Edina Public Schools — Transcript
Monday, September 29, 2014
Approval of Previous Meeting Minutes
Agenda Modifications
Student Recognition - Perfect ACT Score
Teacher Professional Development - Digital Age Learning Cohort
Public Comment - School Start Times and Student Sleep
World's Best Workforce Legislation and Implementation
State Assessment Results - 2013-14 School Year
Tax Levy Certification for 2015
Facilities Planning and Task Force Update
Consent Agenda - Personnel, Expenditures, and Contracts
District Committees, Councils, and Teams for 2014-2015
Leadership and Strategic Initiatives Update
Votes (13)
Approval of Previous Meeting Minutes
Dissent: None
Moved by Unknown [Opening remarks] · Seconded by Unknown [Opening remarks]
Minutes from August 18th work session and regular meeting, and September 8th special meeting were presented for approval. No corrections or additions were noted.
Agenda Modification 1: Corrected Levy Document
Dissent: None
Moved by Unknown [Agenda modification] · Seconded by Unknown [Agenda modification]
A corrected levy document was proposed to replace the original version due to a minor error. The motion to insert the corrected document was made and seconded.
Agenda Modification 2: Move Strategic Guiding Change Plans to Discussion
Dissent: None
Moved by Unknown [Agenda modification] · Seconded by Unknown [Agenda modification]
Action item E (Strategic Guiding Change Plans) was moved from action to discussion status because the items were not completed during the workshop. The original guiding documents were confirmed to be in the original agenda packet with no changes proposed.
Student Recognition - Perfect ACT Score
Dissent: None
Moved by N/A · Seconded by N/A
Jamie Bowden was recognized for achieving a perfect ACT score of 36. Bowden discussed academic interests in mathematics and biology, involvement in beekeeping, and college aspirations. The student emphasized the importance of involvement in activities and diligent homework for other students pursuing academic success.
Teacher Recognition - Digital Age Learning Cohort
Dissent: None
Moved by N/A · Seconded by N/A
Nine teachers from across the district were recognized for completing a professional development cohort focused on digital age learning and technology integration. Teachers shared how the cohort transformed their teaching practices, increased student engagement, fostered collaborative learning, and connected classrooms beyond school walls. Steve Buettner (Director of Technology) highlighted the program's demonstration of lifelong learning. Mike Walker and Tracy Purdy facilitated the cohort with Molly Schroeder, focusing on four courses in digital age learning. Teachers reported increased confidence, willingness to try new technologies, and student excitement about learning. The program will be offered again this year, and many teachers plan to present at the TIES conference in December.
Public Comment - School Start Times and Student Sleep
Dissent: None
Moved by N/A · Seconded by N/A
Community member John Fischbach presented concerns about early school start dates and advocated for later start times. He cited a petition with 426+ signatures opposing early start dates (compared to 70% equivalent response in less than 24 hours the previous year). Fischbach referenced pediatric research and articles from the American Academy of Pediatrics recommending school start no earlier than 8:30 AM. He noted that friends with children in schools that shifted from 7:30 AM to 8:30 AM start times reported improvements in student attitude, test scores, and athletic performance. Fischbach argued that the extra sleep is more important than school bus schedules or revenue from bus rentals. The board acknowledged the input without committing to immediate action.
World's Best Workforce Legislation Presentation and Public Hearing
Dissent: None
Moved by N/A · Seconded by N/A
Superintendent Randy Dresden, community member Carolyn Jackson, and 11th-grade student Madison CV presented the district's World's Best Workforce plan. The presentation outlined state legislation passed in 2013 requiring districts to identify factors that prepare students for college, career, and life. Key benchmarks include kindergarten readiness, third-grade literacy, academic achievement gap reduction among student subgroups, and graduation rates. The district created a website-based reporting system (www.edinaschools.org/wbwf) to organize information about existing district programs and initiatives aligned with state goals. The presentation emphasized that this legislation shifts accountability from state to local community level, with the district establishing a World's Best Workforce Committee including parents, teachers, students, administrators, and representatives from University of Minnesota and Normandale Community College. The committee will develop district and school-site goals, monitor progress, and publish annual reports. The first public hearing was held as required by state statute, with a second public hearing focused specifically on the World's Best Workforce presentation.
