Superintendent's Report-Morris Area Schools

The first four months of the nine-month school year have come and gone with several reasons to celebrate, and I believe we are nearing the midpoint of a very good school year. Here are a few pieces of information I would like to share.

The Morris Sun Tribune recently ran a series of three articles regarding the variety of assessments currently being used in the Morris Area School District. For many of us, graduation from high school was mostly a matter of coming to school, doing our work, getting passing grades in our classes, and making sure we took enough credits in each subject area, including electives, to meet the graduation requirements set in place by the School Board (I realize this is oversimplified). While graduation requirements chosen by the School Board remain in place, students today have to meet a higher bar. They still have to come to school, do their work, get passing grades and take the required number of courses in various areas. However, they also must pass a state test in reading, one in math, and one in writing in order to receive a diploma from a public high school. These are sometimes referred to as “high stakes tests”. I envision a day where there will also be the requirement that students pass high stakes (in order to graduate) science and social studies tests as well, but that might be a few years down the road. As we prepare for a variety of assessments this winter and spring (starting as early as kindergarten and first grade), I am excited about the opportunity the results give us to get help to students who need something extra, to challenge students who are achieving above grade level, and to improve on the teaching and learning in our school district. The earlier we can identify how students are doing, the better chance we have of helping them meet all the expectations and requirements that are in place in order to graduate and of challenging them along the way to graduation.

I have stated on multiple occasions that schools need students (among other things) to have a base of financial resources necessary to operate. Consequently, we monitor our student enrollment very closely and make note of any student who leaves the district, any student who is new to the district, and any student who has some sort of a change in their enrollment status. The number of students in a school district will generate approximately 75 percent of the revenue that is necessary to run the district, so increasing enrollment and/or maintaining students is very important for all school districts, including ISD 769. A glance at the enrollment history for the Morris Area School District shows a steady decrease in K-12 enrollment from 1996-1997 until 2006-2007. During the past four years, enrollment has generally rebounded nicely and there are currently 982 students in kindergarten through twelfth grade.

For the first portion of the winter for the past several years, the school has not needed to delay the start of a school day, to let school out early, or to cancel school due to inclement weather. Rest assured, it is doubtful that an entire winter will pass without some form of inclement weather, but that has eluded us so far. When the snow flies and the wind blows, students will likely have a great deal of excitement and energy, and they may not pay as much attention to what is happening around them as they might/should. So, if or when this happens, please pay extra attention to children walking and driving to and from school and their bus stop and use even more precaution than normal.

If you have questions or wish for more information, please contact me at 589-4840 or smonson@morris.k12.mn.us.

Tags: superintendent's report, columns, community, morris