School Board for the new elementary
school. Land has been purchased for the new K-3 elementary
school, to open in the fall of 2008, just south of 125th street
on Cloud Drive in Blaine.
In August,
architects unveiled preliminary drawings based upon input from
the school and community team. These drawings are available for
viewing on our website.
At Spring
Lake Park High School, Panther Stadium has benefited from
significant drainage and track improvements, as well as an
all-purpose, all-weather artificial turf. The addition of the
artificial turf will provide the opportunity for at least ten
times as much usage for a variety of activities, most notably,
additional time for physical education throughout the school
day.
In addition,
a community-based volunteer committee, named the Construction
Oversight Group, has been meeting regularly to receive
information and to offer questions and suggestions regarding the
district’s facilities improvement projects.
This summer,
the district also purchased the HealthPartners building, located
east of Highway 65 on 81st Avenue NE.
The original
plan was to use the facility as a staging area for high school
students, early childhood programs, and district-wide services
personnel when parts of the high school complex are torn down.
However, one of the primary recommendations from the Minnesota
Department of Education was to remove from the high school site
any programs that are not related to the high school.
Therefore,
the School Board is going to consider not just a temporary
relocation for its district-wide services, but a permanent move
after this facility is used for staging purposes. The Board
will discuss that option at a future School Board meeting.
Another
reason that this is such an exciting year is that this is the
50th anniversary of the very first graduating class of Spring
Lake Park High School. The first Spring Lake Park class to
graduate did so at the end of the 1956-57 school year, so the
district and its alumni hope to celebrate key events throughout
the school year. One of those activities will occur at
Homecoming, to be held on Friday, September 29 and the other major
activity, a 1957-2007 All-Class Reunion, will occur on August
18, 2007, as the culminating event.
This year
will be one that is filled with fun historical facts.
Interestingly, from 1957 through 1965, some of District 16’s
elementary students were actually taught at the Twin Cities
Arsenal, located just off County Road 10 on the east side of
Interstate 35W. This was necessary due to space limitations
during that time. The original lease was $15,000/year,
eventually negotiated down to $15/year. Ross Johnson was its
principal, and he later served this district as a School Board
member.
It’s
important to celebrate milestones and highlights, and, with the
construction of a new track and football field, I was told of
how the first Spring Lake Park High School track was built.
Legend has it that Superintendent Ed Knalson and high school
physical education instructor Don Watson actually took it upon
themselves to create the original track, using a World War II
bulldozer! I guess you just can’t get help like that nowadays….
This is a
special time for our school district and for our community.
Please feel free to check out the new construction, watch for
our School Board meetings on cable TV, and check us out on our
website at www.springlakeparkschools.org. You can also sign up
for E-news Updates by going to our website.
I know
you’ll continue to feel proud of this tremendous school
community during these exciting times.
Here’s to a
successful 2006-07 school year!