State Assessment Results Report - 2013-14 School Year
Dissent: None
Moved by N/A · Seconded by N/A
Director of Research and Evaluation Chad Schmitz presented comprehensive assessment data including MCAS (Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment), ACT, and Advanced Placement results. Key findings: (1) Reading: Edina students performed approximately 20 points above state average at all grade levels; results were flat from 2012-13 to 2013-14; (2) Math: Similar pattern to reading with approximately 20 points above state average; (3) Science: Notable gains at middle school (54% to 60% proficient in grade 8) and high school (74% to 79% proficient); (4) ACT: Composite score of 26.3, approximately 3 points above Minnesota state average; 595 of approximately 650 eligible seniors (85%) took the test; (5) Advanced Placement: 1,200+ students took nearly 2,500 exams; 84% scored 3 or higher (college-acceptable); 58% scored 4 or higher; (6) Achievement Gap: Persistent 35-40 point gap between highest and lowest performing student groups across reading, math, and science; (7) Adequate Yearly Progress: Met AYP in all categories under federal No Child Left Behind accountability; (8) Future assessments: MCAS will be administered online only in 2014-15; ACT will be administered to all 11th graders statewide on April 28th at no cost beginning 2014-15.
Tax Levy Certification for 2015
Dissent: None
Moved by Unknown [Tax Levy Item] · Seconded by Unknown [Tax Levy Item]
Finance Director Margo presented the proposed 2014 tax levy payable in 2015. The initial state-calculated limitation was 12.9% increase, but the district reduced this to 7.49% through two adjustments: (1) spreading abatements over two years instead of one year, and (2) revisiting alternative facilities funding. The recommendation is to approve the maximum levy to allow flexibility for December finalization, when more information will be available. The levy includes voter-approved referendums, state-formula-based capital funding, health and safety revenues, and alternative facilities funding. Factors contributing to the levy change include abatement adjustments (1.5% increase), legislative changes (under 1%), enrollment increases, inflationary adjustments, and increased alternative facilities funding through annual levy rather than bonds. Areas of reduction include prior-year adjustments and debt excess adjustments. For properties with no value increase, the estimated tax impact would be a 2% decrease; for properties with average 8% value increase, estimated increases ranged from 2-4% depending on property value. The board approved the proposed levy with discussion about balancing short-term and long-term financial responsibility.
Facilities Planning and Task Force Update
Dissent: None
Moved by N/A · Seconded by N/A
Director of Communications Susan Bratt provided an update on the Facilities Task Force, a 25-member community committee established to analyze facility needs and prioritize options for potential 2015 referendum. The task force includes students, parents, staff, community stakeholders, and residents at large representing all schools and early childhood programs. The committee has met four times (with two more meetings planned) and is using a strategic framework where learning needs drive resource decisions. The task force reviewed data including current facility conditions, community survey results, demographic projections, and examples of innovative spaces in the district. Key consensus priorities identified include: (1) basic classroom updates, (2) flexible learning spaces to replace rigid older models, (3) media center renovations and common collaboration spaces, (4) safety and security updates, (5) specialized learning spaces (art, music, gym, special education), and (6) ongoing maintenance. Additional topics under continued discussion include wellness centers, athletic spaces, community education spaces, alternative transportation department site, and private fundraising opportunities. The task force concludes work September 30th, with board acceptance of recommendations planned for October 6th. A public forum on potential referendum recommendations is tentatively scheduled after October 6th, with tentative board decision on November 17th. All task force meetings are open to the public, with materials archived on the district website.
