Latest news with #Gillach
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Grand Forks district to offer stoles to Native graduates next year; parent group still seeks beading on caps
May 27—GRAND FORKS — The Grand Forks Public Schools Native American Parent Committee voted Tuesday to formally ask district administration to consider allowing Indigenous students to wear traditional beadwork on their graduation caps. The meeting came after students were notified beadwork on their mortarboards would not be allowed at their graduation ceremonies this year. It's a longstanding district policy that no adornments are allowed on graduation caps, but parents say students have worn Indigenous beadwork without issue in years past. According to some in attendance at Tuesday's meeting, the notification came too late for some families who had already begun beading their students' caps — a prayerful cultural practice often done by older members of a family for their younger loved ones. Eagle feathers on graduation caps, allowed explicitly by state law, will still be permitted. Assistant superintendents Catherine Gillach and Matt Bakke and Central High School Principal Jon Strandell were on hand for the meeting. Gillach said the district intends to introduce stoles for American Indian students next year that families may bead however they want. The district had intended to provide the stoles to families this year, but ran out of time to have them delivered. Gillach emphasized that the district wants to find a way to celebrate and honor its Indigenous students' cultural heritage, but that by hypothetically allowing some groups to decorate their caps and not others, the district runs the risk of violating Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. At minimum, she said, the district will have to proceed cautiously. "We don't want to be the judge and the jury at the end," she said. "Like this expression is OK, and this one is respectful, this is not." Chad Ward, Native American liaison for the district, said there's nothing wrong with the stoles proposal, but that the district's response to the issue has left many Native American families feeling like something important is being taken away from the ceremonies. He described the profound impacts of colonization and assimilation on Indigenous families, and that beadwork is an important way for many Indigenous people to practice their culture in their day-to-day lives. For many, it holds great significance to incorporate the beadwork into a day as important as a graduation. "At the end of the day," Ward added, "with all due respect, this is Indian Country." In an hourlong dialogue, Indigenous parents discussed the significance of beading the cap specifically. Jayme Davis, a state representative from Belcourt, noted that many Indigenous families choose to bead the graduation cap because it is the symbol of graduation and the completion of a major milestone in the students' lives, much more so than the stoles. "Stoles don't equate the visibility that the cap has. That for me, is the difference between the stole and the graduation cap, is that meaning," she said. "And to me — just for me — if this were coming down, it would say to me, 'Yeah, you can be Native, but not too Native. We don't want it too visible.'" "... It's not just a racial thing, it's a political and cultural thing, and it's specifically for us, because we are the first peoples of this land," Davis continued. "So we're exercising this right, this sovereignty. We're not necessarily asking for privilege to do this. It should be a right for us." Following the NAPC vote, conversations about beading on caps will continue at the district level, Gillach said. Immediately following the NAPC meeting, the full Grand Forks School Board heard an update on Native American student graduation rates in the district. The district is on track to meet and surpass a graduation rate goal set during the 2022-2023 school year, according to Superintendent Terry Brenner. That year, the four-year graduation rate for Native American students in the district was 46%. The district hoped to see that number rise to 80% by September 2028. Last school year, the four-year Native American graduation rate was 73%. Brenner credited the improvement in large part to programs and practices instituted by Ward as the new Native American liaison and funded by the NAPC, including celebration ceremonies for Indigenous students completing kindergarten, fifth grade, eighth grade and 12th grade. Other interventions, such as counselor tracking of earned credits, credit recovery options and a partnership with UND to match GFPS students with Native American student mentors, were also highlighted as successes. There are still questions in the data, Brenner noted. Across district campuses, while 73% of Indigenous seniors are on track to graduate based on credits earned, only 42% of freshmen, 54% of sophomores and 53% of juniors are on track. (For comparison, when looking at the total student body across campuses, 77% of freshmen, 81% of sophomores, 83% of juniors and 84% of seniors are on track to graduate.) Why do so many Indigenous students appear to spend most of their high school careers not on track to graduate, only to suddenly catch up as seniors? The answer is chronic absenteeism, said district Chief Academic Officer Amy Bartsch. Some 58% of Native American freshmen in the district are considered chronically absent, Bartsch said. Bartsch called chronic absenteeism a "community issue that we all have to rally behind to support our families to make school accessible to all," and Gillach noted that the School Board has discussed issues of transportation in the past. But she also said the district needs to consider how to ensure the school environment itself is conducive to the success of its Indigenous students. Those conversations are already happening at the campus level, she said. "Are we representing our students well enough in the curriculum?" she asked. "We work really hard on relationships, and yet we recognize there are some discrepancies between kids reporting that they feel safe and welcome, and feeling like they truly belong." In other news: * The district is poised to "open the virtual doors" to Grand Forks Virtual High School next school year, according to Gillach. Registration for the fully online program is now closed, and a pilot group of 26 high-schoolers are currently enrolled. They include 13 from Central High School, 11 from Red River High School, two homeschooled students and 10 students currently on Individualized Education Plans. The district has hopes to expand the program in future years. * Lizette Miller, secretary at Community High School, was recognized as the district's Classified Employee of the Year. Community Principal Terry Bohan presented her with the award. Two additional district employees were also recognized as the Certified Employees of the Fourth Quarter. Behavior analyst Brittney Hansen was presented with the award by Special Education Director Elisa Diederich, and Viking Elementary literacy specialist Lisa Spicer was presented with the award by Viking Principal Jolyn Bergstrom. * Discovery Elementary School was recognized as the school of the week during the meeting's "celebrating success" portion. The elementary school is celebrating 10 years since its opening. * District Business Manager Brandon Baumbach presented the general fund financial statement for July 1, 2024, through April 30, 2025. During that time, total general fund revenue was $113,584,932 and total general fund expenditures were $94,337,173, resulting in revenue over expenses of $19,247,760.
