Greetings!
Thanks for stopping by to visit our web
site! I think you'll be pleased by what you will
discover.
School
District 16 serves students and families from the cities of
Blaine, Spring Lake Park, and Fridley. This is a great place to
learn, to live, to work, and to play.
With 4,500
students, District 16 considers itself and its school
community to be personal in size, extra-large in opportunity. Our
mission is: “High expectations, high achievement for all. No
excuses.”
We are just the right size:
n We have three K-3 elementary schools (Woodcrest, Kenneth Hall, Park
Terrace), each with over 400 students, and a grades 4 & 5
elementary school (Westwood Intermediate) with 600 students.
n
Westwood Middle School has 1,000 students
n Spring Lake Park High School, a grades 9-12 school of 1,300 students, is
the perfect size for teaching and learning.
n
Learning Alternatives Community School (a recent Minnesota
Program of the Year) has over 300 learners.
In addition, the
district has a highly successful online distance learning
academy and The Lighthouse Program for highly-driven,
highly-able students.
All
staff participate in professional learning communities,
assessment for learning training, and are
focused and committed to ensuring the success of each and
every student.
Our
students are improving each day. They thrive in this
environment.
A
comprehensive, exciting $96 million long-range facilities
improvement plan was approved by our supportive community in
February 2006. Planning and initial construction is now
underway.
The
plan will provide extensive, even dramatic, improvements to all
of our schools. A new K-3 elementary school will be constructed
in the high-growth area of Blaine, near Highway 242 (Main St.)
and Cloud Drive, and will be open in the fall of 2008. All
schools will be renovated and improved, and receive additional
classrooms. The high school will be "nearly-new" after
receiving its planned improvements.
Periodically, I write a brief message to staff,
parents, and the community. My comments generally are
written following a meeting of the School Board and reflect the current
"state of the school district." The
most current of these messages are available for your review too by
clicking on the buttons in the column to the left.
I am always eager to hear from district parents,
residents, students, and staff. I can be reached by utilizing the comment
page found on this web site or by telephone at 763-786-5570. My mailing address is 8000 Highway 65 NE, Spring
Lake Park, MN, 55432. And, my e-mail address is
dhelms@district16.org.
Here's to a great school year of working together
to build a better place for our children.
Sincerely,
Don Helmstetter, Ph. D.
Superintendent of Schools