Consent Agenda - Personnel, Expenditures, Contracts, and Field Trips
Dissent: None
Moved by Unknown [Consent Agenda] · Seconded by Unknown [Consent Agenda]
The board approved consent agenda items including personnel recommendations, September expenditures, fund transfers, nursing care contracts, field trips, and community gifts. Personnel items included teacher hiring and leave approvals. Nursing care contracts were formalized through board action for the first time, with administration support for companies previously used by the district. A minor typographical error in a Valley View Orchestra trip date was corrected (24th-27th instead of incorrect middle date). Discussion occurred regarding teacher leave policies, with clarification that mobility leaves (for teachers working overseas or in other locations) can extend up to five years at teacher discretion, while other leaves are managed on a year-by-year basis to prevent displacement issues when teachers return. Examples of mobility leaves include teachers currently in Vietnam, Saudi Arabia, and recently returned from China and India.
District Committees, Councils, and Teams for 2014-2015
Dissent: None
Moved by Unknown [District Committees] · Seconded by Unknown [District Committees]
The board approved the roster of district committees and advisory councils for 2014-2015. The World's Best Workforce Committee (formerly Student Achievement Committee) was confirmed with existing members, with discussion about establishing clearer three-year term limits for transparency. The Student Support Services Committee was confirmed to resume active meetings under new leadership from Director Jeff Jorgensen, with one new member replacing a departing member (Lori, who continues to be actively involved in other capacities). Board members requested that term limits be added to the committee rosters for clarity.
Leadership and Strategic Initiatives Update
Dissent: None
Moved by N/A · Seconded by N/A
Superintendent Dresden provided a monthly update on strategic work including personalized learning for all students, the all-for-all initiative addressing achievement gaps, facility studies, and new hires. New district personnel include Scott Brown (District Controller, starting October) and Jen Carter (Dean, promoted from world language teacher position). Dresden highlighted a recent visit to West Side School District in Omaha (September 17-19) where board members engaged in discussions facilitated by Dr. Jim Rickabaugh on advancing leadership and school board work. An upcoming visit from the 21st Century Benchmark Consortium (superintendents, assistant superintendents, and high school principals) is scheduled for later in the month to learn from Edina's work. The district continues to advance research on hope and happiness as drivers of student success and is implementing the birth through grade 5 implementation team, which meets for the first time the day after the board meeting.
Notable Quotes (39)
I really liked it well in school I'm really interested in math I took calc last year and that was one of my favorite classes I've taken at the school and then biology really interested in bees I'm a beekeeper.
involve yourself in lots of activities um and try really hard on your homework because it makes a difference
I'm so proud of this this program because it really demonstrates lifelong learning so here we have teachers who are passionate about continuing to learn continuing to explore
I liked the cohort in the fact that it forced me to really dive in and try new things and within the first four weeks of school um I've definitely tried things that I never tried before and there have been some hiccups and some successes and that's part of what you do when you try something new
Molly gave us a speech early on and I know it was in one of our plans about living in beta so it's sort of a an excuse to dive in even though you can't figure everything out you the kids help you and um it the confidence is unbelievable
my one of my best moments was when my kindergarteners were trying to problem solve and had amazing solutions to an app problem we were having and it turned out it was actually the app it was having technical problems that we didn't know about at the time and they were using words like well maybe we should try to go into edit mode
this Tech cohort has really rejuvenated my teaching it's made teaching easier and it's been so much fun watching my students get excited about sharing what they've learned with other first graders and other people around the world so it's really gotten my classroom connected beyond the classroom walls
I am not a giver of knowledge I'm in the process with my students and there were so many times that the kids were so engaged and excited and they're like well let's try this and let's do this and I was sitting right along with them learning and problem solving
the big takeaways for me was how engaged students are with technology and things that you know I did in a different way before um just the ability of the kids to kind of own it uh was was beautiful and also the way that they have an authentic audience that really makes it feel purposeful to them
a petition went around with the idea that school would start prior to Labor Day and the petition uh I got a copy of it for you here the petition uh included 426 names uh people that responded opposing to the early start date did again in less than 24 hours we got more than a 70 percent equivalent response opposing the early start compared to the previous year
