Board Bulletin

October 6, 2023

Facility Referendum and What it Means for Academics

As our community members consider their vote for the November referendum, a question they may ask is how the referendum supports academics in our district. First, it is important to recognize that this is a facilities referendum and the funds generated can only be used on construction projects - this will not generate any new “operating” dollars for our district. Even though our district had to cut $9 million from our operating budget this year, we are not asking the voters for additional operating dollars at this time. It is also important to know that our district continues to invest heavily in efforts to boost academic performance using the operating funds we already have.

But why do facilities matter to academics? As we know, most of our academic instruction occurs in one of our community’s 19 schools. In fact, the Mankato Area Public Schools (MAPS) manages one of the largest set of facilities in our community - with many of these buildings being decades old. As any property owner knows, for buildings to effectively serve their purpose, they must be maintained. That’s why every decade or so, our school district asks our community to support our collective responsibility to ensure our school buildings provide a safe, modern environment in which our children can learn. There are several facility investments that the School Board is particularly focused on to help support academic excellence in our district.

Welcome, Safe & Secure Schools

In order to provide a high-quality education to our children, they must first and foremost be safe. While our newer school buildings use modern secure entrances that require visitors to first pass through the office, 10 of our older schools do not. The referendum would ensure that all of our district’s schools have upgraded secure entrances. A video on how the referendum would make our schools welcoming, safe and secure is available here.

A rendering of Roosevelt Elementary showing an example of the new secure entrance to be constructed at 10 schools across our community.

Special Education

For several schools, the new secure entrances will allow the current office space to be converted to special education space for our students. MAPS is proud to provide the most comprehensive special education programming in the region. Unique needs of students with disabilities require unique learning spaces. Repurposing existing school space will allow special education teachers and staff to individualize their instruction even more to reflect the academic goals of each student.

A site plan for Hoover Elementary showing an example of how former office space will be repurposed for special education classrooms. A MAPS teacher speaking about the importance of dedicated special education space said “my students require more assistance with daily living skills such as personal hygiene needs and may need more assistance with transitioning to a different space, having a space available in our building to assist students rather than bringing them to the nurses office would cut back on these transitions and create more opportunities both behaviorally and academically.”

Flexible Learning Spaces

The improvements at West High School will include several new flexible student classrooms. Research is clear that collaboration is a key component to student learning. When collaborative school spaces exist, teachers design learning experiences accordingly. When they aren’t available and staff is confined to the traditional classroom of the previous century, there are simply fewer opportunities for students to collaborate, critically think, and communicate with each other.

Early Childhood

The proposed facilities referendum would complete the build out of our new MAPS Center for Learning, adding more than 150 new preschool and child care slots. Once finalized, the Center for Learning will serve 500 of our community’s youngest learners. In addition, the referendum would construct a daycare at Eagle Lake Elementary. By addressing the shortage of child care slots in our community, our School Board is seeking to reduce stress and uncertainty for working families. But these investments also play an important role in our district’s academic success. Most brain development in a child occurs before age five. Several academic studies have drawn a clear connection between the importance of high-quality early childhood experiences and later academic success in elementary grades. We also know that high-quality early childhood experiences help lay solid paths for well-regulated elementary students, reducing the need to correct behaviors later on, which is more challenging. In addition, our MAPS early learning department has done considerable work to align our early childhood curriculum to match up with our elementary curriculum, easing that transition for students. You can view a video on the proposed early learning projects here.

The site plan showing the remaining buildout of the MAPS Center for Learning. The proposed referendum would add classroom space to serve an additional 150 preschool students.

Wellness, Fine Arts, Student Activity Facilities

The proposed referendum includes improvements to the wellness, music, and student activity spaces at Mankato West. This includes a renovated music wing for choir, band, and orchestra along with a new gym, wrestling room, and locker rooms. The pool, which is undersized and hasn’t held water for more than 3 years, would be relocated to Dakota Meadows Middle School where a competition caliber pool with community access would be constructed. A second referendum question proposes renovating and upgrading our outdoor stadiums at Mankato East and West to be comparable to our peer high schools across Southern Minnesota. These improvements are primarily driven by the fact that Mankato West is over 70 years old and these spaces have long outlived their useful life. But they are also reflective of our district’s commitment to delivering a well-rounded educational experience through encouraging our students to participate in activities outside of the classroom - because we know that it yields positive results inside the classroom. Students who participate in fine arts, sports and our student clubs have an opportunity to create positive interactions with their peers, build student culture, develop leadership and teamwork skills, and enhance their self-discipline and self-confidence. Many studies also confirm that participation in school activities boosts academic performance, behavior, attendance, as well as student and parent satisfaction.

The site plan for Mankato West High School showing the new secure entrance and flexible classroom space along with renovated fine arts and wellness spaces.

