Board Bulletin

May 24, 2024

Board Adopts New Strategic Roadmap

The big picture: The School Board on May 6 unanimously adopted a new strategic roadmap for the Mankato Area Public Schools (MAPS). The vision, mission, core values, and strategic priorities included in the roadmap not only reflect the identity of our schools, but casts a vision for the future-focused education we aim to provide.
How we got here: The Board’s action follows more than a year of engagement with hundreds of parents, students, teachers and staff, business leaders, and community members to seek perspective on their experiences with our schools and their expectations for how we could better deliver on their desired daily experiences.
What School Board members are saying:

Shannon Sinning, Chair: “I’m excited about this strategic roadmap because it was created by input from all stakeholders. Then, our board of seven came together to use this data and craft a vision we all agreed on. This new framework allows us to hit the ground running with significant and visible changes to our school district over the next couple of years. This will set our students up for success as we move into the future.”

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Erin Roberts, Clerk: “I’m excited that the new strategic roadmap allows the district to adapt to students rather than students adapting to the district. Students change from generation to generation and we need to be flexible to change with them. Education is not one size fits all - rather all fit in their OWN size.”

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Christopher Kind, Treasurer: “The updated strategic plan is a significant improvement in relatability to all constituents in MAPS. It prioritizes relevant, attainable goals that give broad focus on the ‘majors’ while minding the ‘minors’ as every contributing part of the district is recognized and served.”

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Kari Pratt, board member: “I’m thrilled about the new mission and vision statements in the roadmap, especially the focus on student success through individual pathways and flexible, student-centered learning.”

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Liz Ratcliff, board member: “I am incredibly grateful for the dedication and support of our participants in the community and district to help us craft a strategic roadmap for the future. I believe schools play a crucial role as community centers, essential for the well-being of our communities and the advancement of our democracy. Our collective work preparing this plan now only reaffirms that belief, it sets the stage for a robust and future-focused public education system built on a foundation of excellence, equity, and empowerment, ensuring that every student in MAPS has the opportunity to thrive.”

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Patrick Baker, board member: “This strategic roadmap is a reflection of our School Board’s desire for continuous improvement. Our community has a lot to be proud of with our schools and I am excited to make them even better through the focus the strategic roadmap offers on flexible, career-oriented, pathways and extending learning beyond the classroom into businesses and community partners.”

What’s next?: Strategic plans are not effective unless they are operationalized. District leadership is currently utilizing the new strategic roadmap to develop multi-year operations plans that will identify the school and program-level plans to be implemented. In addition, new vision cards to track the key data and metrics that the Board and staff will use to evaluate whether we’re successful are under development. The board and district leadership are committed to continued transparency throughout this process.

School District Breaks Ground at Three Elementaries

The big picture: The school board, staff, students, and construction partners recently donned hard hats and took up shovels to celebrate the start of projects to add secure and welcoming entrances at Washington, Bridges and Roosevelt elementaries with ceremonial groundbreakings.
Safe and welcoming schools: These projects, funded by voters at November’s referendum, will require anyone coming into the school to first pass through the office in order to access the rest of the school. As said by Principal Ann Haggerty at Washington Elementary, “Parents send us their very best every day, and it’s our job to keep them safe. It’s also our job to teach them and all of those things, too, but safety is first. Safety is our priority, and we take that very seriously.”
What’s next: The secure entrances at Bridges, Washington and Roosevelt are expected to be complete by the start of next school year. Look for a website to be launched soon that will allow the public to track our construction progress across all schools included in the referendum.

Educare Awards Grant to Improve STEM Learning

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The big picture: Each year, the Educare Foundation provides grants that fund programs and activities that enhance educational opportunities for all students. Among the several grants provided this year, the Board was recently grateful to accept a nearly $50,000 Educare Initiative Grant for “Making STEM Strong.”
Zoom in: With this grant, equipment will be purchased for each elementary school in MAPS that will be used for developing coding experiences and STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) activities for students. With a change implemented this year, MAPS elementary students now take a STEM class each week. With this grant, Indi Robots, Sphero Minis, and Dash Robots will help support our STEM curriculum. These robots will be used to engage our students in coding and problem solving in interdisciplinary lessons that target our life science, physical science, earth and space science standards. The robots will be used throughout the entire school year by all elementary STEM teachers and will be implemented across all elementary grade levels.
See for yourself: A listing of all Ed Waltman Mini Grants and Initiative Grants generously provided by the Educare Foundation this year are available by clicking the provided links.
Fore Educare: You can support the Educare Foundation by participating in this year’s Fore Educare event. Opportunities exist for golfers and non golfers to participate and support our schools. Registration and more information.

Mental Health Awareness Month

The big picture: May is Mental Health Awareness Month. With needs for mental health support within our school community continuing to rise, students and staff are taking action to provide new services and partnerships to tackle mental health head-on.
Zoom in: The Mankato Free Press and KEYC recently covered new mental health initiatives within MAPS including the launch of Hope Squads, which are peer-to-peer teams focused on mental health and suicide prevention, and the expansion of mental health staff, including mental health navigators who have connected more than 400 students to mental health services just this year. We encourage you to read the stories below. The School Board is proud to strongly support the investments our school district is making in these important initiatives.