the title says that all pediatricians group says school should start no earlier than 8 30 A.M I'm sure some of you have seen I mean there have been literally dozens and dozens of these articles in the past 30 to 60 days
I've got two friends that have schools had kids starting school at 7 30 that have gone to 8 30. and they say the change is incredible and kids both their General attitude during the school day test scores athletic performance etc etc for that little bit of extra sleep
the world's best Workforce legislation was passed in 2013 the intent of the legislation is to identify those factors that best prepare students for college for career for life and it's really about districts having a strategic plan to ensure that all students have the skills and the preparedness to succeed in life
I served as the student representative on the world's best Workforce last year and I'm intending on continuing this participation into this year I would like to start out by saying it's such an honor to be on this committee uh every single member works so tirelessly to achieve such noble goals
this legislation turns the accountability to schools on the world's best Workforce to the local community so we have like I said parents we have teachers we have a student we have administrators and we're adding people from the University of Minnesota we have the executive director of college readiness and we have the director of advising and counseling from Normandale Community College
I think I'm really excited about that because it brings it accountability really close to home to the people who it affects the most and that's what I'm most excited about on this part of the plan so I think that's it
what I see here is Elementary level Middle School level and high school level results trending over a three-year period of time and what we see is a pretty flat level of performance from 2012-13 to 2013-14 I want to point out the color coding on the screen is indicative of same tests relative to same standards so we can compare the two darker colored the 2012-13 and 2013-14 results but we shouldn't look back to 2011-12 and say wow results really dipped
consistently Edina students are about 20 points or so above the Statewide average in terms of being grade level proficient in Reading as measured by the reading test
when I compare the highest performing student groups to the lowest performing student groups we see a pretty consistent space of about 30 to 35 points and so that's a that's a concern that we have that's something that we've been talking about and working on and it is our our effort that this Gap shouldn't be there
this is one place where we saw a fairly sizable increases from uh 2013 from 2012-13 to 2013-14 and that's at the middle school level in grade eight we jumped from I think 54 up to 60 proficient and at the high school level we jumped from 74 proficient to almost 79 proficient so both nice gains and increases due in part to some very focused work that those teachers and and staff were doing
in 2014-15 Minnesota Department of Education has said that the MCAS will only be administered online so in the past few years we have selected to administer that test in a paper pencil format where we can it allows for a little ease of administration we can basically do it over a two-day window and testing is is tight within that window with this online it allows us some flexibility but it also prevents some provides some challenges
a new part of legislation in Minnesota is that the ACT will be administered to all 11th graders across the state on April 28th at no cost so this is one where Edina High School we're building a plan for what that day is going to look like for all of our students
a recommendation tonight which is typical part of the process for the proposed Levy is to approve the maximum what that does is allow the greatest flexibility for the board to be able to revisit the Levee as more information becomes available between September and December
we also want to be sensitive at this time though when we are approving the maximum that we have looked as much as much as possible at the information we have right now which we have we have done in the last 10 days between finance and Facilities committee and myself because in between September and December the truth and Taxation notices are sent out to property tax owners in November
the major difference would be the 2015 tax capacity you see a ten and a half percent increase for the United public schools in a 14 increase in the city of Edina this is where a property outside of the school district boundaries is coming off tax increment financing and overall will help the community members within the city of Edina
if the property values remain the same for both years versus so no increase when you receive your personal tax statement in the your property value of your home or your business then the district's recommended increase of 7.49 percent would actually show about a two percent decrease in the property taxes
I mean the biggest difference from prior years is the alt facilities money which is just a as a practical matter a realization that if we're going to spend 10 million dollars a year on you know catching up on deferred maintenance that we've got to pay for it right
the purpose is to analyze all of the data and consider some options and really bring that Community representative voice into the room as we looked ahead to what our facility needs are both short and long term we're focusing a lot on the short right now but we know there's some questions coming up about long-term facility needs
we did a call for applications back in July and you know initially we were worried about how many people might hear it but we got an overwhelming response more people than spots that we had to fill