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Grand Forks earns coveted 'gold star' in school accreditation process
May 12—GRAND FORKS — Grand Forks Public Schools received the highest classification possible in its recent accreditation process. Districts that earn that distinction not only check all the boxes set by Cognia, the nationwide accrediting body, but also get what Associate Superintendent of Secondary Education Cathrine Gillach called an extra "gold star" — a so-called "noteworthy practice" reflecting the greatest strengths of the institution. For Grand Forks Public Schools, that is its flexible, multi-tiered student support model. The data-driven model is designed to be dynamic and easily tailored to individual students' needs, and helps filter students into the best environment to facilitate success, whether that's small-group instruction or one-on-one time with specialists. "So we earned a gold star, a noteworthy practice there, which is something that we're really, really proud of," Gillach said. Accreditation is required by the state Department of Public Instruction to ensure districts are continuously improving and incrementally increasing student success. The last time Grand Forks Public Schools received accreditation was in 2020, just prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Monday night's presentation was the culmination of a year of work involving district and school building leaders. Cognia looks for four key characteristics: what the district is doing to promote a culture of learning; how educators are leading around learning initiatives; what level of engagement can be seen at the student, teacher and classroom levels; and positive student growth and learning outputs. The district was evaluated through student and teacher focus groups as well as through presentation of district data and evidence. Cognia also outlined a number of areas where the district can improve, including: * Streamline the goal-setting process by integrating school improvement goals, School Board goals and school-based goals. * Increase student engagement by expanding opportunities for student voice and active participation in their learning. * Increase student use of digital resources by equipping teachers with targeted professional learning for effective integration. "These are things ... that we can implement quickly, that actually we have in motion right now," Gillach said. "We're not very far from making improvements on these actual standards." In other School Board news: * Century Elementary School was the featured school for the "Celebrating Success" portion of the meeting. Century Principal David Saxberg highlighted a number of successful programs at the elementary school, including Century School RED (Read Every Day) Event, where Century families are invited to come read with their students at the school building for 20 minutes at the end of a school day four times a year. Although the time isn't ideal for many working parents, at one recent RED Event, "We had cars lined up on the street past Lion Park," Saxberg said. "Any place they could find a place to park, they did." Superintendent Terry Brenner noted that it was likely Saxberg's last time before the board, as he is transitioning to another professional opportunity. Brenner thanked Saxberg for his years of dedication to Century students. * Dr. Holly Larson was recommended as the new principal of Century Elementary School beginning July 28. Larson began her career in 2007 with Lincoln Public Schools, and most recently worked as the associate principal at Valley Middle School. She has also worked as a behavior intervention coordinator and building resource coordinator at South Middle School, building behavior strategist at South Point Elementary in East Grand Forks, and school counselor at both the elementary and middle school levels. According to a recommendation letter given to the board, she was hired for, among other things, "her identity as a lifelong learner, her ability to approach challenges using data and systems thinking, and her strong foundation in putting students at the center of decision making." She was hired by a team led by Assistant Superintendent of Elementary Education Matt Bakke; 10 Century staff members, including teachers, paraeducators, literacy specialists, multilingual educators, special educators and administrative staff; and five district representatives. She will receive a salary of $117,523 for the 2025-2026 school year. * Lori Skattum was recommended as the new principal of Winship Elementary, also beginning July 28. Skattum has worked with Grand Forks Public Schools for 13 years, and is currently a special education coordinator. She also has experience as a speech-language pathologist for the district. In a recommendation letter, she was recognized for "her calm, approachable demeanor and her effective communication style," as well as her "deep knowledge of early childhood education, her experience managing complex systems across multiple sites and her strong organizational leadership as a special education coordinator. Bakke also led her hiring team, which also included seven Winship staff members, including teachers, paraeducators, literacy specialists, a librarian and administrative staff; and five district representatives. She will earn a salary of $110,396 for the 2025-2026 school year. * The board approved a number of project costs associated with safety and security enhancement projects at Wilder Elementary School. It approved a guaranteed maximum price of roughly $2.452 million and decided to include in the final project plans a $150,672 parking lot alternate. * The district activities department is considering requesting proposals for district athletic apparel. Activities Director Mike Biermaier says the practice isn't necessarily standard at the high school level like it is in higher education, but he believes that by streamlining the apparel acquisition process, the district could see cost savings. Currently, apparel purchasing is handled ad hoc by individual coaches. A request for proposals will be printed in the Herald on May 14 with a noon May 27 deadline, and will come before the board for consideration on June 9. * The board voted 7-1 to approve a Payment In Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) tax incentive for Cirrus Aircraft. If Cirrus' PILOT application is approved, it will receive a property tax exemption of 100% for 10 years to support the construction of its $10.5 million, 30,000-square-foot expansion to its current aircraft manufacturing facility in Grand Forks. The School Board approved the application with little discussion. The application will now go back to the Grand Forks City Council for final consideration and a public hearing at 5:30 p.m. June 2. * South Middle School Principal Travis Neil, and Title I Coordinator Theresa Ostgarden presented the middle school's Title I Schoolwide Planning overview to the board. Through the Title I program, the school receives federal funds to help support students who are struggling academically. To qualify, at least 40% of a school's student population must be from a low-income household. Among the school's "Be Legendary" goals for 2024-2025 school year are to increase language arts proficiency from 51% to 60% and math proficiency from 34% to 43% on the North Dakota State Assessment by September 2028, and to improve language arts proficiency from 49% to 56% and math proficiency from 40% to 47% on the Renaissance Star Assessment in the same timeframe.
