Brooklyn Park introduces principal for new Maple Grove elementary school
The Brooklyn Park City Council held a groundbreaking event for a new elementary school in Maple Grove on May 12, introducing Patrick Smith as the school's principal. Smith brings a decade of experience leading elementary schools and plans to involve the community in shaping the new school's identity.
Patrick Smith, who will lead the new elementary school opening in Maple Grove, was introduced at the city council's groundbreaking event. Smith has spent 10 years as an elementary principal, including six years at Basswood Elementary. Before moving into administration, he worked as a third-grade teacher in the Robbinsdale School District, giving him experience at multiple levels of K-12 education.
Smith outlined an ambitious plan to build community ownership of the new school from the ground up. Starting July 1st, he will launch initiatives to involve parents, students, and neighbors in establishing the school's core identity. This includes letting the community choose the school's name, select its colors, and pick a mascot—decisions that typically fall to administrators alone.
"We want to collaboratively build the school's foundation," Smith explained, emphasizing that community input will shape what the new school becomes. This approach signals a commitment to making the school a reflection of the neighborhood it serves rather than imposing an identity from above.
The groundbreaking event marks a significant milestone for Brooklyn Park, bringing new educational capacity to the Maple Grove area. With Smith's appointment and the community engagement plan in place, the school is positioned to open with strong local support and a clear sense of shared purpose among families and staff.
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[0:00] [Music]
[0:02] Hello, this is Dr. Kim Hy holding space
[0:04] out at our new elementary site in Maple
[0:06] Grove and I have the pure pleasure to be
[0:08] meeting with a new principal, Patrick
[0:11] Smith. So, how excited are you? I
[0:14] couldn't be more excited. I mean, this
[0:16] has been a a career dream of mine for
[0:18] many, many, many years. And for it to
[0:20] actually come to fruition is pretty
[0:21] exciting. And to be here out on the site
[0:23] and see the work starting, I I'm ready
[0:25] to get rolling. I'm so excited. And you
[0:27] have been an elementary principal. Well,
[0:29] can you share about that? Your
[0:30] experience with elementary? Yeah,
[0:31] actually my career started as a third
[0:32] grade teacher. I worked in the
[0:34] Robbinsdale School District as a as a
[0:35] teacher, as an instructional assistant
[0:37] and then where I got my first experience
[0:39] as a uh elementary principal for 4 years
[0:41] before I came to OIO and I was the
[0:44] principal at Basswood Elementary for 6
[0:45] years. So, a good 10 years in elementary
[0:47] as a principal. What are some ideas of
[0:49] how you think about bringing the
[0:50] community together for the new school
[0:51] starting July 1? Uh, starting July 1, we
[0:54] got to name the school. uh naming the
[0:55] school, picking colors, picking a
[0:57] mascot. Those are things that we want to
[0:58] involve our community in and kind of a
[1:02] collective effort to create uh really
[1:03] the foundation of what's to come. And so
[1:06] day one, it's let's get that school
[1:08] named. Thank you, Principal Smith. I'm
[1:09] excited. You're excited. Super excited.
[1:11] All right. Holding space with Dr. How
[1:13] and Principal Smith. One community for
[1:15] all. Oo area schools. Thank you.
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Community Engagement for New School Identity
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