Mankato Free Press: Mankato district gears up for Mental Health Month, has expanded mental health staff
KEYC: High School students teach elementary students about mental health

In addition: The School Board recently heard an update from our student support services professionals (social workers, counselors, psychologists, nurses, chemical health) on their work to support our students across a broad spectrum of issues and services from mental health to school attendance and graduation, academic support, college enrollment, physical health, social emotional learning and everything in between to ensure our students have the supports they need to excel. You can view their presentation slides to the board here.

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Board Recognizes Long-Term Employees

The big picture: Our staff are what makes MAPS tick, and the School Board was recently privileged to recognize several long-term members of our team who have reached 30, 35, 40 and 45 years of service.
Impressive milestones: Each of this year’s honorees has significantly contributed to the MAPS community. Please extend your gratitude next time you see them for their efforts to positively impact generations of students and families.

Board Approves Funding for All Seasons Arena Project

The big picture: All Seasons Arena, our community’s ice facility, is undergoing a nearly $14 million renovation. With a unanimous vote of the School Board in April, the School District joined city and county partners in contributing funds for this important project.
Zoom in: As the host for our East and West High School hockey teams and various Community Education programs, All Seasons Arena is a critical asset to the Mankato Area Public Schools. To ensure the continuing functioning of the ice system and to make improvements to the overall user and fan experience at the facility, the School Board’s action will provide a $1.5 million contribution from MAPS to the ASA improvements.

Board Accepts Grant from Consolidated Communications

The big picture: The School Board was grateful to recently accept a $5,000 grant for Prairie Winds Middle School to support its multimedia project from Consolidated Communications’ Consolidated Connects Educational Grant Program. Consolidated joined students, teachers and faculty in celebrating the grant award during a check presentation at a recent School Board meeting.
Zoom in: This grant will allow Prairie Winds Middle School students to further their knowledge of video editing and broadcast media. Each year, the school’s eighth grade class participates in a year-end project to produce a news broadcast focused on the impacts of climate change. Students work together in various roles – camera operator, on-screen talent, graphics, video editing, sound design, directing, etc. – to produce and edit the video project. With funding from Consolidated, each of the more than 300 students in the grade will have access to video editing software, enabling them to enhance their knowledge through hands-on experience.

MAPS Staff & Student Spotlight

Staff Spotlight

April’s MAPS School Board Spotlight is Kelli Woefel. Kelli came to ABE 5 years ago after serving as a secretary at Dakota Meadows Middle School for 19 years. She’s been with our school district for 24 years, all of them as a secretary for MAPS.

For the past 5 years, Kelli has been the backbone of our ABE Office. She arrived at the office at 7:30 every morning, like clockwork. She was the one who kept the team grounded. For many, she was the first face of ABE. She connected the dots, and she kept everything running smoothly in the midst of all of the crazy schedules and multiple sites.

Staff Spotlight

Congratulations to Dor Scheetz-Hollar and Carrie Lonneman, two outstanding AmeriCorps members and our May staff spotlight.

They deliver high-quality instruction, foster relationships, and help students thrive. From building genuine connections to providing one-on-one support, their impact is profound. As they near the end of their four-year service, we extend our deepest gratitude for their tireless dedication to our students' success.

Thank you, Dor and Carrie, from Mankato Area Public Schools and the entire community!

Student Spotlight

Our School Board was thrilled to shine the spotlight on Mackenzie Lewandowski, Emma Tuwei, and Kiera Fischer!

These Dakota Meadows Students have been dedicating their time three days a week to join a classroom to support their fellow students. They embody the Dakota Meadows PRIDE expectations in every way. They are consistently prepared and punctual, showing utmost respect to their peers and maintaining the highest level of integrity.

Mackenzie, Emma, and Kiera are invaluable assets and we look forward to seeing the positive impact they will surely continue to make each day. Thank you for being shining examples of excellence and compassion!

Out and About

Our School Board members have been busy “out and about” among our school community. Here are some snapshots of what we’ve been up to!

Local author, educator and community member Jon Olseth once again donated Where the Sidewalk Ends to all MAPS 4th graders. Distribution events coordinated by Greater Mankato Area United Way were held in all schools in May. Board member Patrick Baker had the opportunity to read with students at Roosevelt Elementary.

Board members Erin Roberts and Kristi Schuck participated in April’s Student Advisory Committee meeting at Prairie Winds Middle School. This month’s topic was a career panel and discussion. MAPS Career Pathway Coordinator Caleb Watson recruited representatives from different industries in the region that provided students a sense of their career journey.

Earlier this month Faribault High School hosted this year’s Big 9 Music Festival, the longest-running festival of its kind in the nation. Board member Patrick Baker and district and school leadership were on hand to watch almost two thousand student band, choir and orchestra musicians from the twelve Big 9 schools come together for a remarkable day of music. The Board greatly appreciates all the extra time and energy that our directors from East and West High School dedicate to make events like these so special for students and their families.