we've been trying to say a lot with our next generation of Edina Public School strategic plan we've been trying to talk a lot about how learning needs to drive a lot of our resources or to drive a lot of our decisions so resources like space and time and funds should really be variable to what is best for learning
at this point I just wanted to update that at this point we seem to be having some pretty good consensus around some basic Improvement needs that we need at the K-12 program level to include um we need some basic classroom updates we need some and also some more improved and flexible learning spaces
without pay for an entire school yearson um when they come back to the district that does that displace another teacher or how does that work
it possibly displaces another teacher because we will then hire a one-year long-term substitute for the person usually typically done with it long yes with the one year contract
and that we've discussed this in the past but what's the cycle as far as uh how how long will we knew that have we standardized that now is it still on a case-by-case basis because we had some concerns about too many of them coming back at one point not having spots for them all
there are some that are Mobility leaves and they can last up to five years at the discretion of the teacher and then there are others who we have been going on a year by year basis and we have been limiting them so that we don't have a large group coming back at one time
I understand that committee hasn't met a lot lately and so I'm wondering if they're going to start meeting now with our new leadership
that would be confirming that that was part of the Strategic plan so last spring if you recall strategic plans presented with the revisions Jeff Jorgensen who's our director of student Support Services has already have all that motion in place and so we'll be having that and redesigning that function as it aligns the services we provide
I will not uh hit on all of these items because some are being addressed the personalized learning for all for example I think uh this whole world's best Workforce does a nice job stepping into that uh the all-for-all initiative we saw that Gap coming into play and we're concerned about that academic Gap that all for all initiative how all of us supporting all Learners
we continue to Champion them bring bringing hope and happiness into our future getting deeper into the research around this and trying to use it in a regular setting at the school sites as a district learning more about the power this can have for the success of all learners
Ordinances & Resolutions (13)
State legislation passed in 2013 requiring districts to identify factors that prepare students for college, career, and life. Includes benchmarks for kindergarten readiness, third-grade literacy, academic achievement, graduation rates, and college/career preparedness. Shifts accountability from state to local community level.
District's web-based reporting system for World's Best Workforce compliance, featuring district and school achievement goals, student progress and growth data, assessment calendars, academic standards, committee memberships, instructional improvement tools, and community satisfaction results.
Edina Public Schools' strategic plan emphasizing personalized learning for all students and three key outcomes. Guides resource allocation and facility planning decisions.
Proposed levy with 7.49% increase (reduced from 12.9% initial limitation). Includes voter-approved referendums, state-formula-based capital funding, health and safety revenues, and alternative facilities funding. Estimated to result in 2% property tax decrease for properties with no value increase, or 2-4% increase for properties with average 8% value appreciation.
State assessment measuring reading, math, and science proficiency at elementary, middle, and high school levels. Used to calculate Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) under federal No Child Left Behind accountability system.
National college entrance exam administered to Edina High School seniors. Edina's 2013-14 composite score was 26.3, approximately 3 points above Minnesota state average. Beginning 2014-15, ACT will be administered to all 11th graders statewide on April 28th at no cost.
College-level exams administered to Edina students. 2013-14 results: 1,200+ students took nearly 2,500 exams; 84% scored 3 or higher (college-acceptable); 58% scored 4 or higher. Significant increase in participation over five-year period.
25-member community committee analyzing facility needs and prioritizing options for potential 2015 referendum. Identified consensus priorities: classroom updates, flexible learning spaces, media center renovations, safety/security improvements, specialized learning spaces, and ongoing maintenance. Additional discussions on wellness centers, athletic spaces, and community education spaces.
Part of Minnesota's waiver to federal No Child Left Behind. Results expected October 1st; uses multiple measures beyond MCAS to assess district performance.
Quality Compensation plan used by the district to align performance pay and teacher evaluations with state goals and student achievement benchmarks.
Plan addressing integration and diversity goals across the district, aligned with World's Best Workforce benchmarks.
Plan outlining teacher evaluation systems and professional development aligned with state standards and student achievement goals.
Site-specific plans for each school aligned with district and state achievement goals and benchmarks.