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The first of three strategic planning sessions for the Ely School District took place earlier this week.
School board members, administrators, staff, a student representatives and community members were part of a roughly 25-member group who gathered at the school’s media center Monday evening.
In smaller subgroups, they identified strengths, challenges and future hopes for the district and shared their findings with a facilitator from the Minnesota School Board Association, who took part via Zoom.
The agenda also included a “state of the district” report from superintendent Anne Oelke and a review of surveys completed both by staff and community respondents.
Those were the initial steps toward the crafting of goals that will be set in upcoming sessions, set for Nov. 6 and Nov. 20.
Gail Gillman, who heads strategic planning for the MSBA, outlined how she’ll weigh the information shared over the course of the roughly two-hour openign session.
“I’m going to take a look at all the feedback and by the time we meet again I will have looked at some possible focus areas and also some items that you have shared that will fit under those focus areas,” said Gillman. “You will have a chance to look at those and say ‘you really missed it’ or ‘that’s right.’ That information will start to become the focus area and some goals.”
Gillman said the group will also work on “foundational elements of a strategic plan” including core values, belief statements and vision.
The subgroups identified a series of “must haves” for the district as it moves forward with a comprehensive plan.
Among those identified were:
• Curriculum and academic achievement;
• Full funding;
• A reliable consistent source of revenue; • Improved communication to soothe public concerns over how the district spends its money;
• Maintain or improve teacher competency to compete with PSEO (post secondary enrollment option which allows high school students to take courses at Vermilion Community College); • Maintain the district’s independence;
• More course offerings and improved food offerings;
• Enrollment retention. Edward Swapinski, the student representative on the group, also called out what he believes is racism among the student body.
“I feel like we must have a way to address the startling increase in intolerance and racism I’ve noticed,” said Swapinski. “It’s disappointing. I’m not saying all of a sudden everybody is racist, but even having one percent of the school population be racist is too much, and that’s probably what it is.”
The session opened with Oelke providing an assortment of data, including enrollment trends from the last decade.
Ely had 548 students in grades K-12 in the fall of 2014, and since then it climbed to as high as 598 students (2017) and has since slipped to 522.
The district had an era of much more rapid decline from 1995 to 2009, as enrollment tumbled from 929 to 538 in a 14-year span.
Currently, the district has about 100 total staff and the student body is roughly 90 percent white.
About 13 percent of Ely students received special education services and 40 percent qualify for either free or reduced lunch, per income guidelines that were used prior to the state’s recent move to provide all students with free lunch at school.
One data point that drew discussion during Oelke’s address were numbers showing about 50 percent of Ely students were proficient with state standards for math and reading.
“Why aren’t we higher?” asked Carol Petersen, a retired teacher and grandmother of two Ely students.
Oelke responded that many variables go into test scores, including the district’s curriculum, how it’s taught, and a changing student body.
“The students each year are not the same,” she said. “There are different students (at the respective grade levels) and some may not have been our students. They may have moved in. And with our population and smaller numbers, when somebody moves out or moves in, that makes a difference in our percentage.”
Before discussion amid their own subgroups, the entire group also saw the results of internal and external surveys as well as engagement sessions Gillman conducted with various stakeholders earlier in the month.
A variety of strengths were identified, including the safety and security of district buildings, accessibility of the superintendent, a commitment to find ways to improve programs and services for students, policies in place to provide for safe learning, building community support, overall education and seeking input from all stakeholders on key decisions.
Comments included many highlighting the dedication of teachers, administration, staff and coaches, as well as the recent improvements to district facilities.
The surveys also found areas for potential improvements, including how to ensure curriculum is being taught by all teachers and procedures to regularly review curriculum and assessment, as well as making sure staff are equipped to address bias and exclusionary language.
External stakeholders also found room for improvement to the district’s athletic facilities and career and technical education offerings, and the district’s use of its budget and funds.
Gillman cautioned that in her work with other districts, external stakeholders often question how districts use their funding.
Stakeholders also identified an array of challenges facing the district, including limits on course offerings because of the district’s enrollment, competition with PSEO, cuts in school nurse hours, discipline issues, personnel retention, and addressing mental health needs for students and staff, among others.
The various responses will provide the framework for when the group meets again.
“I come with no agenda and your superintendent and board have no preconceived agenda,” said Gillman. “We’re here to listen and take in all of the feedback and then with your help we will create a new strategic plan.”