A rendering of the proposed new pool at Dakota Meadows Middle School. The pool will include a zero depth entry, making it accessible for community members of all ages and abilities. The current pool at Mankato West is decommissioned and unable to hold water.

While we ask our community to help further student learning through secure and modern facilities, our school district is not ignoring the ongoing need to improve the academic proficiency of our young scholars. For example, MAPS is investing significant resources over the next several years in elementary teachers to learn and implement research-based reading instruction across the system. This started a few years ago, and legislative action last session will result in its expansion to all Mankato literacy teachers. Similar investments are being made in helping teachers improve their work in dealing with challenging student behaviors. Throughout MAPS, a multi-tiered approach to discipline, including the use of positive reinforcement and restorative practices, and setting clear behavioral expectations with appropriate follow-through is the focus of staff training and development.

Next Vote 2023 Community Informational Meeting is:

Thursday, October 26, 2023

6:00–7:30PM

Mankato East High School Auditorium

2600 Hoffman Road, Mankato, MN 56001

For more information visit Vote 2023 Website.

Vote 2023 Information Video

Greater Mankato Growth Endorses Facilities Referendum

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Greater Mankato Growth, the region’s largest businesses and economic development organization, recently announced their endorsement of November’s facilities referendum following a unanimous vote of their board of directors. The School Board is grateful that our business leaders understand the crucial role our public schools play in the quality of our workforce, which is the most important contributor to a community’s vitality and economic health. The endorsement also recognizes the fiscal responsibility of the Mankato Area Public Schools as the property tax paid by community members continues to be below the state average and the Big 9 Conference average.

Attendance Matters

Attendance data has recently been an area of rightful focus of our community. Superintendent Paul Peterson recently authored a column (Link Here) that appeared in The Free Press describing the actions our district is taking to ensure our kids are consistently at school. We hope families will join us in this effort to ensure our kids are consistently at school.

Beating the Odds

As discussed earlier in this newsletter, our school district is working incredibly hard to reverse the academic loss we saw during COVID. While our School Board and district leadership recognize we have much work to do, a recent article in the Star Tribune confirms that the work and dedication of our teachers and staff is paying off. The Star Tribune did an analysis of each school in the state to compare the school’s proficiency rates in math and reading assessments to what it was expected to achieve based on schools with similar poverty levels. The analysis then categorized each school as “meeting expectations,” “below expectations,” or “beating the odds.” In reading, 20% of schools statewide beat the odds and in math it was 37%. Mankato community members should be proud that all of our elementary schools were part of the small number of schools statewide that beat the odds in at least one category - with many beating the odds in both. You can find results for your school here.

SRO Update & Welcome to Officer Wilkins

On Monday, October 2nd our School Resource Officers (SROs) returned in person to East and West High Schools. The School Board welcomes them back and looks forward to them resuming their efforts to build positive relationships with our students. The Board is also pleased to welcome Officer Stephanie Wilkins to Mankato East High School. Officer Wilkins replaces Officer Mortensen, who retired after last school year. Officer Wilkins is a Mankato East and Minnesota State University, Mankato alumni. Please be sure to welcome Officer Wilkins and extend your appreciation to both Officers Wilkins and Mohr for their service to our schools and students.

Mankato East School Resource Officer Stephanie Wilkins

Mankato West School Resource Officer Todd Mohr

East High School Update

The School Board was pleased to welcome new Mankato East Principal Akram Osman and Activities Director Todd Waterbury to our recent board meeting where he provided an update on the work of their team. Two initiatives the Board was particularly excited to hear about was the launch of East Connects - a monthly opportunity for parents to engage directly with school leadership and Cougar Time - a weekly dedicated time for staff to review academic performance with students individually to help identify and prevent problems early. Thanks to Principal Osman and his team for their leadership.

Center for Learning Update

The School Board at our recent meeting also had the opportunity to hear an update from Assistant Director of Early Learning Katie Gag and ACES Coordinator Sam Schirmers on the new Center For Learning. The next phase of the C4L is up and running with now hundreds of preschoolers and their families being served. The Board is particularly excited that transportation options are available and that ACES child care is now available both before and after preschool, easing the burden on families to have to transport their children during the day.

The Board also heard an update on expansion plans at the C4L should the referendum pass, including additional options for nature based programming and a new farm to table prep kitchen that would allow the district to contract with local farmers to prep and distribute fresh local produce to our schools.

MAPS Student Spotlight

The MAPS School Board was pleased to recognize Insite student Julio for his accomplishments as a young adult working to overcome barriers so he can live as independently as possible. He is known as a good friend, for his positive attitude, and is a role model for his peers.

Please join us in recognizing Julio for his hard work and perseverance to achieve his goals!

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!

School Board member Patrick Baker attended the Mental Health Matters student event at Mankato West. What a great evening of students leading engagement and inclusion among their peers.